Bishopton – 14
Birkmyre – 12
Tries; Roberston (2)
Conversions; Catto (2)
Penalties;
Yellow Card; Ralston, Glassford
Competitive rugby made its long awaited comeback to Holmpark this week with the Renfrewshire Cup making a return to Bishopton. With several changes from the win the week before against Irvine the team was raring to go for the 3pm kick off.
Birkmyre kicked the game off and inside five minutes the scoring was opened as Bishopton gained a scrum from an early knock on, the ball was shipped out the back on halfway and Catto hitting Robertson on the hard line through the middle. Robertson, taking the ball at pace and was able to work his way around several Birkmyre players before working his way over the try line and working back towards the posts to touch down. Catto converted the straight forward conversion giving Bish a 7 – 0 lead.
A flurry of penalties were traded throughout the half for both teams as the discipline in the hotly contested derby game. As the game progressed it was Bishopton that were able to strike again, in what could only be considered a full team try. Myre looked to be on the break with a huge overlap on the wing and looked to be surely in for a try. But a crunching last grasp tackle form Moat saw the Birkmyre player stopped in his tracks, with this effort Hogan was able to strip the ball and steal it back. On the spin Hogan was able to pop the ball off to Robertson who once again stuck his afterburners on and ripped away from the Myre defence. It looked like Robertson would be beaten to his second try of the day as he was tripped 5m from the try line, but he was able to find his feet and throw himself over the line. The conversion from Catto was once more clean, giving Bish a 14 – 0 lead.
The action in the first half was not quite over, as Myre looked like they would pull some points back. The Bish defence however was adamant on not letting them cross the line, however a string of penalties close to the try line resulted in Ralston seeing yellow for persistent infringements. Pushing the Bish down to 14 men, but the defence stood firm not letting them cross and seeing out to halftime.
The second half started with Birkmyre putting the pressure on the Bish with the extra man advantage making full use of the numbers before the yellow card returned. Myre received a scrum from a Bish knock on, they worked the ball out the back of the scrum and got the ball out to the wing where the extra man became invaluable and they were able to touch down in the corner. The conversion was wide of the mark and brought the score to 14 – 5 Bishopton.
The next phase of play was error strewn from Bishopton with the penalty count stacking up in Birkmyre favour, this led to a second try, when they took full advantage of Bishoptons errors when they were able to pounce on a loose ball. When Bish looked to be on the attack a loose pass went wild and to the ground. Myre were able to pick the ball up easily and catch Bish on the back foot and walk in for their second try. This time the conversion was good, letting Myre take the deficit to two points at 14 – 12 Bishopton.
Bish then looked to see out the game, with both teams taking advantage of each other’s mistakes, but things apeared to swing back to Birkmyre’s advantage when Glassford was shown a Yellow, this was brandished after a brief scuffle and the referee deciding that he had been the source. The final 5 minutes were a testament to a hard fought battle that had been the game with wing Anderson appearing to get over in the corner as a huge cheer went up on the Bish touch line. But touch was called on his foot as he dove for the line. Myre were then able to clear their line but happened to knock the ball on when chasing it down, allowing Scrum half Carey to control the ball at the scrum and kick the ball to touch from the back securing the win!
Full time result: Bishopton 14 Birkmyre 12.
The Lorimers Man of the Match was Kyle Robertson for a strong defensive display and grabbing both tries for the bish.
The Barnhill Farm Glue Player was Craig McIntosh, who came on in the second half and held his own in the front row having not long made the switch to the position.
A solid win for the Bish as they pushed the Renfrewshire Cup to a winner takes all final game of the round robin. With both teams 2nd XVs playing before the main event at the Anchor in Paisley. 2nd XV KO 13:00 1st XV KO 15:00.
With Paisley to come it will be another tough test for the Bish to see out before the league starts on the 4th September.
