League leaders too strong for Berwick RFC men while the ladies have a convincing win in friendly

The Black Diamonds had a convincing win against Gala on Sunday. Picture: Stuart Fenwick

Berwick RFC’s men’s team travelled to Lasswade on Saturday while the ladies hosted the next round of the Aspiring League on Sunday.

The men were hoping to cause an upset against the National League Division 2 leaders, having beaten them twice last season in closely fought games. The two teams are experiencing different fortunes this season however, Lasswade recording three comfortable victories while Berwick have yet to win.

The form book went out of the window and it proved to be another tight match, with Lasswade only certain of the victory late in the second half, and Berwick claiming the losers’ two bonus points.

The hosts got the first points on the board with an unconverted try followed by a converted try before Jack Dalrymple replied for Berwick, Jack Webster kicking the conversion, to make the score 12-7.

Lasswade got another try after 30 minutes before Berwick scored through Ryan Wilson after a series of rucks.

Berwick took the lead in the second half after a penalty by Webster and an unconverted try by Ben Nicholson following a tap penalty that caught Lasswade off-guard.

Lasswade hit back almost immediately with a converted try that gave them the try bonus point and the lead again.

The home team scored two more penalties to leave Berwick needing two converted tries to win, Cammy Rogerson making sure they claimed the losers’ bonus try points when he touched down, to make the final score 30-25.

The Black Diamonds’ games in the Aspiring League were cancelled after one team called off and another had to forfeit their game due to injuries. Instead, the ladies played a friendly against Gala, scoring 11 tries, and played 15s after joining up with other teams.

The tries in the friendly were scored by Rachel Lauder and Chloe Gray, who both scored three, Nicole Thomlinson and Dion Smith, who both touched down twice, and Abigail Aitchison.

The men take on Newton Stewart at home on Saturday while the ladies’ next fixture is away at Lasswade on October 8.

After losing their first two games of the new season, Newton Stewart have won their last two and sit one place and four points ahead of Berwick in the table.