Consistency is now name of their game for EK rugby club

Nov 19 2008 by Paul Thomson, East Kilbride News

FOR what seems like the first time since the round ball took on its funny shape, East Kilbride Rugby Club notched up their fourth consecutive away win, beating Annan 17-6 on Sunday.

When a side is consistently winning – East Kilbride have now won five of their last six games – players are more likely to ignore niggling injuries, and so it is proving with the East Kilbride lads.

Even faced with the prospect of a Sunday trip to Dumfries and Galloway, due to the international match on Saturday, East Kilbride had to make only one change from last weekend’s win at Royal High.

Johnny Watson celebrating his 49th birthday was given the call to arms as replacement for the unavailable Ally McNiven.

Watson's lean frame helped considerably in the loose, but without Ally Dalgleish and Sandy Bruce the pack lacks a little ballast, and scrummaging was problematic all afternoon.

The home side's agricultural pack held sway, and Ian Stevenson toiled manfully at the base of the scrum to produce usable ball for his outside backs.

East Kilbride held a slight edge at the breakdown, and while they were guilty of not always having enough men involved in the ruck, they did manage to turn over a decent amount of Annan ball.

Where East Kilbride were streets ahead though was defensively – not only was the tackling strong enough to floor the ball carrier each time, but the local lads also managed to hold their shape throughout the contest.

When a defender has faith in the ability of the man inside him to make his tackle, he will tend to retain his place in the formation, and when players don't drift out of position the line remains strong.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Annan were unable to score a try, despite having the lion's share of possession.

East Kilbride on the other hand scored three times, through Watson, ‘Duck’ MacDonald and the Bert ‘Kicking Hooker’ Blackwood, who converted only his own score and, in truth, EK should have easily picked up the four try bonus.

MacDonald blotted his copybook when his ageing legs left him unable to complete the job following an interception in his own half.

Centres Fraser Little and Callum Simpson were both guilty of poor finishing, carving open the home defence time and again, yet failing to convert any of their chances.

At a ground where East Kilbride have traditionally struggled, the win was achieved without playing a great deal better than the home side.

This comment is not as flippant as it perhaps first sounds, for it illustrates that East Kilbride Rugby Club have gotten into the habit of winning matches.

And when a side adopts this mental attitude they tend to find it easier to win than lose.

The unbeaten away run for the local side will, however, be put to the test this Saturday as the second half of the league campaign gets underway with a difficult trip to the capital city to play Murrayfield Wanderers.