Unbeaten run grinds to a halt

Endrick lose out in Loch Lomond forward battle

Loch Lomond ............. 5 Strathendrick ............. 0 Strathendrick stay top but their winning run in BT West League Three came to a disappointing end at Bonhill on Saturday when the only score of the match gave Loch Lomond a 5-0 win.

A bitterly cold wind blew for much of the time but otherwise, with a fairly dry pitch, it was a good day for a game of running rugby but sadly there wasn’t much of that and instead it was 80 minutes of hard slog between the two packs.

Over the piece the ball was carried into either 22 no more than half a dozen times and the try line hardly ever threatened.

As expected Loch Lomond fielded a big powerful pack and all through they had a slight edge in the line out and in the set scrums caused problems for Endrick for much of the time.

Endrick kicked off into the wind and the early exchanges although mainly in the Loch Lomond half did not look like producing a score.

Almost quarter of an hour had gone before the home side made a serious inroad into the Endrick half but they made it pay. A well controlled maul took their pack from halfway up to and over the line where Endrick managed to hold them up. It was only a temporary respite and the homesters were able to drive the five metre scrum over for a try near the corner.

The Fintry men responded immediately and it looked for a time that their backs’ pace would bring them back into the game. Unfortunately it was a day when the wrong option seemed to prevail and promising moves regularly came to nothing when the ball carrier turned into a wall of maroon and yellow with team-mates screaming for a pass.

The pattern of play remained unchanged for the rest of the half and for much of the second half. With just over 10 minutes left for play Loch Lomond had a man yellow-carded and the one man advantage looked like it might be a saver for Endrick. However, the game continued to be a slog between the eight forwards on each side and Endrick had little chance to make the extra man count.

Before the end the numbers were even when Mark Scott had one or two injudicious words for the referee and was asked to sit out the last couple of minutes. It was a miserable end to a miserable afternoon.

Endrick: Carswell; McLaughlin, North, Cuthbertson, McGill; Campbell, Doyle; Scott, McNeill, McKay, Calderwood, Nixon, Tacquet, Ogilvy and Callander. Replacements: Anderson, Christie, Gibson, McDonald and Moore.

Endrick are next in action in the BT West Regional Bowl on Saturday, November 19 when they visit Wigtownshire.