Kirkcaldy Rugby Club captain discusses 'crucial' away win at Berwick

Heading into what will be a rest weekend, Kirkcaldy are now sitting third in National 2 with 25 points from eight matches.

"Winning at Berwick is a bit of a weight off our shoulders,” Smith told the Fife Free Press. “Having three losses on the bounce was pretty tough but we’ve had a few good weeks in training where we’ve reinforced the good things and it was a hard fought win.

"Berwick is a tough place to go. I personally had never won down there myself. We had not played them too many times in the past as they have shot up the leagues a bit.

"It’s quite a heavy pitch and it’s rare you get a nice day down there, so it’s a tough place to visit. But we went well.”

Trailing 7-0 early on to a fine Berwick team try which was converted, Kirkcaldy levelled matters on 15 minutes when Avimeleki Nailatica’s try was converted by Smith.

And the visitors soon established a 14-7 advantage when Smith kicked the extras after Marcus Salt had touched down following a good lineout throw from Craig Hamilton.

An unconverted try by the Borderers on the half hour brought Berwick back within two points, before the home team went 15-14 up courtesy of a penalty awarded for a high tackle.

Although a Smith penalty then gave the Blues a 17-15 half-time lead, Berwick went over on the hour mark and added the conversion to go five points clear.

However, this topsy-turvy game took a final twist when Rory Brown crossed the whitewash on 70 minutes and Smith again did the needful with his boot.

He added: “Our pressure took its toil and Rory managed to crash over. The kick was reasonably straightforward, one I should be getting.

"I would probably say we deserved to win overall. It was a close game, Berwick put in a good shift as well.

“We probably edged the first half but we were on the ropes for the first 20 minutes of the second half when they came at us pretty strong. But we closed the game out pretty well and I think we were good for the win.”

Kirkcaldy are next in competitive action in a home National League Cup group match v Howe of Fife on Saturday, November 23.