Duncolm Sports Photography

The long awaited match-up of the ‘big two’ teams in the Premiership North was played at Hamilton on 27^th July. Both teams had a perfect record through the season so far and this was a likely title decider.

The Pirates made their usual strong start by scoring a touchdown early on. This was a much closer game though and they couldn’t follow up with another score. Tamworth pulled level with a TD in the second quarter and then stopped a Pirates score in the last play of the half at the 2 yard line. The period after half-time was decisive as East Kilbride ran in three TDs and built a 29-8 lead. Tamworth didn’t  give up though and they were able to capitalize on Pirates mistakes to pull it back to 29-20 by the end.

Unless there is an unexpected slip-up in their last two regular season games, East Kilbride Pirates will now have home games in the play-offs in September.

photos – East Kilbride Pirates v Tamworth Phoenix

This game at Lochinch on 21 July was a return fixture of the game I attended earlier in the season, and neither side appeared to be on good form. Edinburgh led early and, despite a second half Tigers comeback, they held on to win by 21-12.

The Wolves now have a 4 wins and 3 losses record and still have a chance of reaching the play-offs. They play Clyde Valley Blackhawks at Wishaw next Sunday in what will be a crunch game for both sides. The Tigers with 2 wins, 4 losses and a tie are out of it.

photos – Glasgow Tigers v Edinburgh Wolves

East Kilbride Pirates winning seasons continued on Saturday 20th July when they defeated long-time rivals Birmingham Bulls on a baking hot afternoon at Hamilton Rugby Club.

As with many of their games this year the Pirates came out firing and ran in three touchdowns in the first quarter. They kept the pressure up and scored seven TDs in total, including five by Ryan Hunter. The Bulls managed to score once in return, the final score was 44-8.

Next Saturday will bring the biggest game of the season so far as Tamworth Phoenix will be the visitors. Both teams have a perfect record for the season, so the prize for the winners will surely be winning the Premiership North title and home field advantage through the play-offs in September.

photos – East Kilbride Pirates v Birmingham

There was an American Football double header at Lochinch on 14^th July.

First up was the Junior North game between Lanarkshire Longhorns and Highland Wildcats. The score in this one was 2-0 to the Wildcats right into the 4^th quarter. Then a touchdown for each side had the game tied at 8-8 before the Longhorns winning touchdown brought the score to 14-8. The win has secured the Longhorns a place in the end of season national play-offs.

photos – Longhorns v Wildcats

The second game was a National League North game between Glasgow Tigers and Clyde Valley Blackhawks. Two early touchdowns gave the Blackhawks a 13-0 lead and, despite a Tigers second-half comeback bringing them to within one score, the Blackhawks held on to win by 32-22.

photos – Tigers v Blackhawks

Sheffield Predators travelled to Hamilton RFC on 30^th June having won all three of their Premiership Division games this season. They had also gone unbeaten when winning the Division 2 title last season, so a proud record was on the line as they prepared to face the also unbeaten East Kilbride Pirates.

The Pirates proved to be stronger than anything Sheffield had faced up to now. Two first quarter touchdowns and another in the second gave them a 20-0 half time lead. The Predators started the third quarter with a touchdown of their own, but the Pirates added another two before the end, making the final score 36-6.

East Kilbride and Tamworth Phoenix are now the only unbeaten teams in the Premiership North Division. The Pirates next game is away to Nottingham Caesars in two weeks time.

photos – East Kilbride Pirates v Sheffield Predators

The Hurricanes were the visitors to Meadowbank Stadium on 29^th June for a National League North game.

This turned out to be a one-sided affair as the visitors didn’t have the resources to hold the stronger Edinburgh squad, who won by 70 points to 2.

Edinburgh now have 3 wins and 3 losses for the season, Dundee have lost all 6 of their games.

photo set – Edinburgh Wolves v Dundee Hurricanes