The pick of the scores went to centre Ewan Eley, who crossed the line four times, while full back Greg Willetts and back row Liam Slaven (captain) took braces for the second week running. Ed Adie scored a break-away try and Callum Cruickshank did his best to convert the score fest.

Slaven said: “This was a great win for us and a perfect example of the way we can perform if we play from the starting whistle. The expansiveness of the game suited us well and meant that we could get guys like Stuart Hackett onto the ball, running into space.

“We had the likes of Steve Bucknall and Ed Adie returning to the side and they added experience and stability to our play. I’m happy with the effort everyone put in, especially for the first 60 minutes of the game.”

Highland made a gallant effort to stem Ellon’s flowing rugby, and played well in parts of the match, but were hampered by the depth of their squad - only travelling with 16 players. By the last 20 minutes the Inverness side had picked up a couple of injuries and were down to 14 men.

At the end of the first half the score was 31-0 to Ellon, who had the game in the bag. The Meadows side proceeded to add to their score tally in the second 40, but were guilty of taking their foot off the pedal as the game came to a close and Highland crept in for an unconverted try.

The win sees Ellon move to third in the Caledonia League 1 table and promises for an interesting rematch on November 10 when the two sides come together in the RBS Caledonia Regional Shield.

Slaven added: “We let ourselves slip a little towards the end of the match, but there are still plenty of positives to be taken from today. I’m sure Highland will come back strongly in November. Meanwhile, we have our league campaign to concentrate on.”

Ellon will hope to build on their victory when the make the long journey to Caithness next Saturday. The northerners should prove tricky customers having just turned over high-flyers St. Andrews University 27-22 on the road, taking them just 1 point behind Ellon in the league table.

For score updates follow @EllonRugby on Twitter or via homepage at ellonrfc.co.uk