Birkmyre’s season came to an end with a defeat on the road to Mid Argyll. Defending was optional as the Lochgilphead side ran up 57 points to Birkmyre’s 28 in a high-scoring encounter.
The home side opened the scoring after 6 minutes by working the ball down the field from a scrum on their own 22-metre line. Some soft tackling allowed them to reach the 5m line, where one of their forwards powered past two further Birkmyre tacklers to score.
In the 12th minute, Birkmyre scored what was probably the try of the match. They won a scrum on the far left, 10m inside their own half. The ball was worked to outside centre Michael McGeoch, who found space to run through. He powered down the pitch and into the opposition 22. As he was about to be tackled close to the sideline, he slipped a clever kick through towards the try line, where Cammy Marr ran through to dive on the ball and touch down a fraction of a second before his opposite number. David Cruickshank converted to draw level.
From the kick-off, Birkmyre were on the offensive again. Having won the ball, the forwards and backs combined to move down the field with pace. After a number of phases, McGeoch was tackled 2m out. The backs called for the ball and Cruickshank fired a wide pass to Marr, cutting out the pressing defenders and allowing him to run in unopposed for his second try.
The seven-point buffer was short-lived as Mid Argyll scored from the next kick-off. Birkmyre botched the catch to concede possession inside their own 22. Four phases later, they scored.
Three minutes later, Alex McKay scored for Birkmyre. The visitors won a scrum 10m from the Mid Argyll line on the left. The ball went right through the hands of Cruickshank, Moglia and McGeoch. The latter popped the ball to McKay, who cut a great line inside to slip in close to the posts.
Mid Argyll closed the lead to two points before taking the lead for the first time in the 31st minute, and then extending the gap to 12 points before half-time.
Birkmyre were confident of making up the deficit. However, six minutes into the second period, David Strachan spent 10 minutes on the sidelines after receiving a yellow card for over-aggressive behaviour. From the resulting penalty, Mid Argyll scored. They then extended their lead further to 24 points while “the Myre” were still down to 14 players. With a little more than 22 minutes remaining, the game was all but over when Mid Argyll scored their eighth try of the match, giving them a 31-point cushion.
In the 75th minute, Cammy Marr completed his hat-trick for Birkmyre. Having won a penalty 5m out, they opted for a tap and go. Cruickshank passed to Moglia, who twisted and turned before releasing the ball out the back of his hand to Marr on the wing to score.
Mid Argyll rounded off the scoring with a further converted try just before the final whistle.
The loss saw Birkmyre fall to sixth place in the league, one point behind Bishopton and three behind Lochaber. Waysiders have been relegated to West Division 3, while Cambuslang have won promotion to Division 1. Should Cumbernauld defeat Irvine in their final fixture with a bonus point, they will also secure promotion ahead of Wigtownshire.
Results – Saturday 25 April 2026
- Cumbernauld RFC 38–14 Uddingston RFC
- Lochaber RFC 74–12 Irvine RFC
- Mid Argyll RFC 57–28 Birkmyre RFC
Table – as it stands
| Team | P | W | L | D | F | A | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambuslang RFC | 15 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 600 | 282 | 318 | 65 |
| Wigtownshire RFC | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 544 | 361 | 183 | 64 |
| Cumbernauld RFC | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 506 | 214 | 292 | 59 |
| Lochaber RFC | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 614 | 373 | 241 | 38 |
| Bishopton RFC | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 404 | 491 | -87 | 36 |
| Birkmyre RFC | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 387 | 563 | -176 | 35 |
| Uddingston RFC | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 491 | 757 | -266 | 34 |
| Irvine RFC | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 347 | 556 | -209 | 23 |
| Mid Argyll RFC | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 348 | 644 | -296 | 17 |
Remaining fixtures
Saturday 2 May 2026
- Irvine RFC v Mid Argyll RFC (3:00pm)
Saturday 9 May 2026
- Cumbernauld RFC v Irvine RFC (3:00pm)
- Mid Argyll RFC v Cambuslang RFC (3:00pm)
Photo: Birkmyre are stopped just short as Mid Argyll defend on their own line
Photo Credit: Fiona Wallace
Photo: Mid Argyll are brought down as Birkmyre close in during the second half
Photo Credit: Fiona Wallace
Photo Credit: Fiona Wallace
Photo: Birkmyre and Mid Argyll contest possession during a high-scoring clash in Lochgilphead
Photo Credit: Fiona Wallace