Falkirk Rugby Club

It's last orders for Saturday's pre-match Whisky Tasting event, hosted by Scott Jackson.

If you're planning to come along, you need to book by noon this Monday (28th). Email [email protected].

Please also note the change to the advertised starting time, which is now 11.30am.

A separate booking is required for the pre-match lunch which starts at 1.30pm. RSVP by 5pm on Wednesday (30th). Non-members are welcome and you don't have to have attended the tasting to book lunch.

Anyone thinking of attending this youth section fundraiser needs to secure their tickets this weekend, so get in touch with the organisers via the contact details in the advert.

Sunday will be the last day to secure tickets for this event. If anyone would like tickets please get in touch asap.

Falkirk Rugby Club

And here's your Falkirk 2nd XV line up for the Caley Midlands League Div. 2 fixture against Strathmore Rugby Club at Horne Park tomorrow.

At the risk of tempting fate, this is as strong a 2nd XV squad as we've put out for a while. And it'll need to be given the quality of our opponents.

International jet-setter Connor Hazlett returns from his travels and slots into the front row, William Fraser steps up from the bench last week to start at lock, while Lochie Ellis swaps the left wing last time out for the back row. Now that's flexibility for you.

In the backs Taylor Savoury returns to fill the shirt vacated by Lochie and Marcus Sinclair makes his club debut at outside centre - go well Marcus. Andrew Lawrence returns at full-back.

Lots of experience among the replacements (yes that's mainly you Bairdy) and we're delighted to see Gregor Ramsay making his first appearance of the season.

If you're getting behind the tomorrow, come down early and start the day off by cheering on the U18 boys who KO at 2pm.

Your Falkirk 1st XV squad for tomorrow's short trip through to Inverleith to play Stewart's Melville RFC in the closest thing we have to a local derby in National League Div.2 this season.

Ed Waller is unavailable, but Connor Faulds returns making his first appearance of the season. And it's a big one as he marks 150 senior caps for the Club. Congratulations and thanks from us all for your commitment through the good times and the less good. We look forward to you passing your Dad's total in due course! Zach Melville is added to the replacements in the other change from last week.

It's also great to see the entire starting line-up having player sponsors. If you're worried that you've missed the boat, please don't, the 2nd XV will be happy to assist!

Falkirk's 1st XV travel to Inverleith on Saturday seeking to extend their 3-match winning streak after the narrow opening day defeat versus Highland. Stewart's Melville RFC have experienced the exact opposite in their early results, kicking off the season with a home victory against Dundee followed by 3 successive defeats. However, Falkirk will require a better performance than they managed in the corresponding fixture last season, if they want to reverse the 32-21 result from that day.

The 2nd XV host Strathmore Rugby Club 2nd XV, who sit top of Caley Midlands Div. 2 and are the only undefeated side in the league after 4 rounds of fixtures. Falkirk are currently in 3rd place, on 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. It should be a cracking game.

The U18's will be in confident mood after last weekend's cup heroics in Inverness. They are level with Deeside at the top of National Youth League 2, whilst their opponents from Dunfermline Rugby Football Club are looking for their 1st win of the season. Kick off is at 2pm.

The Women's team don't have a fixture and the rest might be welcome after last Sunday's titanic tussle with Livingston in Caley Midlands / East 2.

Get behind the at one of these games if you can.

Saturday 3rd of October sees the return of our annual pre-match Whisky Tasting event, hosted by the incredibly knowledgeable and entertaining Scott Jackson.

Places for the whisky tasting, which starts at Noon, are available for £25. A two-course lunch courtesy of our amazing caterers, Three Little Pigs, follows the tasting at 1.30pm and is available for just £20, including match entry to the Arnold Clark National League Div. 2 home fixture against Kirkcaldy RFC.

The tasting consists of six quality drams. And the lunch continues the Scottish theme with a menu of lentil soup with crusty bread & butter, followed by chicken balmoral - chicken and haggis with a whisky sauce, mash and veg.

You can book either or both events, but please note that there are fewer spaces for the tasting than for lunch, so if you want to go to the tasting please RSVP early! Non-members are welcome.

Email [email protected] by 5pm on Wednesday 30th September to book, but as we said, don't leave it that long if you want to attend the tasting!

Some words of thanks for what was a fantastic day on Saturday:

Thanks again to Falkirk Round Table for their match sponsorship.

Thanks to on Instagram for his pictures of the U18's cup win at Highland.

Thanks to Three Little Pigs for the excellent buffet lunch, and for the many members and guests, including our new Dutch whisky tourist friends, who supported it, and then cheered the to victory.

Thanks to the Pedalling Pitch to Pitch guys from Howe for raising money for Cancer Research UK by cycling to every away game this season (56 miles in our case. Great effort gents).

But most of all, thanks to Cole Ronald for his many years of service to the Club, which was acknowledged on Saturday, by the award of one of our exclusive "gold laurel" club ties for those with over 200 appearances. A true Club legend! 👏👏👏

So nearly a "grand slam" of results for the Club's senior sides at the weekend.

The 1st XV maintained their impressive start to the season, but had to overcome a 20:31 half-time deficit against Howe. The visitors played some smart rugby with a strong wind at their backs and Falkirk struggled to cope with with their pacy running, intelligent kicking and their lofty restarts. However, in the 2nd half, with the wind behind them, Falkirk powered back into the lead and ended up comfortable winners in the end.

Young lock Robbie Brown opened Falkirk's account with his first senior try in his first start. The backs then got into their stride with scores by Lewis Pentecost (2), Logan McKenzie (2), Ed Waller and Sean Taylor. Club captain and ho**er Callum Hunter also got a brace by acting like a back with one side-step finish and another where he outpaced the covering defence. Rugby has changed! Lewis Jamieson added a penalty and 5 conversions to the score in an assured showing at stand-off.

The 2nd XV also came back from being well behind in Crieff to lead 36-43 with only a few minutes left, thanks to Ross MacDonald's hat-trick score and Cammy McKenna's touchline conversion. However, a couple of marginal calls both went the home side's way and they got the converted score they needed to secure a highly entertaining draw. Lots of encouraging performances from the young Wheels, notably the 1st Falkirk hat-trick of the day from Ty Mitchell.

But perhaps the result of the day on Saturday belonged to the U18 boys who made the long trip north in the National League Cup to Inverness to face Highland's Eagles, who are flying high atop the league above Falkirk's colts. A hard-fought but thoroughly deserved 29:34 win sees the progress to the next round.

And then on Sunday, Sunnyside was treated to a cracking top of the table clash between Falkirk RFC Women and Livingston - two very well-matched sides that had both cruised through their opening league fixtures. The lead changed hands numerous times during a really compelling and expansive game. Livi's forwards probably had the edge at the breakdown but Falkirk's backs caused their opposite numbers plenty of problems, as the momentum ebbed and flowed between the sides. The result was still in the balance when Falkirk regained the lead at 29:27 with only a few minutes left, but they put a gloss on the score with a converted try in the final play to win 36:27.

What a weekend for the !

Tomorrow's match programme.

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