Season begins in earnest

This weekend heralds the start of the new season with the youth Inter-district Championships taking place at Peffermill while Midland leagues get under way in limited form.

The local match programme is curtailed due to some student teams not yet fully functioning. However last season’s Division 1 champions Dundee Wanderers II can anticipate a positive start to their title defence with home advantage over newlypromoted St Andrews University IV.

Madras ladies will also be looking to hit the ground running in their clash with local rivals St Andrews IIIs.

In Division 2 St Andrews V provide a welcome for newly-formed Kinross III, Monarchs entertain Stirling University II, but whether the contest between Madras II and Blairgowrie goes ahead is unconfirmed.

The league season for men’s clubs will begin next Saturday.

The Premiership, until now Division 1, will start with Grove Menzieshill at home to Hillhead while Dundee Wanderers, who should have met Uddingston, will not do so until the following Sunday, the day after they start against Clydesdale.

Perthshire and St Andrews University are scheduled to be away to Dunfermline Carnegie and Glasgow University in Division 2, while Monarchs and Harris are away to Highland and Granite City Wanderers in Division 3.

The Midland League also starts that weekend.

Division 1 is now nine teams compared with 12 the previous season meaning that one team will be idle each weekend.

Champions St Andrews University II start at home to Wanderers III and Wanderers II, likely to be St Andrews’ nearest rivals, are at home to Madras.

Harris II face Perthshire III and Menzieshill III are at home to Dundee University.

The Sunday division is essentially a development league but with only six teams who will play three times over the season.

There are two teams from Menzieshill and one each from Wanderers, Harris, Monarchs and Perthshire.