With Ellon First XV completing their matches last week, all eyes were at Strathmore where Mackie travelled needing at least a draw to stay up. In a very tightly contested game, a very strong Mackie team, with players up from Edinburgh, went on to beat Strathmore late in the second half. With two penalties in the second half they pushed ahead, and in the final minute Strathmore missed a penalty for Mackie to win 11 – 13. This dropped Ellon into the bottom two which means the play offs for a second year running.
St Andrews have been demoted to Caley 2, while Ellon now play second place in Caley 2 North and Caley 2 Midlands. This means a repeat fixture of last year, Ellon against their closest rivals Garioch, but this time at the Meadows. The second game opposition has not been decided yet, but will be Harris (Dundee) or Glenrothes away. Fixtures to be played 12th April and 19th April respectively, with two out of the three teams in Caley 1 and the third in Caley 2.

Also this weekend Ellon S1 travelled to Thurso to Play Caithness! A five hour each way journey was hard going but the boys behaved brilliantly. The game was against some top opposition who had a few S2s playing also to make the numbers up. Although the score was 30 0, the boys learnt a lot about away games and needing a good start. They really came into their own in the last 15, when they prevented Caithness scoring and started running the ball well. This weekend the S1/2 play Huntly at home on the Sunday.

Ellon Girls Rugby has greatly increased this season, mainly at U15 age band, and led by Katie Falconer. However there are a few U18 girls, but not enough for a full team, so last weekend they grouped up with Gordons School in Huntly and played in the Brewin Dolphin Shield Final against Hillhead/Jordanhill/Cumnock combined. With Ellon/Gordons only new to rugby, they were beaten by a strong southern team who had some very skilled and fast players. However the girls had a brilliant time, and the game time they played really boosted their skills and looks good for the future. Coming home a little sore and bloodied but with a runners up medal, they certainly will be looking forward to the next game!