West of Scotland beaten at Preston Lodge despite scoring five tries

West's Fraser Smeaton dives to score his second try of the afternoon (pic by John Cameron)

The home side were on the scoreboard within the first minute when a fumbled ball and attempted retrieve gave then Preston Lodge a penalty in front of the posts.

Preston Lodge the hungrier and sharper for the and it wasn’t long before they crossed the West line in the corner. The conversion was missed but the scoreboard moved up to 8-0.

West did have a period after about 20 minutes where they managed a sustained attack in the PL half, gaining a penalty. Unfortunately Blair Smith missed the kick

West fell further behind when they were adjudged to have pulled the maul down on the line and a penalty try was awarded, duly converted.

From the kick-off Preston Lodge again surged forward and a good passing move along the backs saw another score in the corner, again converted for a 22-0 lead.

The visitors reduced the deficit when they managed to steal the ball at a lineout and slick passing saw Mark Jenkinson pop through the defence to score beside the posts, Smith converted to take the half-time score to 22 – 7.

Possibly as a result of a few quiet words from the coach West finally woke up in the second half.

A mistake by Preston Lodge in their own scrum on the 22m line gave West a break and Jenkinson again crossed the home line. The conversion was missed but the score was now a healthier 22–12.

Both sides were now attacking with intent and the game became less one-sided. Preston Lodge scored their bonus point try and shortly after West number 8 Fraser Smeaton bundled over for a visitors’ bonus.

At one point the score narrowed to 39–33 and a possible upset was on the cards, until the home side powered over for another three tries on the last 10 minutes against a tiring West side taking the final score to 55–33.

The first home game of 2017 is this Saturday against Biggar, kick-off 2pm.