Blues face short trip to Cupar for derby match

Back at the end of August in the National Cup they slipped up against Howe of Fife after extra time but made amends the following Saturday in the opening league game thereby ending decades of failure in league rugby against Howe.

This weekend’s National League fixture list sees the beginning of the second half of the league programme with Kirkcaldy clear at the top, six points ahead of their nearest rivals.

A vital statistic in the Blues journey up the division has been their ability to gain bonus points.

Even in the two games lost to Dumfries and Lasswade the defeats were both by two points enabling them to claim a losing bonus point in each case. These may be vital in the final shake down of the table next April.

Early season Kirkcaldy handicapped themselves with the number of yellow cards issued but in the last seven games their referees have had no need to dip into their pockets and this improved discipline is obviously a factor in their march to the top of table.

Apart from that cup win against the Blues, Howe had a difficult start to the season, losing their first three games but found some form by the end of September. Currently they stand in eighth place in the now 11 team division.

Their fixture last Saturday against second place Lasswade was called off with Duffus Park frost bound.

It is now three weeks since they played, losing away to Kels0 in the cup.

Their line-up against the Blues is likely to be stronger than the one fielded in Kirkcaldy in September so Quintan Sanft and his men will be on their guard as they seek to consolidate their place in the division.

Kirkcaldy’s second team had an outstanding away win last week over Panmure 1st XV in Dundee. This week they again face formidable opposition in the shape of the third team of Premiership side Stirling County at Bridgehaugh (2.0o p.m).