Dundee HSFP 34 - 37 Stirling County: Stirling snatch tie on last kick

It was first blood to Stirling County in a tense and dramatic finale. A last-gasp penalty by Stuart Edwards sealed a remarkable victory for them just when a share of the spoils looked a certainty.

Matt Smith had notched a try hat-trick for the home side, but his joy was short-lived. The other Dundee High scores went to Neil Dymock and Andy Linton, while James Fleming slotted two conversions and a penalty.

The County counters were supplied by Colin Eadie, Sean Kennedy, Gordon McCrorie, Graham Lindsay and Mike Doneghan. However, it was Edwards who stole the show with a total of three goals, including the one that mattered.

For County, the victory marked a fine return to top flight rugby following their Premier 2 title success. They must now strive to maintain this level of quality as they try to shake off their yo-yo tag.

For Dundee, it is a case of back to the drawing board for coach Ian Rankin. They achieved a series of excellent results last season, but have lost of raft of players such as Cammy Ferguson, Stefan Dreyer, Aubrey Horton, Lindsay Graham and Ross Lemon.

Scorers: Dundee HSFP: Tries: Smith (3), Dymock, Linton. Cons: Fleming 2. Pen: Fleming. Stirling: Tries: Eadie, Kennedy, McCrorie, Linsay, Doneghan. Cons: Edwards 3. Pens: Edwards 2.

Dundee HSFP: J Fleming; M Smith, H Duthie, F Clark, A Hay; A O'Connor, A Dymock; N Dymock, S Forrest, A Brown, R Hawkins (capt), A Linton, C Cumming, R Cessford, D Levison. Subs: C Kerr, D Russell, R Milne, R Gray, B Jones.

Stirling County: R McGowan; G Lindsay, B Addison, D Gilmour, M Doneghan; S Edwards, S Kennedy; M Hunter, A Moffat (capt), G Mountford, C Deacons, G Gilchrist, T Edwards, S Robertson, C Eadie. Subs: A Simpson, D Morrison, B Barsanti, G McRorie, J Hope.

Referee: M Rudkin.