Howe Crusaders weather storm to wrap up rugby’s Tennent’s Caledonia Midlands Region League Division 3 title

Conditions weren’t good on the pitch for that fixture at Duffus Park, rescheduled from the week before, and a further heavy downpour just before kick-off almost prompted another postponement, but both teams were keen to play so the game went ahead in front of a large home crowd.

Grangemouth, fielding a much-changed team to that beaten 44-8 on the road by Howe in February, started off well, enjoying a lot of possession.

Their hosts then did what they have done under opposition pressure all season, though, defending effectively and with great success, giving away no points when they could easily have lost a couple of tries.

Crusaders then started to adjust to the conditions and began moving the ball better.

Their accuracy in moves and clean ball from the set-piece were good, and that resulted in steady scoring through the first half to give them a 19-0 lead at half time.

The second half was a bit more disjointed, with the home side now having the majority of the possession and territory.

Crusaders did manage to score on two more occasions, but as the muddy pitch, making it very difficult to tell who was who, and some sin-bin time took its toll on both sides, that was the only impression made on the scoreline.

With the league title now confirmed, Crusaders’ attention now turns to the last two games of the season – a potentially tricky away game at Aberfeldy on Saturday, April 1, followed by a home game versus Dunfermline’s seconds on Saturday, April 8.

Howe Crusaders: K Jeffrey, L Croston, E Dingle, F Cumming, T Turpie, T Bruce, L Connah, I Stevenson, I Petrie, N Wright, A Webb, G Thomson, R Small, C Hain, R Underwood, M Gibson, D Thomas, J Allison, E MacDonald, I Bousie, E Muir, R Small.

Howe of Fife are away to Whitecraigs this Saturday in Tennent’s National League Division 3, with kick-off at 3pm.