West Region Rugby - Scotland: West League Update (West 2)

Some interesting developments in West 2 at the weekend. The gap to leader Lenzie closed (though that was weather related as their game at Paisley was off due to a waterlogged pitch), Oban probably saw their title aspirations disappear with a home defeat, and we had another non-fulfilment from Millbrae.

West Region Results - 8th December 2018

Millbrae's non-fulfilment (and Police Scotlands in West 3) has raised some interesting debate, both online and off. Both have now accumulated four non-fulfilments this season, which following the three strikes and you’re out rule, should see them drop out of the league. But now that it’s come to it, several people think this would be counter-productive for rugby in the region as we need to be keeping as many teams playing as possible, whereas the counter-argument is, the Championship Committee are there to ensure the integrity of the competition, so it is not their job to keep Clubs playing social rugby. It’s an interesting conundrum.

On the playing front, the big news is that the Predictor Challenge got it wrong for both the Clubs who are chasing Lenzie in the title challenge.

The Predictor had Wigtownshire as slight favourites when they hosted Uddy, but Uddy won that one 27-14. Whilst Oban Lorne were down as strong favourites (nearly 83% of entrants went for Oban) when they welcomed Strathaven. It was, however, the visitors who won this contest 17-13.

This puts a bit of a hole in the Oban challenge, as they are now 11 points off the pace, and have now played a game more than the leaders. It’s maybe too early to write them off, but the weekend just made it a little more difficult.

Uddy, however, continued their chase, and they are now only 8 points behind Lenzie, having played the same number of games. Lenzie have still to visit both Uddy and Oban, so lots still to play for.

In the leagues only other game, Clydebank secured a 31 - 17 victory over Birkmyre on the 3G pitch at Whitecrooks. The result moves Clydebank into fifth, ahead of Wigtownshire.

If relegation from West 1 looks tricky, just wait till we try to explain our thinking about the West 2 contest.

Now remember, this is conjecture and our opinion. We, and others, have not seen any confirmation as to how moving back to leagues of 10 is going to be managed, so what we are about to say could be nonsense.

1 up from West 2 to West 1,
3 down from West 1, and
1 up from West 3,

would give us five Clubs to make the drop to West 3.

Cumbernauld and Millbrae are getting themselves separated from rest, but that still leaves us five Clubs fighting over three places. The wins for Strathaven and Clydebank at the weekend are probably enough to see them clear of this mid-table relegation battle.

From a neutral observers point of view, it going to make things exciting, as each week is going to contests crucial to both the championship and relegation battles all over the fixture schedule.

Lenzie have an interesting one this week when they welcome Strathaven, victors up at Oban at the weekend. We plumped for Oban against Strathaven last week and were proven wrong. We’re going for Lenzie this week, so leaving ourselves open for another potential upset.

Uddingston welcome Paisley, who are one of those five Clubs in the mid-table relegation battle, and who drew with Strathaven a couple of weeks ago. It was close in their first meeting, but Paisley have seen a bit of drop in form since then, so we’re going for a home win.

Oban travel to Millbrae – but will Millbrae still be in the league, and if so, will they have a team. If the games on, then we’re going for an Oban win.

Clydebank travel to Auchenkilns to take on second bottom Cumbernauld. Cumbernauld have only one win this season and are struggling to score points (averaging less than 10 a game), but a soft pitch will play to their forwards. We’re however going for an away win.

And now for a couple of interesting contests between the mid-table relegation contenders.

Bishopton v Wigtownshire is 7th v 6th, but they’re in that relegation battle. Bish are trailing by five points, but they have two games in hand. Shire comfortably won their meeting earlier in the season, but their home results have been stronger than their away. Both have lost their last couple of games, so it’s a chance to get things back on track. It looks like a close one, so we’re going with home advantage.

Helensburgh v Loch Lomond is another relegation contest. Lomond are only three behind Helensburgh but have played more games. Helensburgh have lost their last couple of games, whilst Lomond have won their last two, including away at Bishopton. We’ve not seen Helensburgh play this season, but we did watch Lomonds win at Bishopton. It might not be the prettiest of rugby, but it was certainly effective. We’re putting this one down as an away win, and Lomond to move ahead of their hosts.

Wins will be crucial, but if we are moving to leagues of 10, then every single bonus point gained will be just as important in the relegation battle.