RISING stars with Dunfermline Rugby Club were celebrating last Sunday as two of their teams picked up silverware.

The McKane Park club’s boys’ under-15s and under-16s sides travelled to Aberdeen to take part in the Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup, the largest youth rugby finals day in Scotland.

Hosted by Scottish Rugby and Sport Aberdeen, a total of 30 teams from across the Caledonia region were participating, having competed in a series of regional leagues, followed by cup, shield and bowl knockout rounds, featuring more than 1,800 players from 150 teams and 27 different clubs.

The under-15s were going for glory in their age group plate competition, with the under-16s seeking success in the bowl, and both returned to West Fife with the trophies.

In their final with Moray/Huntly, Dunfermline’s under-15s trailed 21-17 at the break but pulled it back in the second half to win 29-27, with scrum half Russell Allan’s last-minute try – adding to scores by Ethan Moore (2), Danny MacKenzie and Jack Lister – securing success.

Captain Mungo Atkinson said: “We were buzzing to take home the plate.

“It was a really tough but exciting game to play in, and I feel really proud of my team-mates for what we achieved together!”

The under-16s then faced Fife rivals Kirkcaldy in the bowl competition, and an evenly-contested opening half saw Dunfermline trail 7-5 at half-time.

However, two tries from Jack Wilkinson, and one each from Finlay Begg and Reace Day, plus a conversion from Harrison Callaghan, saw the them win 22-14.

Captain Kyle Hendrie, whose team ended with 14 players after a late yellow card for Aidan Masterman, having also seen one given earlier to Archie Letham, commented: “Sunday’s final was a hard game, and despite some of the mistakes we made we worked really hard to make every tackle count and every touch of the ball work for us. It was such a great feeling to win and lift the trophy; it’s the best end to the season we could have asked for and I’m really proud of the boys.”

Dunfermline Rugby Club president, Kevin Storie, added: “Both games were extremely competitive and the teams had to dig deep to secure the win in the second half. They showed inspirational mental and physical resilience to make the comeback. I’d like to share my sincere thanks to our coaches who helped these young players not only reach the final, but excel and thrive in this competition. The future of Dunfermline Rugby Club is looking really strong and it’s been a fantastic note to end the season on adding more silverware to the cabinets at McKane. Everyone at the club is really proud of their achievements.”