Uddingston Rugby Club made the journey to Fintry on Saturday to face Strathendrick in their RBS West Division 2 fixture in what was to become a top v bottom encounter. The final score of 46-6 was enough to take Strathendrick back to top spot, while Oban’s victory the week before had been enough to see them step above the Villagers at the foot of the table.

The Villagers found themselves chasing the game from the opening minutes, Sam Greenock slotting a penalty for handling in the ruck by the Uddingston defence. Five minutes later, ex Scotland player Rory Kerr cut open the Villagers defence before offloading to Ewan McKay who barged over for the game’s opening try. Greenock was again on target giving the hosts a 10-0 advantage. Strathendrick extended their lead further from the restart, piling back into Uddingston’s half before an offside decision gave Greenock another simple kick for 13-0.

When they got clean ball the Villagers showed that they were not without pace or skill, but too often a lack of support, and the strength of the home defence snuffed out any opportunity that had been created. With 17 minutes played the home side stretched their lead to 20 points, Callum Ferguson doing the damage following some solid defensive work. Greenock again added the extras.

The home side’s third try came on 24 minutes when Ewan McKay charged through the Villagers defence providing Dave McGuffie with the scoring opportunity. Greenock maintained his 100% kicking with another successful conversion moving the score to 27-0.

With the home side looking to secure the 4 try bonus before half time Uddingston tightened up their defence and put in a solid spell, preventing their hosts from adding to their tally. The final word of the half went to Uddingston when Gordon Burns landed a penalty following a ruck infringement by Strathendrick.

The late score gave the Villagers a lift and they made a lively start to the second half. Burns doubled the Uddingston score 3 minutes into the half when the home side were again penalised at the breakdown. Unfortunately for the Villagers this sparked their hosts back into life and Strathendrick increased their intensity, pounding the Villagers try line. Some brave defensive work kept them at bay and it took until the hour mark before the 4th try eventually came for Strathendrick, Steven Bastock sprinting home to score behind the posts, allowing Greenock an easy conversion.

The closing quarter of the match saw Strathendrick score a further 2 tries, both from Bastock, with Greenock adding a conversion for a final score of
46-6.

The Villager’s 2nd XV enjoyed a more productive afternoon, securing a 32-7 home victory over Lanarkshire rival Waysiders Drumpellier.
In their first match since early November the Villagers produced an excellent display of rugby, despite the soft conditions underfoot, and were always in control. Chris King top scored on the day with 3 well taken tries while Chris Gibson added a try and Captain Kevin Kidd completed the scoring with a try, 2 conversions and a penalty, for a personal haul of 12 points.

Next Saturday, 21st January, both XV’s are at home on league duty. The 1st XV host Lanarkshire neighbours Strathaven while the 2nd XV entertain Lenzie. Both matches kick off at 2pm