Report by Craig Williams.

It was the clash between the top 2, with the winner making sure they would be on top of the West 3 league in slightly better conditions. Cumbernauld top of the table 3 points ahead of Birkmyre, but the polar bears with a game in hand.

Both teams were testing each other right from the start to see what areas to exploit. It was Birkmyre who had the best opportunities and momentum in the first 20 minutes. Cumbernauld giving away a few penalties, plus a yellow card saw Birkmyre keeping possession in the badger's half.

Fly half David Cruickshank tried to put points on the board, but the kick went wide. Moments later the bears manged to keep the ball alive, with Cruickshank nailing a wide pass only to be dropped by coach Craig Williams on the wing. Just few minutes later a quick tap penalty to back rower Sione Halaifi saw Birkmyre charge into the opposition 22. However, a 2 on 1 was again wasted by Williams (He knew had 2 big scoring opportunities).

With big physical runs from the forwards, gaps started to appear but Cumbernauld managed to turn the ball over to clear their lines. Birkmyre continued what they were doing, until Cruickshank nailed a penalty in front of posts to take a 3 point lead (0-3)

In the last 5 minutes of the first half, Cumbernauld manage to get a few penalties of their own and worked their way to a 5m line out. Their big pack and centres worked hard testing the Birkmyre defence, until they finally got through for the score.

(5-3) HT

Cumbernauld started where they left off, after a few phases from a scrum and big carriers they managed to off load creating space to score. Kick convert (12-3)

Cumbernauld didn't take the foot of the gas, as their fly half managed to hold the defence to delay a late pass to the full back who used his pace to run through the bears defence to score under the posts. (19-3)

After few head knocks, a yellow card and injuries, the fitness levels took bit out of the Birkmyre engine. Cumbernauld ran in another 2 converted tries, with their offloading and support play. (33-3)

However, Birkmyre managed to get more points. A well executed chip cross field by Cruickshank to winger Ross McDonnell, who then managed to offload back inside to Ross Moglia. (33-8)

Cumbernauld weren’t pleased and manage to create gaps, to then go wide using their winger’s pace to score their final try (40-8)

Birkmyre got the final word though, after a number of phases and movement, winger Ross McDonnell managed to reach over the line in the corner.

FT Cumbernauld 40 - 13 Birkmyre

"A few late call offs and changes had to be sorted. The first half we dominated possession, made small errors but we kept hammering into their 22. I think we would have scored plenty of points. Me personally, I should have done better in my part." – Craig Williams