BIGGAR journeyed south of the Border to take on North Division1 West side Penrith.

Around 23 players made the trip and put in a good shift to provide more food for thought for the coaching team.

There were certainly plus points from the youngsters in the side all of whom again showed up well with little obvious in the way of nerves.

There was also a debut for newcomer Francois Nel from South Africa who arrived on Friday. Although very tired after his journey north he showed that he will be an asset to the side.

Robbie Lavery also showed some excellent touches with some really fast feet which created space. Biggar’s task is to be able to latch onto his running to collect off-loads and to better secure ball after the tackle.

The pack again performed well at scrum time if not always at the lineout. Unlike last week the game was competitive throughout which provided a much greater test.

Props Andrew Howatson, Paul Davidson, Craig Bachurweski and Donald Voas all worked really hard and certainly enjoyed equal share of the ball.

A soft score just at the start of the match gave Penrith an early bonus but the remainder of the first two quarters was really even, Biggar unable to convert pressure into points and then conceding a second try just before what was half time after the Penrith prop crashed over for a well taken try.

There was again some great endeavour on show and this was eventually rewarded with a try for Alan Warnock who rounded off a great passage of play with some good straight running from the pack, Craig Simmons, Lavery and Voas all involved.

The momentum was almost lost after a ball squirted out of what was the last ruck, Davidson reacting quickest to secure ball on the ground and allow Biggar to press home their attack.

The final quarter saw Biggar’s youngest XV take the field. Penrith exploited that relative inexperience although they still had to work for their scores.

Biggar’s final warm up match sees Musselburgh make the trip to Hartree Mill on Saturday - kick off is at 3pm.