DIVISION 3

ON a day when, unusually, the rain was more intense in the east,

Glasgow Academicals used the reasonable conditions to beat Musselburgh

39-9 with seven touchdowns.

After a spirited Musselburgh opening, the powerful home pack took

control, and there were two first-half tries for Calum MacGregor.

Left wing Brian Boundy scored following snappy transference of a Dean

Barr pick-up on the right and Torquil Mathewson's touch-down after a

long pass from MacGregor let him show his speed.

With MacGregor kicking a conversion and Musselburgh's Cliff

Livingstone three penalties, Accies led 22-9 at the break and then so

controlled the second half they should have got more points.

Julian Richmond and Mathewson scored in the opening 15 minutes with

MacGregor kicking a conversion and Simmers scuttled in from 30 metres on

the whistle.

One of the best matches of the day was at Preston Lodge where visitors

Biggar won 21-17 in a game which could have gone either way.

Biggar's 18-year-old stand-off Stewart Harrison showed he has matured

during his summer playing with Manly, Australia. In the first half he

scored two tries -- one off a charge-down and the other a solo effort

from ruck ball -- as Biggar built up an 18-3 half-time lead.

PL blitzkrieged the opening 10 minutes of the second half with an

opportunist try from Stewart Payne on the left wing and three penalties

from Rodney Gibbs having Biggar trembling on 18-17. However, they dug in

and added a penalty from Malcolm Bruce in the last minute.

There was much poorer fare at view at Glensburgh, where Grangemouth

and Kirkcaldy splashed about to little effect. Kirkcaldy's territorial

advantage allowed John Mitchell to kick one penalty before the break and

two thereafter. A last-minute penalty from Kenny Halliday got

Grangemouth on the board.

Corstorphine should have been well ahead of Peebles by the interval.

They led 9-3 thanks to three Grant Pollock penalties, but seven kickable

chances had been missed.

The Borderers got on top in the second half, producing a try for Mark

Smith and allowing Rab Wilson to add to his early penalty success, and

getting home 11-9.