On Saturday Biggar played host to Musselburgh, the club which effectively took Biggar’s National League 1 place following last seasons’ campaign when the East Lothian outfit gained promotion from National 2. This was Biggar’s third and last warm up match prior to League action next Saturday when the competition season commences with an away tie against Lasswade.

Unable to call on the services of new recruit Francois Nel, who cracked a rib in his first outing at Penrith last week, Biggar were also without Craig Bachurewski who has now picked up a four-month contract with Edinburgh Rugby as cover for those players who are on World Cup duty and Stevie Campbell and Robbie Lavery who were unavailable due to work.

They were able to call on Jamie Orr however, the young lock having been immersed in work in recent weeks. It means though that Biggar haven’t yet managed to field the same XV twice.

Both Musselburgh XVs proved to be tough outfits, featuring some strong running and powerful backs which Biggar struggled to contain. Biggar did not help their cause as they picked up a series of penalties which meant they conceded possession and lost ground quickly.

The Musselburgh pack were also a stuffy bunch and took full advantage to convert pressure into points, their first two trys coming from a driven lineout and a rolling maul.

The match was played over three periods, Biggar conceding a third try before playing with a bit more cohesion towards the end of that initial period. Fielding a very young back line Biggar conceded another try before running in one of their own, this credited to Aird Jardine, the youngster having – literally – just returned from a year in Australia.

The sides then exchanged another score each, Donald Voas notching Biggar’s second after a typically forthright breenge for the line. Jack Warnock added a conversion.