Having been relegated from SRU West Division 1 at the end of last season Wigtownshire travelled up from Stranraer hoping to prove, in this SRU Shield round 2 match, that their rightful place was in SRU Division 1. East Kilbride (EK), of course, were out to prove differently.

It was EK that opened the scoring when, 3 minutes into the half, Rory Blackwood converted a penalty from long range. This was countered by Wigtownshire try 10 minutes later which gave them a lead that they held onto for a further 20 minutes when another 3 points from Rory Blackwood's boot gave EK a lead that they were not to give up. As the second half drew to its conclusion a drive from a line out close to the visitors' line produced a try claimed by Evan Middleton.

As the game entered its second period EK were holding on to a six point lead. 12 minutes into the half the powerful EK pack drove their opponents into their own in-goal area enabling Justin Ludick to dive into the back row for an unconverted try. As the game wore on EK really took control putting Wigtownshire under extreme pressure at every set scrum and so it was that the last quarter of the game produced a further 3 tries from Gary (Gump) Thornton, Roddy Beaton and Mark (Sparky) Ellison respectively. Rory Blackwood landed the most difficult kick of the afternoon to convert Roddy's try.

On a day when the game hinged on the performance of the pack it is appropriate that the player of the match should have been a forward. This weeks the coaches decided that the award should go to David McGiven for his hard work throughout the game. It seems doubly significant that he should have been awarded this accolade as, standing on the touchline, was former player, David Grant, who older members of the club will remember as a player whose looks and playing style were very similar to those that we see from David McGiven today!

This performance was much improved from that we witnessed two weeks ago. Firstly there was the issue of decision making. Choosing to take two penalty kicks at goal in the first half helped to provide the slender lead that the team built on. In the second half, when the opposition was clearly under pressure in the scrum, taking the option of a scrum when close to the Wigtownshire line brought dividends, particularly in the lead up to Justin Ludick's try. There was, also, some improvisation in team selection. Harry Taggart was unavailable as he was under clear instructions to preserve his good looks for the joint forces parade in George Square on Remembrance Sunday. Chris (Thunders) McLellan had an unavoidable morning commitment that delayed his arrival. When the game kicked off Juan Lee Hodgkinson filled in at hooker and Gary (Gump) Thornton at tight head. The set piece held solid but Chris's throwing in at line outs was missed early in the game with the result that the EK pack did not secure good ball in this phase of the game during the opening quarter. With other players ( e.g. Juan Lee Hodgkinson and Evan Middleton) that can cover the hooker position there is a need for these players to practice their throwing in to provide adequate cover for Chris.

With no game next Saturday (16th November) EK can look forward to their next league encounter, a home game against near neighbours, Cambuslang on 23rd November (KO 2.00 p.m.)