Clydebank Rugby Club took on Cumbernauld RFC on Friday night and came away with full points and a vital bonus point in a hard-fought 26-12 win under the lights in a rearranged fixture at the GHA Rugby Club 3G pitch.
The match was moved to the Friday evening to avoid clashing with the Six Nations on Saturday afternoon with the howling wind and rain making for tricky conditions for both sides.
Both teams started brightly as they tried to run the ball early on but it was the visitors who took an early lead when a nicely timed move sent Dougie Vallance through a gap in the middle of the Cumbernauld defence, with Jack McCombe unlucky to rattle the woodwork with his conversion attempt.
The hosts did well to hit back immediately, however, with some hard running to cross the line with their own conversion opportunity going wide.
Clydebank responded well with the best handling move of the match. The Bankies forwards launched it up into the Cumbernauld 22 and the ball was shipped out wide to Jamie Boyd who threw an audacious behind-the-back switch to centre Finlay Valentine who had an easy run in from 15 meters with McCombe successful from the conversion on this occasion.
Back came the home side as Cumbernauld responded swiftly once again, using their forward to smash into the Bank defence before finishing off with a tidy inside ball to send their back row through. The Badgers then converted as the first-half finished all the level at 12-12.
With the weather worsening, the second-half was a brutal affair with both sides increasing the physicality to gain a much-needed edge.
Clydebank’s Liam Tins Day overstepped the mark physically when he was yellow carded for wrapping the arms in a dangerous tackle.
The Bank defence held firm in his absence, however, before Jamie Boyd went on to also receive a yellow for too much backchat to the referee with Clydebank again able to soak up the extra pressure.
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With both sides searching for the elusive breakthrough, it was a tense second-half as both defences remained resolute.
The Bankies got the first try of the second period with just 10 minutes remaining on the clock. David Warden picked up from a scrum and, instead of a trademark rampaging run, he unselfishly fed it to McCombe who put on the after burners and sprinted down the wing with some impressive skill to cross the line before going on to convert his own try.
With the points now secure, the Bank upped their efforts as they eyed a vital bonus point in the dying minutes. Vallance, who had swapped wings by this stage, scored off an identical move to his first-half effort that opened the scoring, slicing through a massive gap in the Cumbernauld defence to score under the posts. This allowed McCombe to convert with ease from the centre to finish it off 26-12 for an impressive away win against a solid side in tough conditions.
The crucial win moves Clydebank up to fourth place in the West Division Two table and six points off Strathaven in third as they get set to welcome Cumbernauld to the Community Sports Hub tomorrow for the reverse fixture. Kick-off at the Hub is 3pm.
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