Villagers Claim Revenge in Lanarkshire Derby

Waysiders Drumpellier 5 - 12 Uddingston

Having lost out the last time the sides met, the Villagers went into Saturday’s BT West Division 2 fixture against Waysiders Drumpellier looking to secure their opening win of 2018, and to consolidate their place in the top half of the league table. With the 2nd XV match between these 2 clubs having been conceded earlier in the week by WD, due to shortage of players, it was all down to the 1st XV to bring home the points.

Shorn of a few of their more experienced campaigners, the Villagers fielded a starting 15 containing 7 players under the age of 21. However, the young guns proved that they can do it on their own when they need to.

The first half was all Uddingston, and they worked the ball up the field nicely through hard running and clever kicking from Kidd and Watson. The first try came after some good build up in the centre from the forwards and the ball was spun wide to Matt Watson, on his return to fitness, who crossed over in the corner for an unconverted try.

With 25 minutes played it was 18 year old Andrew Watson who added the second try for Uddingston. A pod of forwards followed Jamie McPherson into contact, and the resulting quick ball was worked wide to Watson who rounded the winger and the fullback to score. Gavin Kidd added the extras for a well-deserved 12-0 lead. Waysiders finally had some possession towards the end of the half but foiled their own hard work when their number 8 collected a yellow card for careless use of the boot on an Uddingston player. The Villagers went into the half-time break pleased with a good first half but they will also have rued some missed opportunities.

In the second half Waysiders decided to stop kicking the ball away as much and so were able to spend more time in possession. They had large periods of multi-phase possession but didn't take enough risks to trouble the Uddingston defence who turned them over once they got to the Villagers’ 22, and cleared their lines for the process to start again. The most dangerous player in the WD side was their full back and it was little surprise that he broke this pattern, hitting a great line off his 12 to score with 18 minutes remaining. The conversion was no good and the scoreline moved to 12-5.

The last 10 minutes were very scrappy as both teams ripped possession multiple times before returning the gift. As the final whistle approached Waysiders were again repelled in the 22 as the ball was ripped and Kidd kicked it out for the win. Man of the match was Andrew Watson who grows in confidence with every game.

The win sees the Villagers sitting 4th in the table, with only points difference separating them from Strathendrick and Cumbernauld in 2nd and 3rd.

Next Saturday, 13th January, both 1st and 2nd XV’s are scheduled to be at home for their respective league fixtures. The 1st XV host top of the table Cumnock while the 2nd XV have a rescheduled fixture against Paisley. Both matches kick off at 2pm