Rugby: Falkirk lose out in final day clash to narrowly miss out on National Division 2 title

The Sunnyside team travelled to the West End of Glasgow knowing that a win, or even a high scoring draw would earn them the title after putting it into their own hands, thanks to a stunning campaign that saw Falkirk only lose four times out of 22 outings.

Director of rugby Kenny Grieve admitted that on the day, the team just didn’t do enough to earn the title.

"We were hugely disappointed with our performance, from the players to management to everyone involved with the club,” he said. “You cannot take anything away from Glasgow Accies, because they were superb on the day and it felt like everything they touched turned to gold.

“For us, it was just a really bad day at the office and we didn’t really fire a shot at them. We were 12-7 up at one point and we missed what could have been a score under the posts, and that would have seen us take a decent lead, but you could out every moment that didn’t go our way from every game this season – we just didn’t do enough on the big day.

“We were probably masters of our own downfall too and we had four yellow cards during the game which is very unlike us, we’ve barely had any this season and then we get four in the one game. In effect, we were playing with 14 men for a full half and that isn’t going to win you a game.

“We made some mistakes and some errors along the way and although some of the refereeing calls were probably not correct, that didn’t lose us the game.”

Despite the final day defeat, Grieve says the club can look back on the campaign with real pride, and that the achievements of the season show real progress.

He added: “In the cold light of day when you look on the year as a whole, it really has been a tremendous season and we have done more than we set out to do. We wanted to finish in the top four and we have ended off finishing third, on the same amount of losses as the top two.

"The reconstruction of the league system meant it was crucial to finish in the top six and we have sealed that comfortably. The players have also come on leaps and bounds and we have a real mentality and team spirit that will set us up well for next season."

Grieve also paid tribute to long-serving player Stuart Serafini, who has been forced to retire after an injury.

The prop was a mainstay in the Falkirk team this season, but has fractured his jaw and has been forced to give up the game for good due to the nature of the injury, as he previously sustained a fracture in the same place.

“I want to wish him all the best and thank him for his service to the club,” Grieve said. “He has been a super player for us and I look forward to seeing him down at the club in the near future supporting the players. I am sure I can find a job for him to still be involved.”

Falkirk’s senior season concludes this weekend when the seconds face Caledonian Midlands Division 2 leaders at home on Saturday.