Rugby Union: Rosyth Sharks win at Perthshire second XV

Mark Love's team headed north, on the back of a home win over Dunfermline's second XV, in the Caledonia Midlands Region League, Division Three, and picked up a 50-28 success.

Sharks had many of their first choice squad members unavailable through sickness, injury or family commitments, meaning that they had to call on players returning from injury, or who hadn't pulled on the orange and grey jersey for a while.

A close first half saw Rosyth pull ahead with a 19-7 lead thanks to tries from Joe Chalmers, Andy Campbell and Ryan Wallace, who also kicked two conversions.

Rosyth Sharks were winners at Perthshire second XV on Saturday. (Image: Shannon Donaldson / Rosyth Sharks.)

There was a brief pause in the second half due to an injury sustained by a home player, which saw an ambulance called and both teams move to an adjacent pitch to continue the match.

The Perthshire player was taken to hospital, where he was given the all-clear after sustaining soft tissue damage, with Sharks offering their best wishes for a speedy recovery, as well as thanking the first aiders and ambulance staff for their assistance.

When the game resumed, Rosyth were able to apply more pressure on their opponents during the rest of the second half, and veteran Brian Aspinall crossed the whitewash, as did man of the match Andy Campbell, Joe Chalmers, twice, and Callum Roy, whilst Wallace scored all of their conversions.

Rosyth Sharks were winners at Perthshire second XV on Saturday. (Image: Shannon Donaldson / Rosyth Sharks.)

"The boys dug deep on Saturday for a full 80 minutes, stuck to the game plan and it paid off," Love commented.

"We understand of course that people have commitments and family obligations. That's the nature of the amateur game at our level, and it affects all the teams in our league.

"But we're really lucky to have a lot of loyal Rosyth Sharks players who said they were ready to step up and fill those gaps on the team sheet - including players who have been out long-term and were rehabbing their injuries.

"This was the ideal opportunity for those boys to get a runout and put a marker down as to why they deserve a spot every week."

This Saturday, Sharks are on the road once more to play Dundee University Medical Students, where kick off is at 2pm.