Patience pays off for Strathmore

Strathmore took a further step towards securing the Tennent’s Caledonia Division One title with a 35-0 win over Glenrothes in the top-of-the-table clash at Carleton Park.

However, the reality was they had to produce some excellent rugby to break down a solid Glens defence, with four of the touchdowns coming in the closing 20 minutes.

After a scoreless opening quarter, Ronan Joy bagged the first of the Strathie touchdowns.

It was equally tight for most of the second period before a strong finish yielded two tries for Ally Smith plus one apiece for Ian Reid and Dave Smith. The win extends Strathie’s cushion at the top of the table to 15 points.

Their nearest challengers are now Dunfermline, who have a game in hand.

The McKane Park men eased to an 88-7 win at home to Alloa.

The Fifers had 14 tries, with skipper Clarke Smith bagging a double while Jack Miller, Scott Murphy and Alex Jenkins also crossed the whitewash twice. The rest of the scores were shared between six others while the other points came from nine conversions. Elsewhere, Grangemouth Stags were 24-14 winners away to Hillfoots.

Blairgowrie continue to set the pace in Division Two (Midlands) after chalking up a 40-5 win at home to Falkirk seconds.

Blair have a six-point advantage at the top of the table and a game in hand over Stirling Accies, who returned from Kinross with a 31-15 success.

Third-placed Carnoustie had a 19-10 win in a hard fought contest away to Dundee University Medics, while Panmure complete the top four following the Broughty Ferry men’s 24-12 victory at home to Kirkcaldy seconds.

Meanwhile, Rosyth Sharks were celebrating after clinching the Division Three title with a 12-3 win in a winner-takes-all encounter against Dundee Morgan at Harley Street. They delivered in style with tries by Brian Aspinal and Mark Love, plus a Craig Paterson conversion.

Angus Development side went down 39-12 away to Waid Academy, meaning third spot is still up for grabs after Crieff and Strathearn took all five league points from a 59-19 win over Grangemouth Stags seconds.

Division Four champions Dunfermline seconds were 28-12 winners at Bannockburn, while Perthshire seconds had a century of points in beating Bo’ness and Glenrothes Development beat Stobswell 97-5.