On a warm, sunny afternoon at Torrance House Oban Lorne (OL) kicked off to get what turned out to be an exciting contest underway. It was OL that attacked initially but sound defensive work in which David McGiven impressed kept the visitors at bay. With the game moving from end to end and both sides conceding penalties at the breakdown some time elapsed before the first score came. 25 minutes into the half East Kilbride (EK) broke the deadlock. Richie Murray put a well placed grubber kick through the OL defence. Rory Blackwood latched on to the ball and scored between the uprights giving Richie an easy conversion.

With EK holding a narrow (7-0) lead at half time the game was very much in the balance, so players and supporters alike celebrated EK's next score. With less than 10 minutes of the half played EK secured possession on the left, moved it through the hands until Alex Irvine took the final pass to touch down in the middle of the field. Another easy (if they ever are) conversion from Richie Murray's boot gave EK a 14 point lead . This lead was reduced a few minutes later when the OL No. 9, who had been lively all game, completed an impressive solo effort with a try in the left corner. With the conversion reducing EK's lead to 7 points a reaction was called for. It came less than ten minutes later. George Fisher, who joined the fray from the replacements bench, had a characteristic run on the right before unselfishly passing the ball to Evan Martin whose touch down was converted by Richie Murray. OL fought back with an unconverted try before EK claimed a try bonus with Alistair Marriott's touchdown, converted, this time, by George Fisher. With the time running out OL kept the game very much alive. Two tries, one of which was converted. brought them to within a single try of the EK total. They continued to attack but, when they conceded a penalty on the stroke of full time captain for the day, Mark (Sparky) Ellison took a tap penalty before, with what he claims to be his last kick of the ball before retiring, punting it off the field and on to the cricket outfield where it did not, it seemed, upset the game in progress there.

In this, the last game of the current (2024-2025) season, EK did enough to win. While some of the problems that have been their undoing in previous fixtures, missed tackles, indiscipline at the breakdown and handling errors, were apparent there were a lot of positives. Ri Murphy, who returned to the side last week after a long absence, made some impressive runs from defence. Young players, academy graduates, Logan McGeough, Logan Cairney-Paul, Euan MacFarlane, Daniel Cruikshanks and Evan Mckelvie were all involved and, such was their poise and confidence, they looked as if they had been there throughout the season. We look forward to seeing them take the field when the 2025-2026 season kicks off. With new blood coming in it was also time to witness Mark (Sparky) Ellison's farewell as he is hanging his boots up after having been a great servant of the club from mini-rugby days to the present. Mark was captain for the day yesterday, a role which he carried out most effectively, as well as performing very well in his preferred position of scrum half. On a day when identifying an EK player of the match was made difficult by the number of highly creditable performances in all parts of the field Mark's solid, confident performance makes him the EK player of the match.

With the league season now over we look forward to 2025-2026. Based on current league positions and in anticipation of the announcement of league fixtures for the coming season we say goodbye to Kilmarnock (promoted) and to Cambuslang and Bishopton (relegated) and we will welcome new opponents, Greenock Wanderers, Strathendrick and Carrick, all of which we have played against in past years. Now is the time for everyone, players, coaches and supporters to reflect on the season that has just come to a close, find something to fill their Saturday afternoons, and prepare for the coming season.