Falkirk's early dominance earns 42-33 win against Kirkcaldy in league clash
Despite leading 14-0 early on, Falkirk Rugby Club made heavy weather of their home Arnold Clark National League Division 2 clash with Kirkcaldy last Saturday but eventually won 42-33.
The Sunnyside outfit, who now sit sixth having leapfrogged Dundee, blew away the visitors with two early tries in the opening four minutes but they allowed Kirkcaldy back into what turned out to be tightly-contested encounter.
And having watched the first XV grind out a win on their return to league duty following a couple of weeks of cup action, Falkirk’s director of rugby Kenny Grieve had mixed emotions.
“It was a bit similar to a few games we’ve had this season in that we racked up a pretty commanding lead and then let them get back into the match,” he told the Falkirk Herald.
"We managed to pull away again but it is still something we need to learn from. It was tasty, it was 36-33 at one point and anything can happen. We were well worth our win but we did take our foot off the throat. We need to keep our foot on the floor.
"Over the past five/six years, it has been a theme for Falkirk to be honest – we can always do really well against someone and be in a position to really go for it but we tend to not hand out any hammerings.”
Falkirk’s first XV now host bottom club Berwick this Saturday at home. The Northumberland outfit are winless in nine outings so far but are still an opponent to not take lightly, according to Grieve.
"They are having a tough season,” he said. “They haven’t won a game which I think is a surprise to a lot of people. That shouldn’t detract from the team that they are – they can cause you damage. We’ve got some players out with Alex Geddes, Harry Russell and Gregor Ramsey all missing for this one so we need to be at it.”
Falkirk’s second string suffered a heavy 76-7 defeat at Grangemouth Stags last weekend while the club’s under-18 boys secured a spot in their National Plate final following a 43-14 semi-final win over Dundee.
"We’re delighted for the U18s,” Grieve added. “We had them in the changing room with the firsts and everyone is buzzing for them. These players are the next ones coming through our pathway to reach the firsts and we need to keep them here.”