LOMOND and Helensburgh have all but secured promotion to West Division 2 thanks to a crushing 111-0 win over Moffat at Ardencaple in their final match of the season.

The victory leaves the team – a combined squad comprising players from the Helensburgh and Loch Lomond clubs – second in Division 3 and guaranteed a top-three finish, with closest rivals Bishopton needing to overhaul a points difference of 164 in their two remaining matches to overtake the Greens and take second place behind champions-elect Cumbernauld.

It’s made for a successful end to the season for the local side – a year after both Loch Lomond and Helensburgh found themselves facing an uncertain future in the senior game.

With both clubs struggling to find enough players to field a first XV and fulfil their fixtures, a short-term agreement was reached to combine the two teams – and results on the pitch over the season have shown the success of the move.

Starting the season with a gruelling away match at Lochaber, the newly formed team came away with a one-point victory – though a mixed bag of results followed, with a disappointing home loss to Bishopton followed by an impressive 57-0 win against Hyndland and an away victory against high-flying Cumbernauld.

The end of 2022 was plagued by postponements due to weather and pitch conditions, but the team made a flying start to the new year with high-scoring wins over both Isle of Mull and Lanark & Clydesdale.

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The local side stumbled against their ‘bogey team’, losing home and away to Waysiders/Drumpellier to make the climax to the season a close one – but wins over Bishopton and Birkmyre put Lomond-Helensburgh in with a good shout of promotion.

That left the team with one match remaining and knowing a win against Moffat was a must – as was scoring as many points as possible to put them in a strong position in the promotion contest.

And they stepped up in style with a victory already being referred to as a ‘Nelson’ – the term used to refer to the number 111 in cricket, and also a reference to Saturday’s team being led out by a Royal Navy officer who left the pitch with only one functioning arm after dislocating his shoulder.

Saturday’s win leaves Lomond-Helensburgh in second place behind Cumbernauld, with 10 wins, five defeats and a huge points difference of +355 – completing a hugely positive year for the newly formed coalition, who are now looking forward to making an impact in the higher division in 2023-24.

Long before then, the team are looking forward to hosting the Lomond Helensburgh Sevens Festival on Saturday, May 27 – with rugby, live music, competitions, raffles and food from a barbecue.

Starting at 12 noon, it promises to be a fun day for the whole family – see bit.ly/helensburghrfcfacebook or instagram.com/helensburghrufc for more.

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