Birkmyre Rugby Club picked up their first away win of the season in what proved to be both a bruising and ill-tempered encounter at Cumbernauld.
The Bears led 12-7 at the half and saw out a spirited attack from the hosts on Saturday towards the end to win this West Division Two clash by five points.
It didn’t take long for Birkmyre to take the lead.
From a scrum on their own 22, skipper Ross Moglia chipped and chased his own kick to recover the ball just short of the halfway line.
Quickly recycling the ball, player of the match Jamie Muir popped a pass to Lewis Higgins who was still well inside his own half.
The speedy full-back broke a tackle and raced down the wing – selling a huge dummy pass to the opposition winger in the process. He ran in under the posts to score then slotted over the conversion as well.
Birkmyre doubled their try count in the 15th minute. From a scrum inside the Cumbernauld 22, they worked the ball across the pitch with the forwards gaining valuable territory.
Moving the ball wide, Ali Peacock made crucial yards before slipping a pass out the back of his hand to Moglia who ran in to score in the corner.
The lead was reduced quickly, however, with Cumbernauld scoring their only try of the half from a scrum following a penalty award to make it 12-7 following the conversion.
The remainder of the half was fairly even with play ebbing and flowing to both ends of the park and neither side were able to gain an advantage.
The penalty count was rising on both sides as were tempers – not helped by the referee gradually losing his grip on the match.
Cumbernauld quickly drew level in the first minute of the second half.
Having won a penalty from the kick-off, they progressed down the pitch to score.
Birkmyre, however, replied only six minutes later. Debutant Lucas Reid had just come onto the field having only turned 18 two days prior.
He collected a loose throw at the back of the line-out and charged into the home side’s 22.
As he was tackled, he slipped the ball to Peacock who ran in at the corner but worked his way close to the posts to assist the conversion.
Tempers shortly spilled over following a few phases of play.
There was some extra-curricular activity following a tackle which led to most of the on-field players converging.
Punches were allegedly swung from players on the home side, however, the referee failed to take any action.
He did yellow card Birkmyre’s Robbie Espie, in the 56th minute, for persistent team penalties but missed a clear stamp on Owen Nicholas’ head a few minutes later which was caught on camera.
Cumbernauld then capitalised on the player advantage to move to within two points of Birkmyre, however, Higgins slotted over a regulation penalty in the 65th minute to stretch the Bears’
lead.
The final 15 minutes were hard fought. Birkmyre were certainly out of favour with the referee as Cumbernauld were awarded a series of penalties late on.
Dogged defending secured a second league win of the campaign with Carrick scheduled to be up next on Saturday in the first round of the National Shield.
Don’t miss the latestRenfrewshire headlines –sign up to our free daily newsletter here