On a bright, dry, sunny day at Torrance House, East Kilbride (EK) kicked off to get the game against local rivals Cambuslang (Cambus) underway. EK attacked early but it was Cambus that claimed the first score when, following an EK offence, they kicked to touch close to the EK line and, from the ensuing line-out, bulldozed their way over the line to claim the first try of the match. This sequence of plays set the pattern for the afternoon. While EK responded to Cambus' opening score with a Justin Ludick try converted by Grant Dryburgh. The remainder of the half followed the pattern described above - EK attacked, ceded possession and Cambus responded with tries on the 20th and 37th minutes of the half, the latter of which was converted to make the half time score EK 7, Cambus 17.

To win this game EK needed to overcome a deficit 10 points in the second half. This, however, was not to be the way things worked out as EK continued to hand possession to their opposition. A fourth Cambus try 20 minutes into the half saw them increases their lead to 17 points. This lead was reduced 5 minutes later when Ben Walters forced his way through despairing tackles for a score converted by Scott Shankie. At this point in the game a late surge by EK could have turned things around but it was not to be as Cambus turned the ball over and created space for their no. 8 to score. This score put the possibility of victory beyond EK though they did manage a consolation try scored by Craig McKenzie and converted by Scott Shankie.

This was a game in which EK spent a considerable amount of time in the opposition half but failed to turn territorial advantage into points as indiscipline, poor handling and failure to support the ball carrier saw them hand the initiative over to Cambus. On the positive side RI Murphy returned after a lengthy absence from the game and turned in a creditable performance at stand off as he distributed well and made some telling breaks. The Calderwood brothers, Robert and Simon, nos. 11 and 14 respectively, made their first appearances of the season and in the pack Evan McKelvie made his first start with Logan McGeough and Lewis Kerr coming off the bench. With academy graduates coming into the 1st XV our coaches will have a sound base from which to build as season 2025-2026 approaches. On the day, the player that stood out in an EK jersey was no. 8, Ben Austin and he is the EK player of the match.

The season will be wound up next Saturday when Oban Lorne will be the visitors. A win will see EK finish in 5th place, but they will have to beat the opposition by 43 points or more to leapfrog Strathaven and Dalziel to finish in 4th place.