Better times ahead for Dundee and Fife clubs

BT LEAGUES: Plenty reasons to remain optimistic at High, Kirkcaldy and Howe

Weather conditions permitting, this weekend marks the end of club rugby for 2017 with the leagues going into cold storage until January 6, and a good place to take stock of the year of the Midlands’ leading clubs.

There’s been some difficult times on and off the field for some but the year ends with some degree of optimism for all four National League status clubs, with a chance that the number could rise from contenders from the Caledonia League.

Dundee HSFP: The continuing turnover of players in club rugby has been keenly felt by all but particularly at Mayfield, where coach Colin Sangster has High on an upward trajectory but has rarely been able to pick his strongest outfit.

Injuries and availability have meant that the promise of the club’s youth allied to the strong backbone of veterans like Alan Brown and Danny Levison has been slow in producing consistent results, competing with better resourced and equally ambitious clubs in their division.

In recent years, however, High have played their best rugby after New Year, making a late run for a promotion play-off in each of the last two seasons.

There’s no reason why they can’t do the same this year, with Duncan Leese’s recent return giving Sangster plenty of options in the back division, and pack that can adapt to an open or power style.

Kirkcaldy: Definitely the biggest movers in the Midlands this year have been the Blues, who seem primed to make a return to the second tier for the first time since 2011. They’ve gone from a team that won just six games in National Two last season to be clear leaders at the halfway stage.

There had been signs that they were close – their seven losing bonus points were the most of any team in Scottish club rugby last year – but long-time coach Quinny Sanft has got some impetus from new director of rugby Mark Henderson, and an influx of young players from the club’s development stream.

The pack has been Kirkcaldy’s staple so far, with so many of their points coming from scrum and lineout pressure. They are superbly placed out in front of National Two with both their main pursuers having to come to Beveridge Park in the New Year.

Howe of Fife: A year that seemed to promise so much for Howe with the opening of the club’s newly refurbished main stand at Duffus Park had already turned sour with relegation from National One before the disciplinary penalties imposed by Murrayfield as a result of the unacceptable incident on a club bus late in 2016.

But by the time those penalties became public the rebuilding had already begun. New coach Chris Martin is one of the youngest in Scottish club rugby and he’s had to juggle the many suspensions on his playing squad but Howe are now clearly stabilising on the field when they could easily have gone into freefall.

The structure within the club is still strong, the philosophy of growing their own still foremost, and Howe remains one of Scottish club rugby’s best nurseries. There’s every suggestion that 2018 will be a better year at Duffus.

The return of Danny Levison has been a boost for Dundee High, while there is good reason that 2018 will be a better year at Duffus Park.

Head coach Colin Sangster has rarely been able to pick his strongest team due to a continuing turnover of players at Dundee High.