HELENSBURGH’S captain has urged his team to cut out the silly mistakes as they continue their search for a first league win of the new campaign.

A 21-strong squad fell to a 24-15 defeat away to Cumbernauld in West Division 2 on Saturday – but skipper Cammy Kerr said afterwards that if the team can eliminate the basic errors from their game they can be a match for any team in the league.

With a travelling squad of 21, the Grizzlies were desperate for a win to get them back in contention, after a narrow loss to Bishopton the week before.

With the rain falling and the wind behind them, Cumbernauld kicked off the game to the Helensburgh 22. Burgh started well and pushed forward with runs by Prop Mark Ashdown and scrum half Calum Serafini which gained the first penalty where winger Reece Court kicked them back up to the half way line.

Another Helensburgh penalty saw Court kick against the wind to the home sides 10m line and from the lineout, second row Josh Green secured the ball, flipping to no8 Cammy Kerr who drove up the park supported by his pack.

Clean ball from the ruck saw Serafini pass out to Stand off Brad Cahill who sent the ball down the back line where good play between centres Conner Simmons and Michael Welch saw the Grizzlies steam up the pitch where Simmons finished of the move to take the ball over try line for the first score. With Court converting, it was 7-0 to Helensburgh after 9 minutes.

Cumbernauld kicked off and with a slippery ball being dropped, the following scrum enabled the home team to put pressure on the visitors, who gained the penalty to give them a lineout on Burgh’s 22. From there, Cumbernauld fought through a stubborn Helensburgh defence to get the ball out their backs where their winger scored in the corner. Unconverted it took the score to 5-7 with 15 minutes on the clock.

A hard game was being fought between the two sides and Cumbernauld were making good use of the wind behind them. More penalties against the Grizzlies enabled Cumbernauld to keep Burgh tight inside their own half where eventually the home team got an opening out wide, with poor Helensburgh defence letting them score for the second time through their backs. Converted, the score was now 12-7 to Cumbernauld after 30 minutes.

Helensburgh replied with great work between winger Howell and second row Craig Calderwood taking Burgh straight back up to Cumbernauld’s 22 and with props Simon Raeside and Phil Ard continuing the driving play, Burgh received the penalty, which was duly converted by Court to take the Grizzlies to 12-10 behind at half time.

The second half saw Helensburgh make changes with Joshua Townsend now at centre and Tom Rees, Curtis Woods and Jason Felthham joining the pack.

Helensburgh kicked off and from the Cumbernauld ruck, player coach David Calderwood stole the ball which saw Court pass out to Welch who took play to Cumbernauld’s 22.

A scrum to Burgh secured the ball which was again driven forward by flanker Sean Alton and from there a superb bit of individual play saw prop Feltham reverse pass the ball to the alert centre Townsend who went over to score under the posts.

A mis-kick by Court saw the conversion charged down and the score at 15-12 to the visitors.

Cumbernauld were showing great passion and would not lie down, pressurising the Burgh defence at every angle. Helensburgh were showing there spirit too, tackling everything they could but eventually another crack showed and after a Cumbernauld scrum on the Grizzlies' 22, the home team squeezed in another try out their backs to take them back into the lead. Unconverted it was 17-15 with 20 minutes remaining.

A head knock to second row Josh Green, who had been Burgh’s best player, saw him replaced by Ben Wain who made immediate impact on the pitch with great running at the Cumbernauld defence. Both teams were now desperate for another score and the Grizzlies were being kept back in their own half by clever kicking by the opposition stand off.

Burgh stand off Cahill tried in vein to get the Burgh backs up the pitch and skilful individual play by centre Townsend saw him making fantastic breaks through the line but small mistakes by the Grizzlies support were giving Cumbernauld position back with replacement fullback Mike Linzee-Gordon keeping Burgh in the match with superb defence.

To the dismay of the Helensburgh travelling support, the last play of the match saw Cumbernauld’s winger speed over the try line to score in the corner and with the conversion completed, the final whistle blew with the score at 24-15 to Cumbernauld.

With no bonus point for the Grizzlies, this was a disappointing end to what was a great game of rugby that could have gone either way.

Captain Kerr said that although the team put in a hard shift, if they’re going to get back to winning ways, they need to play more aggressively, right to the end of the match and keep their game up at all times.

“Silly mistakes and penalties are costing us results in our games,” he said.

“If we can stop these and keep up our intensity, we can match any team in this league.”

Burgh’s next league game is this Saturday, September 15, at home to Oban Lorne. Kick off is at 3pm and everyone is welcome to come along and back the team.