The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Twins fired up for derby battle against old club
There is a lot of excitement building in local rugby circles ahead of the Kirkcaldy-howe of Fife clash in the National League Cup tomorrow night – and no one is more excited than Callum Kennedy.
That is because the Kirkcaldy full-back and his identical twin brother Timmy, who may also be involved for the hosts in the Beveridge Park round two clash, previously used to play for the Howe.
“We grew up playing at Glenrothes and then we moved to Howe of Fife to play some youth rugby as we got into our later teens for the under-16s and 18s,” Callum, 24, explained.
“We were also involved in a bit of senior rugby there, so it will be really good to get the chance to play against Howe of Fife now and come up against some of the guys that we know in their squad.
“In recent years the two clubs have not been in the same division, so we haven’t played them, but as soon as we beat Garnock last weekend we knew that this tie was coming up and we were looking forward to it – you can’t beat a local derby under lights.”
In the round one tie at National Four championselect Garnock last Saturday that Callum references, he scored two tries as National Two Kirkcaldy got through the match 33-29.
Given the Kirkcaldy squad was so stretched due to injury and unavailability that they only travelled with 15 men and no replacements, the result says a lot about the battling qualities that Kirkcaldy possess.
“We knew that it was going to be a hard match given all of the guys we were missing and the way Garnock have been going this season, but we just really dug in and fought for each other to get the win,” said Callum, who previously played rugby league for Newcastle Thunder and had a spell in Australia with Queensland South Magpies.
“The season maybe didn’t start how we’d have liked and it has been up and down in the league but we have shown when we click that we are a good side and being involved in this Cup and now having a home match against Howe of Fife has refocused everyone.
“We especially wanted to win the Garnock match for our supporters at the club because they are always behind us and we wanted to give them a home match at Beveridge Park.
“There will be a few guys back this week and now it is up to us as a squad to try and put in a really good performance on Friday.”
Callum mentioned Kirkcaldy’s ups and downs in the league in 2023-24 and they currently sit eighth having completed all of their fixtures, winning five of 18.
The Howe are in the division below, currently sitting fourth in the table having played all of their 18 games and winning 10 and drawing one of them.
In round one of this cup they defeated league mates Hillhead Jordanhill 36-8 at home, while they have not played Kirkcaldy competitively since 2018.
This should be a closely contested match at Beveridge Park and it kicks off at 7.30pm tomorrow.
• Jamie Thomson of Howe of Fife has been called into the Caledonia Inter-district squad for the upcoming regional event. Jacob Ramsay of Currie Chieftains/kirkcaldy has had to pull out due to injury.
• Don Burns of Kirkcaldy and the Midlands Referee Society has been named Community Referee of the Season for the Caledonia Midlands region as part of the Scottish Rugby Community Recognition Awards.
Burns was involved with the Midlands Referee Society for over 40 years, taking on a variety of roles during this time including secretary, coaching co-ordinator, vice-president, president and his current role as treasurer.
He also serves as treasurer for the Scottish Rugby Referees Association (SRRA) and is treasurer for the Caledonia referee allocation expenses, in doing so serving all the
Caledonia societies. These are often jobs which fly under the radar but are pivotal to the daily running of clubs and regions alike.
Burns has never sought recognition for his work, just showing incredible commitment to the cause of rugby refereeing.
Rugby in the Caledonia Midlands area has greatly benefited from his invaluable work, and Ben Evans from the Midlands Referee Society said: “Don’s passion for the game is second to none.
“He works away in the background in many facets of the game for refereeing and at club level. He is always on hand to guide new referees – and the oldies as well – without any invitation.
“He is quiet and unassuming about what he does for referees and rugby in general.”