Cumnock still picked up a crucial losing bonus point which could be vital in the relegation dog fight at the bottom of the table.
It was beautiful day for rugby and both teams responded with some positive attacking rugby, with Loch looking to use their powerful centre pairing to punch holes while Cumnock spread it even wider.
However, strong defence from both sides with stuart hunter again instrumental in the Cumnock defensive effort meant the opening spell of the game was a tight affair with neither team able to record a telling blow.
An early injury to Lee Howie saw scrum half Pete Berrett switch to the wing with new recruit Tannie making his debut, making an immediate impression with his high tempo game. Berret more than held his own in his new role, making some crucial tackles.
Loch had the slight edge in terms of possession but Cumnock’s defence held firm and the boot of Martin Thomson kept Cumnock out of immediate danger.
Cumnock actually came close to scoring with Campbell Reid bursting clear after a well executed short line out. He found himself clear, one on one with the full back but his attempted pass to back row colleague Jamie Thomson didn’t go to hand and Loch were able to scramble their lines clear.
Loch also had their threatening moments and looked to have crossed in the corner after creating an overlap on the right wing. However, the referee called them back after judging a foot had been in touch. Moments later they managed to make amends after manoeuvring a scrum to suit and slick hands left their winger enough space to squeeze over in the corner.
Cumnock had some threatening moments before half time with some dangerous running from full back Findlay Hamilton but were not able to claw back the deficit before half time.
Another injury also disrupted Cumnock early in the second half with Jason Robb forced off after enjoying a good game.
This didn’t seem to have much effect with Cumnock’s forwards carrying strongly with Donald Hunter and paul miller well to the fore. Graeme Dick was also have his most prominent game in a while with some powerful charges in attack and some crunching tackles to back it up.
Cumnock pulled the gap back after stuart hunter fired a long range penalty through the posts, reducing the gap to two points.
Gregor McMillan was characteristically creative on his wing and Cumnock’s next attacking chance came when he broke clear and chipped ahead. His follow up tackle gave Cumnock another opportunity to test out their shortened line out moves and it again worked well as the Loch defence split as they looked more concerned about Stuart Hunter’s forward support than the centre himself. Hunter cruised through the gap before shrugging off the final tackle to score his long awaited first senior try. He was off target with the conversion but Cumnock had the lead at Broomfield.
However, Cumnock didn’t hold it for very long as Loch re-found their form and put Cumnock on the back foot with some strong running from their forwards. Cumnock then lost key man Jamie Thomson after he injured himself making a typically committed tackle out wide.
Loch eventually found a gap in the defence and their big centre cruised through untouched to score his sides’ second touchdown.
Both teams were starting to struggle as the warm weather and intense rugby began to tell on the legs. Loch’s bigger forwards managed to get hold of the ball and rumble forward, not making much ground but retaining the ball and exerting pressure on the tired Cumnock defenders. Eventually they ground their to the try line and despite the best efforts of Kevin Brady, the referee decided they had managed to get the ball to ground and awarded them the try. The conversion was added, giving putting Cumnock too far behind to win. However, they knew that another score of type would be enough to give them a useful bonus point so they set about chasing that. Gregor McMillan had another strong run but was bundled into touch just short.
Loch Lomond had a line out just five metres from the line as the ref announced the last play of the game. The throw went wild and was picked up at the tail of the line by Reid before the ball was shipped wider to man of the match stuart hunter who drove close. The alert Martin Thomson switched the play and fired a miss-pass out to David Kerr who was left with a simple run in to bring his team back into the bonus point range.
The final whistle blew and Cumnock were left with mixed emotions – frustration at passing up chances to win the game but also a much improved performance, showing some real heart in defence and enterprise in attack.
Cumnock now have one league match remaining, facing off to Paisley on April 7 at Broomfield.

Team: G.Montgomery, P.Miller, D.Hunter, K.Brady, G.Dick, J.Thomson, D.Kerr, C.Reid, P.Berrett, M.Thomson, G.McMillan, L.Howie, S.Hunter, J.Robb, F.Hamilton
Subs: R.Heron, J.Gibbes, Tannie, S.Taylor