Lasswade in narrow home league opener defeat

Lasswade opened their National League 2 campaign with a home fixture against Kirkcaldy on Saturday, following promotion last season.

The Fife side are long-term participants at this level but were third from bottom last season in spite of winning nine games and drawing one from the 22.

Stephen Hunter led the Lasswade team out as captain again and Brian Hughes continues as head coach.

Most of the faces in the line-up were regulars from last season’s championship winning team but there were three debutants in Robert Letson at No 6, Grant Innes at 13 and Alan Haynes at 15.

Darren Tiffney holds onto the ball for Lasswade. Photos by Dean Gibb.

Conditions were near perfect for rugby with only the lightest of breezes - blowing for once toward Rosewell.

The first half was a battle of the defences fought mostly between the 22’s and punctuated all too frequent by penalties, mostly at the tackle breakdowns.

Matt Smith converted four of these for Lasswade and Letham two for Kirkcaldy.

Neither try line had been particularly threatened but in first half stoppage time from a scum on the visitor’s 22, Lucas Orsi jinked and dummied his way through a gap in the Kirkcaldy line to touch down near the posts and clinch his claim on Lasswade’s player of the match.

Ally Lamond comes away with the ball for Lasswade. Photos by Dean Gibb

Smith’s conversion brought up the 19-6 half time score.

The second half was well under way before Kirkcaldy broke their try duck as Turner took the ball at the back of a lineout within the home 22 and bullocked his way to the line and Letham’s conversion made it 19-13.

Play continued to swing between the 22’s until, with a quarter hour to go, a Kirkcaldy throw-in 10 metres from the home line.

The visitors retained possession through several recycles as the ball moved across the park until Littlejohn drove his way past the stretched defenders to the line.

Letham’s conversion established the narrowest of leads.

Lasswade narrowly missed a penalty in the remaining time and were pressing hard within reach of the visitors' line for the closing five minutes but could not get the ball down.

A somewhat disappointing start for Lasswade and an indication of the competitive standard of this division which will be further tested when Lasswade travel to Dumfries Saints this Saturday.

Saints came a somewhat distant third last season with 14 wins from 22 league matches. Kick-off for this league match is 3pm.

Elsewhere in Tennent's National League 2, Peebles beat Cartha Queen’s Park 43-23, Falkirk beat Dumfries Saints 21-19, Preston Lodge beat Borroughmuir 33-12 and Glasgow Academicals beat Newton Stewart 27-5.

Meanwhile, Lasswade Colts won at the weekend, defeating Stewart's Melville 21-9 at home.

And on Sunday, Lasswade RFC’s women’s team played their first ever two games, at Meadowmill Sports Centre, against Stirling County Falcons and Perthshire. With Lasswade defeating Perthshire 20-10. The other score was unavailable.