Uddingston Rugby Club slipped from the top of Scottish Hydro West Division Two on Saturday when they lost 7-0 in a tight local derby match at Strathaven.

Having shared 8 tries and 56 points in their previous league encounter the supporters of both Clubs were expecting another afternoon of open running rugby. Unfortunately for both sides the heavy rain of the last week had left the pitch soft and muddy, and the ball wet slippy. Given the conditions, it was no real surprise that the half time whistle went with the score still at 0-0, with neither side having been able to make any real penetration or set up a decent scoring opportunity.

The second half, much to the frustration of both sets of supporters, started in much the same way with neither side able to get sufficient momentum to make the break through.

The Villagers were enjoying the majority of territory and possession during the opening exchanges of the second half and thought they had broken the deadlock on 55 minutes only to have the referee decide that the ball hadn’t been grounded. The Villagers frustration was increased when photographic evidence was produced showing the ball had been touched down as Convery dived across the line.

Five minutes later Uddingston had their second scoring opportunity of the day, with the first kickable penalty of the match. The angle proved too tight for Mackay and the kick fell short of the uprights leaving the scoreboard still undisturbed.

With time running out it was becoming increasingly obvious that the first score would win the match. As the villagers pressed to get into the Strathaven half they were awarded a penalty just on halfway. Kicking for the lineout the Villagers failed to find touch and Strathaven gathered the ball and set off on a counter attack from their own 22. As the home side powered into Uddingston territory a missed tackle allowed a simple offload to David Paton who outpaced the cover defence to cross the line and get himself round behind the posts before touching down for the try. Lewis Ferguson made sure of the conversion giving the home side a 7-0 advantage with 5 minutes to play.

Despite a full scale assault on the Strathaven try line in the closing minutes the Villagers were unable to find a way through leaving the home side to celebrate a hard fought victory.

This defeat coupled with closest rivals Moffat’s narrow victory over McLaren see the Villagers slip to second in the table, 3 points behind Moffat but with a vital game in hand.

Next Saturday, 14/11, the Villagers take a break from league action when Clydesdale are the visitors to Bothwell castle Policies in a Scottish Hydro Regional Bowl Preliminary Round tie. Kick off is at 1.30pm
Uddingston’s 2nd XV were very unlucky to lose out to league leaders Kilmarnock when they met at Bothwell Castle Policies.

Despite playing the full match with only 14 players the Villagers put in a tremendous performance, but ultimately lost out 22-19. Tries from Laurie, Cameron and Fern, with 2 conversions from Scally made up the Villager’s points.

This was a brave performance from the young Villagers, and having now lost their last 3 matches by no more than 5 points the first win of the season cannot be far away.