Promoted Greenock earn further acclaim

The Fort Matilda club, which this season moved into new state-of-the-art clubrooms, guaranteed promotion to Scottish Hydro National One when they defeated nearest rivals, second-placed Glasgow Accies, 41-7 at Fort Matilda last Saturday.

The Wanderers have now lost just once in 19 games and can seal the championship with victory at Caithness this weekend.

Club president Dougie Sloan insisted it had neatly topped off the work in completing the clubhouse.

He said: "At the beginning of the season we set out our goals for the season and, having finished the construction of our new clubhouse, we put the focus right back on the rugby and targeted promotion.

"We are all local boys with no imports and have focused fully on developing rugby at the club, which included the recruitment of club development officer Ian Forster, and it all clicked."

The new development officer post is funded by Inverclyde Council, Birkmyre Rugby Club and St Columbus School in Kilmacolm and the Scottish Rugby Union, and has helped increase interest in rugby across Inverclyde, which Greenock are now taking on to a higher level.

They are also holding a hospitality day on 6 March with French visitors from their twinned club, Etampes.

Forster added: "The Wanderers' increased success has brought much more attention to the club which has been reflected in the club atmosphere.

"Much more people are coming down to watch some really entertaining rugby. This has created a surge of parents volunteering and kids playing which has been fantastic.

"Importantly, a lot of senior players help coach the younger teams, so they're seen as positive role models and provide a fresh outlook in training.

"But, I believe the success has also inspired Birkmyre, who are pushing for promotion.

"There's now good, strong links between the two clubs which has been key to developing rugby in the area as a whole."