DUNFERMLINE Rugby Club's eagerly anticipated title decider this weekend has been called off.

The McKane Park outfit's men's first XV had been due to tackle Aberdeen Wanderers tomorrow (Saturday) in their final game of the Tennent's Men's Caledonia Region League, Division One, season.

A victory for Gavin Emerson's side would be enough to see them crowned champions, and earn promotion to the national leagues, where they last played in 2015.

However, last night, the club announced that, due to player availability on their opponents' part, the game has been postponed.

It is hoped that it will be rescheduled for Saturday March 11 and, speaking to Press Sport, Emerson said: "The guys were a bit disheartened last night (Thursday) when we told them at training, but we managed to secure a friendly with Currie seconds, which will be a really good experience for the guys, playing against boys with Premiership experience.

"We can take the extra subs, so it prepares us for the weekend after when we've got the quarter-final, because we can take a bigger bench for those games.

"It's going to have to get replayed or rescheduled.

"It's not a case of we get the points and we're in the clubhouse with a trophy. It should be a better occasion when have to actually play to win it."

A large crowd had been anticipated to attend the match at McKane, with the club "buzzing" ahead of the game.

Although Dunfermline's nearest challengers, Ellon, play Hillfoots in their final game - with two points separating the teams - a victory for Dunfermline would seal it regardless of Ellon's result.

That would see them win promotion to Tennent’s National League Division Four for next season, and mark a return to that level of rugby after eight years away, since the club were relegated from National League Division Three in 2015.

Dunfermline are two points clear of Ellon, having won nine of their 11 matches played so far, and were due to face an Aberdeen side that have lost all of their matches this season, including 83-12 in September’s reverse fixture.

Emerson, who was appointed as the first XV’s head coach last summer, said earlier this week that he backed his players not to a successful outcome for granted, but admitted that he had been eager for the match to come around much quicker.

He had said: “The club’s buzzing.

“It’s probably quite exciting because Ellon are playing their last game the same weekend as us, and we need to two points to win the league.

“They need to go out and do their job but we need to be mindful that we need to do our job, because we could slip up. It could happen; it’s happened to great teams before, in the last game, they slip up because they get too over confident.

“We normally look at the other team and what they can do but, this week, we’ve said to the boys it’s about you, what we’re going to do and what we can do, and just concentrate on that. If we do that, we should get over the line, and be happy come 80 minutes.

“What the lads are achieving is not by luck. The lads are making the difference; they’re doing the stuff away from the club. They’re watching the game tapes that we prep for them, so they know hard work comes from it.

“We just need to make sure the boys take what they can onto the pitch, be in control and not just look to the coaches for setting them up on the day.

“Once we get on that pitch, it’s what they do. As coaches, we sit back, think of some stuff to say at half time to get them back in the mood and let them just get on with it.

At the beginning of the season, after arriving at the club, Emerson set out his aim of promotion.

Next Saturday, they host Dalziel in the quarter-finals of the National Shield, and he continued: “I think it was Monday I messaged them on the players group, and I said it was 236 days ago, we were sat up in the clubhouse, with 65 boys, talking about what they want to do this season, what they want to achieve and their goals.

“I’m saying to them, you’ve won the big away games up north, that was one of our targets and, now, we’re 80 minutes away from winning the league. We’re nearly there.

“We’re saying to the wider squad that this next two weeks is massive for the senior team. The ones could win promotion, the following week, the ones could be in the semi-final of the shield, and that week as well, we’re hoping the second part of the seconds league starts as well, where they could also achieve promotion.

“We’re hoping we don’t go in too excited, the adrenaline wears off and there’s still 60 minutes left to play.

“I think this week will mostly be fine tuning and getting the boys on the patterns.

“We need to be mindful that there’s guys who have been here since day zero, who have been working hard for years to get the club back in the national leagues, so we need to make sure we give those guys credit and give them their opportunities to be part of the day on the pitch.

“It’ll be good but I just want it done!”

Team captain, Matthew Wilson, commented: “There’s been about three or four years of second best, sitting there not getting there, always being the bridesmaid, it’s time to actually take it.

“The old guys in the bar love to come down and watch on a Saturday, no matter what level we’re playing at, but they always talk about this is where we used to be.

“Dunfermline is one of the sleeping giants of Scottish rugby, and it’s where we want to be. This is the first step, get back into the national leagues, and go from there.”