BT National League 1: Falkirk RFC v Marr Rugby (3pm)
BT Reserve League West 1: GHA Lions v Marr Rugby (3pm)
BT Reserve League West 3: Marr Rugby v Waysider Drumpellier 2s (3pm)

After the home leg of Scotland’s 6 Nations campaign and BT Cup/standby fixture catch up business we return to a full house of senior rugby activity for Marr Rugby.

With all three sides set to be in action we’ll be providing the opportunity for more than 60 of our senior playing squad to enjoy playing rugby!

As well as some exciting rugby we should see another chapter in the club’s history as Kyle Vallance goes into the weekend on 99 appearances for Marr Rugby’s 1st XV. All going well, Kyle will add another to become the latest of our growing list of Marr Rugby Centurions.

Kyle has come through Marr Rugby’s youth system. He made his senior debut in 2010 and quickly became a favourite with the Marr support due to his high work rate and hard hitting performances. We look forward to seeing him enjoy this milestone in his senior rugby playing career.

Marr Rugby 1st XV preview: The 1s face a tricky away fixture as they travel to Sunnyside Park to play Falkirk who are sitting in fourth place in the league. This is an impressive achievement for what is their first year in NL1. They a playing squad that is comprised of a number of exciting young players and several less young who are very experienced and played at high level, including former Scotland Internationalist Craig Hamilton.

In October, Falkirk arrived at Fullarton brimming with confidence and top of the league from an unbeaten run. They gave early warning of the danger posed from their forwards power play and strike runners. Top points scorer Liam Brimms stood out as a danger man as he controlled his backs well and was deadly accurate in his kicking. Falkirk opened the scoring and as they were getting well into their stride suffered two setbacks that continue to irk them. First their scrum half and captain Harry Russell was given a yellow card for a tackle. Marr quickly capitalised on the extra man advantage to take the lead and from there didn’t look back running out eventual winners 33 – 18. During the second half Falkirk were again reduced to 14 players as Liam Brimms was given a ten minute breather following a tackle. The view from Falkirk continues to indicate a sense of injustice and a determination to put things right when we visit.

Marr go into the match with an almost full strength squad available for selection. The three week lay-off is considered by some to be a blessing where players can rest and recover or a potential disaster as match sharpness and fitness run the risk of suffering. In recent matches the playing squad has continued to show steady improvement and this must be maintained and built upon as we head in to the final six matches of the season. The troops have been well grounded in knowing what they need to do and continue to work well as a unit.

Saturday will be another big test.

Marr Rugby 1st XV team selection
15. Craig Kolarik
14. Scott Bickerstaff
13. Gregor Paxton
12. Conor Bickerstaff
11. Tom Steven
10. Colin Sturgeon
9. Grant Baird
1. Andrew Acton
2. Stephen Adair
3. William Farquhar
4. Kris Kirk
5. Daniel Law
6. Mackenzie Pearce
8. Ben Johnston
7. Angus Johnston (c)
Replacements/Substitutes
16. Chris Nisbet
17. Ollie Rossi
18. Kyle Vallance
19. Gregor Ness
20. Andrew Mill

Marr Rugby 2nd XV preview: The 2s continue to fly high as they head into the Lions’ den at Braidholm. Their aim is to emulate the 3s who two weeks ago ran out comfortable winners 7 – 41 against GHA’s Gazelles side.

After the two week lay-off Marr’s 2s appear well rested and recovered. Coach Keith Dunsmuir’s initial plans for selection were dealt a blow after captain and influential back rower Josh Evans sustained a hamstring injury during training. Helpfully the squad is increasing in depth and Keith has been able to make some positional changes and bring in Fraser Grant to cover. Rudi Marshall assumes captaincy. After good outings in their last match Daniel McCulloch and Thomas Watkins earn starts

Looking at recent results it’s clear that the Lions are no easy meat and Marr will once again need to be firmly focused on the task. So far this season the squad has faced some stiff challenges and on every occasion have responded very well and are showing some real maturity in performances as well as some exceptional results.

Marr Rugby 2nd XV team selection
1. Mark Allison
2. Daniel McCulloch
3. Fraser Ferguson
4. Callum Craig
5. Michael Quinn
6. Craig Baird
7. Callum Steel
8. Fraser Grant
9. Rudi Marshall ©
10. Jack Scott
11. Ry Mcinnes
12. Ali Walker
13. Murray Beckwith
14. Thomas Watkins
15. Stuart Howie
Replacements/substitutes
16. Neil Wallace
17. Matthew Skeoch
18. Frank McGerty
19. Ryan Millar
20. Chris Galloway

Marr Rugby 3rd XV preview: Playing with home advantage always gives a side an edge so Marr’s players have a great opportunity to further build on their league points tally and push towards the upper tier of the league table. The visitors are not having a great season and are firmly anchored at the foot of the table. Comeback king Andy Daniels has made himself available for selection and is likely to start in the front row. After another run out at centre, versatile Jonny Connell returns to the pack. Strike runner and prolific try scorer Andrew Watson is available and covers full back.

Marr Rugby 3rd XV team selection (provisional)

Paul Bray
Neil Campion
Andy Daniels
Colin White
Alistair Barclay
Jonathan Connell
James Hek
Chris Myers
Marty Emslie
Ross Campbell
Arthur Gordon
Andrew Mathieson
Don Morrison
Mark Walker
Andrew Watson
Russell Keene
Gordon Anderson
Davy Moffat