Alloa reach shield final

Alloa secured a spot in the final of the BT Caledonia Shield and moved a step closer to making a return visit to BT Murrayfield for finals day when they posted a 12-7 win over Grangemouth Stags at Earlsfield.

A cross-wind and heavy underfoot conditions were not conducive to flowing rugby and ensured it was a tight affair that went to the final whistle.

The home side opened the scoring when Matt Pope raced in between the posts, Lee Cairney converting.

Alloa added a second try when Daniel Murrell raced in at the corner for an unconverted score that left the home side 12-0 up at the interval.

Alloa had the better of the third quarter but, having survived that spell, Stags finished strongly and ensured a dramatic finale when Michael Roach crossed in the dying minutes and Thomas Skelton converted.

There was one final chance for the visitors to snatch the win but they fumbled a quickly-taken penalty.

In the final, Alloa will play Caithness, who were awarded the tie when their Aberdeen Wanderers withdrew.

Panmure and Dundee University Medics will battle it out for the silverware in the BT Caledonia Regional Bowl (Midlands) final on March 3.

The Broughty Ferry men saw off Rosyth Sharks 34-12 while the students beat Kinross 36-24.

On league duty, Hillfoots pulled six points clear of Blairgowrie at the top of BT Caledonia Division Two (Midlands) with a 55-0 win at home to Falkirk.

Hilfoots seconds went down 71-10 away to Arbroath in Division Three (Midlands) while Howe of Fife seconds moved into pole position above Waid Academy when they recorded a 33-8 win at Bannockburn.

Crieff & Strathearn sit in third spot after a hard-fought 31-29 win over Glenrothes Development XV at Braidhaugh, a try by Ryan Flett with the final play snatching victory.

Angus Development XV were 87-5 winners over Stobswell and Grangemouth Stags XV won 15-5 at Bo’ness.