Dundee quick out of blocks against Cartha

BT NATIONAL LEAGUE: Great start eases home side’s nerves

Having endured a miserable November which started with a loss at Aberdeen Grammar Rugby, then having to concede their BT Cup tie to Marr, Dundee went into their match against Cartha understandably a tad nervous.

They put those concerns behind them though as they blasted away to a 22-0 lead, thanks to tries from flanker Lewis McNamara, centre Neil Herron and fullback Kieran Scoular, with Harvey Young nailing two conversions and a penalty.

Cartha were by no means out of it and came back with a try from prop Juan Phyfer, converted by Colin Davidson. Young slotted a penalty for Dundee, but again Cartha reduced the margin with a Matt Gray try converted by Davidson.

Prop James Forrester’s try clinched the bonus point for Dundee and Duncan Leese made it five, but Callum Spriddle gave the Dumbreck men the final say with a late try taking the score to 35-21.

Despite that win, Dundee still sit in seventh spot in BT National 1, but only six points separate them from third placed Selkirk. Although Jed and leaders Edinburgh Accies are stretching away at the top, there is still much for the Mayfield men to play for. They are away to Falkirk next week, with the hapless Sunnyside outfit still to break their duck, and end the year with Gala at Mayfield, two very winnable games.

The Howe of Fife BT National 2 match against Lasswade fell prey to the weather which was probably a greater disappointment for the visitors who are handily placed in the league.

If Kirkcaldy are seriously going to make a challenge for the BT National 2 title there are certain matches where they have to grind out wins and one of those is at Leigh Bent.

That is exactly what they did against Hamilton and even managed to depart Lanarkshire with a try bonus point.

James Howatson, Ross Inglis and Andy Wilson touched down for Hamilton, with Owen McLeish landing a penalty, but the four strikes for Kirkcaldy came from Owen and Rhys Bonner, Dayle Turner and Greg Wallace with Owen Bonner slotting two conversions to nail a crucial win in their campaign.

Kirkcaldy now sit six points clear of Dumfries and eight ahead of Lasswade in third, although they now have a game in hand after the postponement of Saturday’s game at Duffus Park.

That is Kirkcaldy’s next destination before they host Peebles at Beveridge Park for the final match of the year giving them not the easiest of run-ups to Christmas but one which this current side could well take in its stride.

Not a lot can be said about the disaster that befell Perthshire at Highland as the Inverness side kept up their challenge for a top two spot in BT National 3 with a 78-22 win.

Credit to Shire, they did manage three tries but after turning round 33-10 down, there was no way back.

Perthshire have accumulated 13 points, which keeps them out of the drop zone at the moment, but with Gordonians away and title-chasing Newton Stewart at home before the festive break, it gets no easier for the North Inch men.