Helensburgh Rugby’s captain Jonny Drake hopes his side can carry on their recent level of performance into their next game away to Garnock.

The Burgh fell to a 30-16 defeat at home to league leaders East Kilbride, despite taking an early lead through a converted Drake try and penalty to give the hosts a 10-7 lead.

But after continuous pressure from the visitors and two yellow cards to the Grizzlies, East Kilbride were able to edge out the game.

But the positives are there said Drake believes the positives are there and he is hoping they can bounce back with a win in North Ayrshire.

Drake said: “That’s two games now where we’ve played the top teams and they’ve got a bit of a shock in the first 10 minutes. I think they got a bit of a fright thinking they were going to have an easy ride.

“We could have got the win, but we really should have got the losing bonus point. It was an enjoyable game and the numbers were good.

“Since the Annan game got postponed, we’ve had people putting in a bit more commitment into Saturdays, which is good. Everyone is enjoying it which is the main thing on a Saturday, otherwise what’s the point.

“It’s going in the right direction and we’re confident we can get more points on the board and start moving up the table.”

The SRU are yet to rule judgement over the cancelled game between Annan and Helensburgh, but it could potentially lead to docked points for the Burgh.

But that takes a back seat for the Grizzlies as they look to overturn a disappointing opening-day performance against Garnock, and Drake says even though the results haven’t been there, it’s only a matter of time until good displays turn into points.

He added: “We’ve made a lot of changes to this team and it always take a while to implement them and for everyone to get used to them and the style of play.

“We’ve got quite a few new players and some aren’t as experienced as the others, but everyone is learning all the time.

“Garnock had a very different team from last year, which we weren’t expecting at the start of the year. They’re a good team.

“But if we can keep the ball out, have decent hands, try to get away from set pieces so much and keep the ball alive, we can get it wide and use our fast and skilful attacking players. Then we should have a good opportunity to get a win.”