Falkirk 44

Biggar 14

Al Stewart at Sunnyside

AFTER the high spots of last week in scoring seven tries and 44 points it was back down to earth with a bump for Biggar when they conceded as many points against promotion hopefuls Falkirk.

The encounter back in November at Hartree Mill saw Biggar cause an 'upset' when they comfortably defeated Falkirk but the Central region side have since been unbeaten and with the prospects of promotion becoming ever more a reality they were not going to let that happen again.

Biggar contributed much to the match causing Fakirk all sorts of problems in the tight scrum where they were largely dominant and also in open play where some of their driving and support play was excellent.

Unfortunately Biggar couldn't sustain that level of play and a number of errors led to scores for Falkirk whose pace, dynamism and good angles wreaked havoc in defence.

Falkirk scored their first try after six minutes, following several hits, reduced Biggar's defence.

Minutes later and both sides lost men to the sin-bin as the referee took exception to a couple of scrums which collapsed.

Dan O'Connell was Biggar's man in the bin and this saw Calvin Henderson move forward from flank forward to prop, his more accustomed position.

Good off-loads paved the way for Falkirk's next score while Stevie Campbell made some great thrusts into the heart of the Falkirk defence. Biggar ran hard at Falkirk but without the acceleration of the host side who were largely able to contain these thrusts.

Half time then with a 22-0 gap but with Biggar turning with the wind on their backs.

Falkirk switched their front row at the break and this did much to counter Biggar's forward effort. A scrum penalty and then a try directly from the next set piece did nothing to help Biggar's cause but they were soon rewarded with a try from Campbell who rounded off a good period of attacking play involving some good pick and drives. Richard Peacock added the conversion.

Both sides scored tries, Henderson crossing after some good work at the lineout from Andrew Peacock and Ewan Stewart, Richard Peacock converting again for Biggar's final 14 point tally.

The home side had the final word however with a last try to record their comfortable win.

Plus points came from the driving play of the forwards with Campbell, Stewart, Peacock and Voas to the fore. David McArthur and Kev Robison made their mark coming off the bench.

Biggar have now just three league games left against Cartha (away, this Saturday), Ardrossan Accies (home, March 26) and then Whitecraigs (away, April 2). There should be the opportunity to pick up some more points from these fixtures.

Biggar: R. Peacock, A. Sinclair, G. Jamieson, R. Lavery, C. McDonald, A. Jardine, D. Reive, Donald Voas, E. Stewart, D. O’Connell, Z. Lyon, A. Peacock, C. Henderson, A. Warnock, S. Campbell. Reps: D. McArthur, K. Robison, S. Elder, A. Howatson