Stewartry RFC close to Scottish National Cup upset against Falkirk

Stewartry RFC fell short in the opening round of the newly formed Scottish National Cup after a narrow 25-20 loss at home to Falkirk.

Falkirk, who currently play two divisions above the hosts, got off to a strong start with a try through the forwards after a spell of pressure to claim the game’s first points.

Soon after, however, Stewartry were also on the board thanks to the boot of scrum-half John Picken, who slotted from just inside the opposition half to get his side off the mark. The remainder of the first half was tense as possession flowed back and forth between the two sides.

Falkirk managed another two tries and looked to be pulling away until Stewartry fullback Robert Austin dived in at the corner on the stroke of half-time to give them a lifeline and take the game into the break at 15-8.

Again it was the visitors to open the scoring in the second 40 and increase their lead over the National 4 outfit. Things seemed to go from bad to worse for the Blacks after receiving a yellow card following Falkirk’s sustained domination in the scrum. Despite having just 14 men on the pitch, Sandy Currie’s men scored two well-worked tries through Austin and Andy Budde to level the game at 20-20 with just minutes remaining.

The final exchanges were nervy but in the end, it was the higher-ranked Falkirk that crossed the whitewash in the dying minutes to snatch the win and progress to the next round.

A valiant performance from the Greenlaw men but it was not enough to see them continue in the competition.

Stewartry have just one game remaining in the 2023/24 season – a home tie in the league against Ross High on March 30.