​Howe of Fife will be getting back on the ball this coming Saturday after a weekend off.

Head coach Niall Lear’s team are taking a break from their current Arnold Clark National League Division 2 campaign to take on Forfar’s Strathmore away in round one of this rugby season’s Scottish National League Cup, with kick-off at at Inchmacoble Park at 1.30pm.

That will be their first competitive meeting with the Angus outfit since a 32-27 win for the Fifers on the road in February 2023 in National 3, following on from a 41-0 victory at home at Cupar’s Duffus Park in the preceding October’s reverse fixture.

Strathmore are currently third in National 3, on 33 points from nine fixtures, six places down from Howe’s position of seventh, on 20 from nine, in the table above.

Another weekend off follows that cup tie and Howe then resume their National 2 season away to Peebles on Saturday, November, with kick-off at the Gytes at 3pm, and they’ll head down to the Borders hoping to make amends for a 13-12 defeat at home in August’s reverse fixture, their opening fixture of this term.

Howe Crusaders are also due to be in action this Saturday, away to Dundee’s seconds, with kick-off at 2pm.

They go into that game sitting fourth in Arnold Clark Caledonia Region League Division 1’s Caledonia Midlands conference, on 15 points from seven matches, four places and 27 points better off than their basement side hosts, on -12 points from four games after being hit with 16 points’ worth of sanctions for failing to fulfil fixtures.

That will be their second meeting of the season, Howe having won September’s reverse fixture 60-0.