TALENTED youngsters with Dunfermline Rugby Club are celebrating after claiming trophy glory last Sunday.

The McKane Park club's boys under-15s travelled to Aberdeen to participate in the Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup final, and they came home victorious after edging out Stirling County in the final.

A total of 30 teams from across the Caledonia region congregated in the Granite City for the event, which is the largest regional rugby finals day in Scotland, and is hosted by Scottish Rugby.

Clubs competed in a series of regional leagues, then knockout rounds in the Caledonia Cup, Caledonia Shield and Caledonia Bowl knockout rounds, culminating in 24 boys', and six girls', teams reaching the showpiece across under-15, under-16 and under-18 age groups.

Last year, Dunfermline were represented in the boys' under-15 plate, and under-16 bowl, which saw successes in both, which was added to by the class of 2023.

In the semi-finals, the under-15 side defeated Aberdeen Wanderers, and came through a nailbiting final to win the silverware.

A keenly-contested match saw Dunfermline lead 3-0 at the interval, having had a try disallowed for a knock-on, before increasing their lead by a further five points, but a late, converted try set nerves jangling before the full-time whistle was blown.

The team were led by coaches Martin Scade, Ben Mallinson and Dave Mallinson, with the latter telling Press Sport: "It was a really tough, hard game, and nailbiting.

"It was one of those cup finals where I don't think either team played to their full potential, in terms of skills and avoiding mistakes, but it was enthralling. It was a tremendous game to watch if you were spectating.

"In terms of sheer excitement, end-to-end rugby and the defence on both sides, it was excellent.

"We knew we could win it, and the boys did extremely well."

Both clubs have players in the mix for Caledonia regional selection, and Dave, who hopes that the players can use the benefits of playing the sport as they get older, added: "We want to get a team together that's competitive and wants to play together.

"We get a great deal of support from the parents. That's very important.

"It's all about the boys on the day. They did it, they went out and played well."