Biggar Rugby Club triumph 12-10 at nearest rivals Highland to go 16 points clear at top

Biggar Rugby Club head coach Gary Mercer (second right) and his jubilant players celebrate their 12-10 success at Highland on Saturday (Pic by Nigel Pacey)

In what looks like a significant step towards winning Tennent’s National League Division 2, Biggar won 12-10 at nearest rivals Highland, writes Alistair Stewart.

Saturday’s vital triumph in Inverness hands Biggar a massive 16-point lead at the top over Stewart’s Melville, with Highland pushed down to third place a point behind Melville but having played two games fewer than both rivals.

After a pre-match one-minute tribute to Highland coach Alistair ‘Porky’ Wymess following his recent death, Biggar took to Highland’s new artificial pitch buoyed by having trained on a similar surface at Lanark Racecourse during the week.

Biggar opened the scoring with a very typical Conor Lavery try, the stand-off’s angled run taking him (far too easily from a Highland point of view) through the Highland defence.

Matthew Stewart added the conversion to a score which clearly settled the Biggar effort. 7-0.

That Biggar scored a second try after just eight minutes was astounding.

This was a long lung-bursting run in for winger Ross Bradford who latched onto a loose pass from Highland stand off Iain Chisholm (formerly of Biggar RFC) to run almost the length of the pitch to cross in the corner.

Although Euan Bogle missed the conversion attempt, Biggar were 12-0 up.

Highland fought back though and deservedly scored a try when centre Rob Eatough barged over, almost upending referee Smith in the process. Chisholm was off target with the kick but Highland were back in it at 12-5.

And this deficit was reduced to just two points in the second half when winger Rorry Cross crashed over.

Highland lock Stuart MacDonald was then sin binned for an illegal challenge on Bradford, who looked set to score after another misplaced Chisholm pass.

In a heart stopping finish for Biggar fans, youngster Ruaridh MacDonald had the chance to win it for the hosts late on with a 30m penalty but the kick fell short.

Biggar have a league fixture at Glasgow Accies this Saturday, kick-off 2pm.