HELENSBURGH Rugby Club lost their opening home league fixture on Saturday, coming out on the wrong end of a 30-21 defeat to Stewartry RFC.

Hopes were high that the Grizzlies would get their West Division One campaign up and running at Ardencaple, but the Castle Douglas outfit prevailed on a tense afternoon in Helensburgh.

Burgh came within touching distance of the win on the day and were a penalty or a conversion away from notching up a losing bonus point.

The loss leaves David Calderwood’s Burgh bottom of the table after two games, the only team yet to register a point on the board.

Things aren’t expected to get any easier for the Grizzlies on Saturday when they travel to face Greenock Wanderers, who were relegated from National League Division Three last year.

Wanderers lost at Carrick on the opening day before securing a win over Cambuslang on Saturday

Helensburgh will be eager to get off the mark in the coming weeks, they will see the Greenock trip as a good opportunity to do just that as well as Cambuslang’s visit to Ardencaple the following week.

Three other teams have also lost their first two games so some Burgh points in the next couple of weeks will see them climb the table.