Birkmyre Rugby Club

Position	Team	Played	W	D	L	F : A	Diff.	Bonus	Points
1	Millbrae RFC	8	7	0	1	216:72	144	5	33
2	Carrick RFC	8	7	0	1	196:89	107	3	31
3	Mclaren RFC	8	6	0	2	202:97	105	4	28
4	Loch Lomond RFC	8	5	0	3	182:153	29	3	23
5	Isle of Mull RFC	7	4	0	3	146:111	35	3	19
6	Paisley RFC	7	3	0	4	105:108	-3	1	13
7	Jordanhill Phoenix RFC	8	3	0	5	133:146	-13	1	13
8	Clydesdale RFC	9	2	0	7	116:257	-141	3	11
9	Birkmyre	8	2	0	6	70:181	-111	0	8
8	Cumnock RFC	9	1	0	8	77:229	-152	2	6

Saturday, November 12th, 2011
	14:00	Millbrae	34	:	3	Birkmyre
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
	14:00	Birkmyre	14	:	8	Clydesdale
Saturday, October 29th, 2011 - [FRIENDLY] Development Match
	14:30	Birkmyre	15	:	5	Bishopton
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
	15:00	Cumnock	14	:	15	Birkmyre
Saturday, October 15th, 2011
	15:00	Birkmyre	14	:	22	Loch Lomond
Saturday, October 8th, 2011
	15:00	Jordanhill Phoenix	18	:	8	Birkmyre
Saturday, September 17th, 2011
	15:00	McLaren	36	:	10	Birkmyre
Saturday, September 10th, 2011
	15:00	Paisley	22	:	0	Birkmyre
Saturday, September 3rd, 2011
	15:00	Birkmyre	6	:	27	Carrick

Birkmyre vs. Clydesdale - Saturday, November 12th, 2011 - P. Haveron

Another win and a very valuable 4 league points gained in out 14 to 8 points win over Clydesdale on Saturday. This is now 2 league games in a row and three consecutive wins overall. However for those of us who watched it was a very nerve racking afternoon.

The first half was completely Clydesdales and in the first 20 minutes we did nothing but defend. Both Duncan Fletcher at open side wing forward and Alex Fraser as our last line of defense saved us on several occasions with some last ditch tacking. Suffice it to say during this part of the game we were struggling to become even second best.

However hold on we did and credit must be paid to the fact we stuck to our intentions and never stopped trying to defend and get things right. The loss of Duncan was a blow after 20 minutes but this prompted the coaches to realize that our lighter pack, which had been very effective in recent weeks, needed a bit of bulk on this occasion and on came Dougie Gillespie, Wallace Jonny E and Simon. Stability in the scrum then seemed to lay the platform for our improvement.

Just as it looked like we were going to go into the break 8 points down (which at one stage would have seemed like a major bonus) we mustered one of our rare visits into the Clydesdale half and snatched 3 valuable points. We were definitely still in touch. Two things then happened in the second half; the team listened to the coaches at half time and woke up, and Clydesdale started to tire. The second half definitely belonged to Birkmyre, and whilst it most certainly was not one way traffic, we managed to score a good try through Dougie Gillespie followed by 2 more penalties from Jonny Dobson. In fact another score looked likely as the game concluded, but Clydesdale held on well to secure a bonus point.

Birkmyre vs. Bishopton - Saturday, October 29th, 2011 - P. Haveron

With Nancy having yet another dancing disastur darling as Craig Revel Horwood would say, it was up to the young ones to lead the way again. Harry danced well and even with the wardrobe malfunction Chelsea also performed well.

Birkmyre had a similar day with their development team playing Bishopton in the rain at the park. A tough game saw the young boys run out 15 points to 5 winners and several players are putting themeselves into contention for full time places on the team.

Bishopton played their part in making this an interesting game and well done to John and Jacko for developing such a good squad.

Birkmyre were able to give first time starts to Murray Noble, Dougie Holmes and Mike Greig, and there were combacks from Dougie Gillespie, Dug Green old Father time Kenny McLeod, Michael Degnan and Captain Gordon after absences.

The youger element of the day was suplemented by guys like Ian Waterson who won our man of the match and regulars like Duncan, Davy, Ruaridh, Rab, Andy, Chris, Martin and Scott. Now I have named just about everyone I had better also pay credit to the seasoned old hands such as kevin, Ross, Ryan, Sam and Charlie. Finally very well done to James who had his first go at hooker and I think he may have found a new respect for the regulars in that position.

Our points scorers on the day were Andy, Gordon and come back king Devil Dug with Kevin adding a conversion.

Even though the elements were awful it was important for the coaches to see theirn youger players get some game time, and to see players trying out new positions. John and Ian were both pleased with what they saw and delighted to now have a headcahe come selection time.

Cumnock vs. Birkmyre - Saturday, October 22nd, 2011 - P. Haveron

On paper we sent down what appeared to be a young team to Cumnock. However the younger boys who played saw it as an opportunity to make a mark and to make it difficult for any returning player to get their place back. It was also a big credit to John and Fozzy who have worked hard to develop the team and get this first victory; the first hopefully of many.

With the breeze behind them the Birkmyre pack started very strongly and dominated possession. Andy Pearson and Ross Vint particularly played well and showed that they are players who are gaining in confidence. The back row also worked hard and Duncan Fletcher was another young player who put in a lot of work. Cumnock defended well however the breakthrough eventually came with a well taken try from Graeme Wilson to give Birkmyre an 8 point lead at half time.

The second half was Cumnocks and Birkmyre were forced to defend strongly. It was to the credit of the young backs that they tackled very well. Scott Mcmillan was playing in only his second game for the club and his first in a new position of scrum half. We also introduced debutants Dougie Holmes and Murray Noble and both of these young men did not let the team down.

Cumnock got within a point following a good try from them, however Birkmyre responded with a great try of their own from Graeme Wilson again following a good run from James Halpin. This should have been the final score but for a last minute penalty try for Cumnock which bemused the spectators both neutral and those of us from Birkmyre. Anyway the victory was to be ours and coaches and players were pleased with their days work.

Next week we have a week off from the league, but we have a development game against Bishopton at Birkmyre park. Training on Tuesday is as important as ever, so please clear your diaries and get down.

Jordanhill Phoenix vs. Birkmyre - Saturday, October 8th, 2011 - P. Haveron

Coaches John and Ian asked for an improvement this week and this was certainly achieved. One criticism from previous weeks was that we were lacking a little bite in our forwards display and a cutting edge in the backs. Both issues were a breach of confidence rather than anything else. With the inclusion of Jo Jo Fraser Callum and Graeme this week we definitely restored a bit of pride up front. This should not reflect on the other forwards who fully contributed to a good physical game up front and the pack can be proud of their collective efforts.

There was a greater urgency in the backs as well and if it was not for a few unfortunate handling issues we could have racked up more points. That will come over the next few weeks.

Only slightly annoying point from Fozzy’s view was that recently we have started badly and finished well. This week it a bit of the reverse of that with our main efforts coming in the first half; perhaps this does not pay due credit to Jordanhill’s second half display.

Jordanhill managed to take an early lead from what was consider to be a contentious try where Birkmyre clearer believed David Carruth had won the race to touch the ball down in his own area. Good thing was we did not let our heads go down and the rest of the half was very even especially when Graeme Wilson scored for us. As said the second half was noticeable for our higher level of defending but we never gave up and some late points by Jordanhill sealed the game for them.

Fozzy made some very valid points after the game and they can be summarized as saying that if we continue to improve we will start to win. We have been given some tough opening fixtures and have come close on several occasions. A dose of confidence, preparation and maybe even a bit of luck will soon put us on our way.

Mclaren vs. Birkmyre - Saturday, September 17th, 2011 - G. Stein

Saturday saw us travel to a change of ground in Dunblane rather than Callander to face last years league champions in McLaren.

Once again we travelled with a changed 1st XV squad due to a mixture of injuries and work commitments however; still confident with the pool of talent we have of winning the game. Unlike last week both the weather and condition of the pitch were excellent and ideal conditions for running rugby.

Unfortunately I have to report on another loss, this time going down 36-10, Ruaridh was awarded the score for our penalty try (having had a previous try disallowed by the ref) and PJ kicking a penalty and conversion.

Forced to watch the game from the sidelines due to injury certainly gives a different perspective on the match and it’s clear to see where our deficiencies lie.

- We started the game far too slow, a common theme for us is to hold back and see what the opposition has got rather than focusing on our own game plan.
- We were slow to the breakdown and more-often than not were counter-rucked and lost our own ball in the tackle.
- We were slow in defence giving the opposition half-backs too much time and space.

There were positives in the game:

- Our lineouts were very good, we won good clean ball all day, our drives from the lineout were again very good the best I’ve seen us use it. Numerous times we gained ground using this and had their forwards on the back foot.
- Handling was also fine, I would say we had less knock-on’s and bad handling than McLaren.

What is somewhat frustrating is we seem to keep our best play for the last 10mins of matches, Saturday was another example of that, where for the last 10-15 mins of the match we were the better team. We need to start matches in that manner, given a choice I would much rather see us start our matches all guns blazing and putting the opposition under pressure from the 1st min than us finishing matches in that fashion.

On a closing note on behalf of the team would like to thank PJ for his contributions over the last few matches, we are sorry to see this young talented player leave us to join 1st Year at Newcastle Uni and wish him well in Geordie land, we hope that whenever he can he returns home to Birkmyre and represents the club where he will always be welcomed.

Paisley vs. Birkmyre - Saturday, September 10th, 2011 - G. Stein

Saturday saw us travel to close rivals Paisley for our 2nd game of the season in the RBS west league. Again due to a mixture of injuries and work commitments we were missing a number of regular 1st XV players. However we were still confident with the team we selected to collect a win and kick start our season.

With heavy rain over the last few days the pitches were fairly water logged and heavy under foot, not ideal conditions for fast flowing rugby. With tricky, wet conditions the game started with a number of mistakes from both teams resulting in a mixture of handling errors. Paisley using their bigger forward pack put the pressure on and had us camped in our own 22, from a lineout they secured ball enabling them to drive over for the first score.

Paisley were then reduced to 14 men for a dangerous and cynical late challenge whilst we cleared a kick. Whilst a straight red from the referee was perhaps a little harsh and a yellow would have sufficed we were certainly not complaining. Unfortunately we failed then to take advantage of the extra man, unable to get firing on all cylinders we looked as if we somehow expected just to win this match without putting the effort in. Again like earlier games this season we were dominated at the breakdown and rucks by a larger more aggressive pack. When we did get ball, we choose the wrong options and didn’t take advantage of the extra man and create any over laps. Unfortunately we were also reduced to 14 men for a 10 min sin bin through persistent fouling at penalties not returning 10m, we were warned by the ref and this was conveyed to the players from myself so we really have no complaints with the ref on that decision. Paisley remain bolstered by them only having 14 men and continued to battle harder seemingly wanting the result more than us and ran out eventual winners 22-0.

Unfortunately our run of injuries continues this time it was myself who had to leave the pitch, I would personally like to thank Bronwen and Ross for helping me on the touchline and having the 1st attempt of putting my finger back into place and strapping me up. A trip to A & E followed with the resulting X-ray showing a broken bone, completely torn tendon and dislocation. They managed to straighten it out eventually and I now have a permanent splint on it for at least 6 weeks unfortunately. Whilst I’m on the mend Molsy will be captaining the team, please ensure you give him your full support!

Carrick vs. Birkmyre - Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 - G. Stein

Yesterday was when the real business begun with our 1st match in the new restructured RBS West Regional League 3 against Carrick at Birkmyre Park.

Once again our squad available for selection was depleted due to a combination of injuries, work commitments and JP’s Stag do in Magaluf. Therefore our team had to re-shuffle positions again and our front row in particular. However, with the knowledge we had beaten Carrick in all be it very close games last season both home and away we were confident that we could start the league with a win. Emphasis from John and Fozzy was put on our defence which we worked on in the prior Tuesdays session and quick simple phases of play between forwards and backs.

The game itself was a rather patchy affair with no team really playing attractive rugby, a mixture of handling errors and a high penalty count from both teams making it a somewhat stop/start affair. We went into half time with a 6-0 lead coming from 2 well kicked penalties by PJ, unfortunately we missed a further 2 kick-able penalties that half to increase our lead but were pleased to go into half time with a close fought lead.

In the 2nd half Carrick stepped it up a gear with their forwards in particular controlling the game winning turn over ball for them to attack from. The mistakes in handling and kicking that they had in the 1st half were put to bed and they were a lot more consistent and dominant in the 2nd half. We had chances ourselves to get some tries on the board but failed to get the ball wide instead taking the ball into contact and then getting turned over by the larger, more aggressive Carrick forwards.

The score line finished 27-6 in Carrick’s favour and unfortunately we were left with a loss in the 1st league match of the season.

Our Man of the match went to Jonny Dobson who had a very solid performance at Full-Back with some good counter attacking running.

We summarised the match as being similar to the Uddingston Cup game a week earlier in that we played well in patches but not sustaining it for the 80mins taking our foot of the gas too many times, something we need to address quickly.

We need to pick ourselves up swiftly with 2 difficult away matches coming up to Paisley and McLaren respectively we don’t want to start the campaign with a run of defeats so lets see you at training this Tuesday, NO EXCUSES to work on what we did wrong and further improve on the things we are doing right. It’s time for the playing community of Birkmyre to stand up and be counted!

Birkmyre: West Division 2: Fixtures, Results & Match Reports: 2010-2011
Birkmyre: West Division 3: Fixtures, Results & Match Reports: 2009-2010