DUNFERMLINE Rugby Club's senior men opened their pre-season fixtures against Heriot's second XV on Friday night that was described as a "great first test".
Players from the McKane Park outfit's first and second XV squads for the match, which the capital side won by a 44-12 scoreline.
It was Dunfermline's first warm-up game ahead of the new season, in which the first XV will compete in National League Division Four for a second successive season, and the seconds going for glory in Caledonia Midlands Region League Division Three.
Gavin Emerson, first XV head coach, said: "It was a great first test for the lads and a great opportunity for the players to test themselves against players from a different level.
"Although the scoreline was not in our favour, I'm pleased by what we achieved in the game. We managed to get 26 players, which was a mix of first and second team players, at least 40 minutes of competitive game time."
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This Saturday, a combined squad will travel to Oban Lorne to participate in a friendly tournament, where they face the hosts and Helensburgh in their pool, with Whitecraigs, Cumbernauld and Inverness CD also competing.
"We've got a good trip to Oban. We did it last year and it was a good experience for the guys that went," Matty Wilson, first XV captain, said.
"It's a tough tournament that they organise, a very tough format with the waits between games, who the opposition are, and how long a day it is, but it's a good test for the guys and their fitness.
"That's a full squad, so we'll take about a squad of 25. Hopefully some guys that are maybe pushing for ones get to lay a marker down and try and get a shirt for the coming weeks, and guys that played ones last year will try and keep their shirt and really push on from last year."
Emerson added: "This pre-season's been a bit different. We've worked on a lot of different aspects of the game, not just working on the fitness, but working on the individual and unit skills as well.
"The feedback from the guys that have been coming down is that it's been well pitched and at the right level, just little bites of different activities.
"We've not really done too much contact. It's just that I'm conscious that with the weather and the ground, I don't want to force any injuries on players, so it's just trying to be mindful of that, and also that the players remember that these warm-up games are a warm-up.
"The result in terms of the scoreboard doesn't really matter too much. It's about how we perform, and these first two games are for people to push for the first XV or the second XV for the start of the season.
"After the first two games, we do split ones and twos, and we'll have two separate games going on. It's an opportunity for the guys to fight their case, show the coaches what they can do and where they should be playing."
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