Pummelling at Ellon leaves Alloa rooted to bottom spot

The weather struck with a vengeance, playing havoc with the programme in all four of the regional leagues on Saturday. The severity of the frost meant very few fixtures went ahead.

With so many matches having been postponed this season, and some teams having a many as three games in hand, the league tables have taken on a distorted view.

Alloa made the trip to meet Ellon on Caledonia Division One duty but it proved to be a tough afternoon for the Earlsfield men, who were swept aside by a strong home squad.

Alloa could only manage two kicks in response to a flood of tries, as the hosts eased to an 82-6 win. The result leaves the visitors rooted to bottom spot in the table with only one success in five fixtures, and sees Ellon leapfrog Grangemouth Stags and Glenrothes to occupy third spot.

Kinder conditions, albeit still bitterly cold, in St Andrews meant the match between Madras and Panmure was the sole survivor in Division Two. It proved to be an entertaining affair between two of the league’s in-form sides.

First-half tries by Ethan Snitch, Glen Feighan and Kyle Davidson, plus a conversion from Rory Seymour, saw the visitors establish a 17-5 lead, which they still held at the interval after a solid defensive effort at the end of the opening 40 minutes as Madras battled to stay in the game.

Pannie, with flanker Euan

Binmore in great form, stepped up the pace in the second period and further touchdowns from Connor Lane and Iain Anderson were converted by Seymour, who also banged over a penalty, to secure all five league points. The win moves the Broughty Ferry side, who were playing their last league game of 2019, up to second, eight points behind Carnoustie.

Meanwhile, Madras, for whom this was only a second defeat of the campaign, have slipped to third, although with a game in hand. They will have an opportunity to leapfrog Pannie when they travel to meet Kirkcaldy seconds later this month.

It was a wipeout in Division Three, with all five games called off.

The one game in Division Four to beat the freeze saw league leaders Stobswell welcome Bo’ness. It was a good afternoon for the Downfield men who took all five league points from a 61-17 win that extends the gap at the top to eight points over Dunfermline thirds, who now have two games in hand.

It was an excellent effort, with the tries shared across the team. Pacy winger Joe Taylor earned the nod as man of the match for his impressive contribution as Stobswell bagged a four-try bonus point for the fifth time in six matches.

However, coach Jim Michie has warned against complacency, insisting there is still a lot of work to do before Stobswell can begin to think about contending for silverware.