Kirkcaldy’s status in the top two divisions of Premier rugby is at stake in the crunch relegation battle at Beveridge Park with Kelso this weekend.
The Blues have been plagued with injuries to key men and unavailability which, added to the financial uncertainty of last close season, has meant that player-coach Quintan Sanft has been forced to plug gaps with inexperienced players, some of them still in their mid-teens.
The Littlejohn twins, Conor and Kurt, have impressed while young prop Shaun Orr has seen plenty first XV outings, but the hope is that something matching a first-choice team can be put together for the visit of the Borderers, currently two places above their hosts.
A win for the Blues would surely see them leap out of bottom place but two of their remaining three games after this are away.
On the other hand, Stirling County can confirm that already near certainly they will be playing Premier One rugby again (barring any further league reconstructions, of course) if they defeat Peebles at Bridgehaugh.
In Premier A, Dundee HSFP are at Currie, the champions having recovered some of their form of late and all their fixtures since the league split.Bad news from VegasDundee won handsomely in the end against Falkirk in the cup last week but got a bit of bad news from the Scotland sevens side in Las Vegas, where free-scoring wing James Fleming damaged knee ligaments and is likely to be out until the end of March.
In Premier Three, Morgan can end remaining fears of relegation if, as expected, they defeat struggling Musselburgh at Forfar Road.
Perthshire could do with a victory to ease worries but Howe of Fife have been in outstanding shape since the enforced winter break and will fancy their chances at the Inch, while Dunfermline need to get something at Cartha to close the gap on Shire.
There’s a mix of Caledonia and Bowl matches in the lower leagues this week with the two picks being the double-header between Strathmore and Hillfoots, which counts for both competitions and of course will have a huge bearing on which team wins Caledonia Division One.
There are three good Bowl ties as well, the pick of them pitching Harris and Madras at Elliot Road.
The St Andreans beat Harris in the play-off last year to determine promotion and relegation between Caley One and Two but the Dundee club were later awarded the match due to an unregistered player.