THE head coach of Rosyth Sharks Rugby Club says that guiding them to a league title feels a “bit unreal”.

Kristofer Richards has hailed his players for a “massive” achievement in the club’s history after they won the Tennent’s Caledonia Midlands Three championship on Saturday.

The Harley Street club hosted Morgan in a winner-takes-all clash and, roared on by a large crowd, produced an outstanding defensive display to win 12-3.

In a closely-fought match, Sharks’ Brian Aspinall managed to break forward for the only try of the first half, but a successful penalty from the visitors kept the game on a knife-edge.

The game continued in a similar vein until Stuart Bailey scored Rosyth’s second try to put some daylight between the teams, and Craig Paterson’s conversion was enough to see them home and to the title.

It was a memorable day for the club and Richards, who will now leave his role, told Press Sport: “It feels a bit unreal.

“I’m happy for the players, for everybody at the club and for the people who came down to watch. The amount of people that were there shows how much it means.

“We were playing against a very good team and we knew that we would have to play our best rugby to beat them, and that’s what we did. The crowd was massive; they helped get us over the line.

“Some of the players afterwards said that they were spurred on by the energy of the crowd and fed off that.

“Before the game they looked focused and determined; I knew as soon as I walked in that we were going to win that game.

“It was 80 minutes of hard, physical rugby and nothing less than we expected. We got a couple of good breaks, scored a couple of tries and stopped them from scoring.

“Our defence was on top form.”

Richards continued: “We trained all last week on defence, about keeping onside and our discipline. We knew that if we could keep them out, we could score points.

“There were guys who have played there for around 15 years, and from youth level, so I knew what it meant to them. That gave me a great sense of achievement.

“It is massive for the club. We’re now in a league that is justified for them, and it is a good chance to grow that further. It makes the club more sellable to businesses as well, which is great.

“It gears the club up for the future and I think that we’ve set them on the right way but now it is time for somebody else to take on.”

Bowing out with promotion to Caledonia Two brings to an end a three-year stint as coach for Richards, and an association with the Sharks spanning a further 12.

He added: “I’ve loved the place but I’ll always be around and pop down as a spectator.

“I am sad to be going but I wanted to leave on a high.”