Emphatic away win clinches promotion

The Shetland rugby team is poised to gain promotion from the RBS Caledonia Regional League Division 3 North following a convincing 59-14 away win against Grampian Police at the weekend.

Officially Shetland have two more fixtures, against Deeside and Kinloss Eagles, but as both clubs have conceded the points the isles side is in an unassailable position at the head of the table.

With 43 points from 10 fixtures on the board, Shetland will gain a further 10 points from the two conceded matches, giving a total of 53 for the season. With Kinloss losing to Peterhead at the weekend the fate of the title now only rests on the final decision of the championship committee at Murrayfield.

The weekend’s victory was an outstanding one for the Shetland side. They scored nine tries through Maurice Williamson (3), Matthew Nicolson (2), Jon Pulley, Kristian Fraser, William Coghill and Sean MacKenzie, six of them converted by Pulley and one by Neil Scott.

The man of the match was Matthew Nicolson for his tireless rucking, strong carries and his overall contribution.

The fixture draws to a close one of the most successful campaigns ever for Shetland rugby. As well as all but securing the league title they also got to the semi-final of their Regional Bowl and won the inter-county against Orkney in November.

Coach Bryan Leask said: “I am so proud of what the players have achieved this year. They have worked hard at training and their commitment and dedication is now bearing fruit and you can see that as well as improving as a team the players are improving individually. That to me, as a coach, is the most satisfying achievement of the year.”

• For report and league table in The Shetland Times on Friday.