Birkmyre open season with 25-25 draw against Irvine

Birkmyre 25 – 25 Irvine
Arnold Clark West Region League Division 2
Saturday 22nd August 2026 – KO 2pm

Birkmyre Rugby Club opened their season with a hard-fought draw at home against Irvine on Saturday at Birkmyre Park.

The 25-25 scoreline was probably fair on both sides. However, they both dominated play at times and the match could have gone either way.

Birkmyre were playing with a youthful side. Two 18-year-olds, Charlie Dunnet and Max Potter, and 17-year-old Jamie Stein were making their debuts. They were also missing five regular starters due to a wedding and injury.

Birkmyre started the livelier of the sides, opening the scoring in the second minute. Having won a scrum from the initial kick-off, they went wide right in first-phase play. The ball made it to full-back Lewis Higgins, who danced past three defenders to score in the corner. The conversion from the touchline was narrowly missed by David Cruickshank.

The lead was short-lived as two minutes later Irvine equalised. From a tap-and-go penalty 5m out, they rumbled back and forth with their forwards and, after a few phases, crashed over for the try.

Birkmyre then gained a foothold in the game, capitalising on Irvine’s indiscipline in giving away penalties. This allowed Cruickshank to slot over two kicks within a 10-minute spell to take the lead to 11-5.

However, before the half was out, Irvine scored two more tries but, on each occasion, were unable to slot over the conversions, one of which was right in front of the posts. This would prove costly for the visitors over time.

At the whistle, Irvine led 15-11.

Irvine extended their lead further four minutes after the restart. Again, the conversion was missed.

Birkmyre were then reduced to 14 players when veteran Gordon Stein saw yellow for not releasing while defending close to the line. Irvine capitalised on the player advantage to score again and take their lead to 14 points.

The game then turned with just under 20 minutes remaining when Irvine’s No.1 saw red for a dangerous high tackle.

It only took four minutes for Birkmyre to capitalise when Cammy Davidson crashed over from 10m out following a penalty close to the line.

Although Birkmyre were now in the ascendancy, further points were hard to come by.

However, with seconds remaining, the home side won a penalty 20m out. They went right and left, stretching a tiring defence, and after several phases the ball fell to Liam Nicholas.

From 10m out, he broke a couple of tackles to score close to the posts, leaving Birkmyre two points down.

Cruickshank then stepped up and coolly slotted over the kick to tie the match as the final whistle was blown.

The draw leaves Birkmyre mid-table after week one. They are on the road next Saturday as they take on Lochaber in Fort William.

With thanks to Fiona Wallace for the photographs.