The Falkirk 2XV hosted Arbroath 2XV in the Caledonia Midlands Division 4 encounter at Cala Park. Coach Chris Palmer had the luxury of selecting from a bigger group of players than usual and choose a mixture of youth and experience.

That rare thing called sunshine bathed Cala Park, yes you have read correctly SUNSHINE and with the pitch as always in immaculate condition both teams took to the field looking for the win. Falkirk task was clear, a win and with a bonus point.

The first half was a very combative affair with both teams cancelling each other out and the game was mainly played between both teams 22's, Falkirk did threaten the Arbroath try line on several occasions but a combination of good cover defence and poor discipline at the breakdown by Falkirk kept the score line blank. What did not help the game was the pedantic attitude of the official who repeatedly penalised both teams for what seemed like minor infringements, this only caused the game to be a stop start affair.

The referee eventually lost his patience with the Falkirk team and sin binned their centre for what could only be called a team penalty, once too often the boys were adjudged guilty of sealing off at the ruck. Down to 14 men it was the Falkirk team who took the lead, this time Arbroath were penalised and Stuart Sharp slotted the kick over the posts. That was all the scoring in the first half.

Half Time: Falkirk 3 v Arbroath 0

There was not much change in the second half in terms of the weather but Falkirk's performance was to bring more sunshine to the game. From the whistle, Falkirk dominated field position and found themselves camped in the visitors half and exerted pressure upon the Arbroath try line. The crowd did not have to wait long for that elusive opening try, 10mins into the half and on their own 5m line Arbroath tried a clearance kick but with no guards posted and Falkirk on the front foot Neil Logan charged the ball down and scored, conversion missed.

Falkirk were by far the more dominant team and continued to press the visitors defence, to Arbroath's credit they threw everything into the tackle and gave their all but the pressure was too much and they soon yielded another try. Good work in the back line gave the home team excellent field position and running a great line, Falkirk centre Alex Meek hit a great angle at pace and off he went to score, alas conversion missed.

Arbroath did have some forays into Falkirk's territory but try as they might it was difficult to see how they might score as the Falkirk defence fought for every ball. Falkirk's third try was by far their best, what made it so good was the play from the team, launching the attack from the halfway line the Falkirk boys moved their attack from side to side probing the visitors defence. Forwards and backs worked in unison as they sought to breach that line, their ball retention was excellent and just as importantly their composure was equally brilliant, with the Arbroath defence stretched and all resemblance of structure gone the call was for the ball to be shipped out to the backs and centre Darren Howie ghosted in to score under the posts, Darren converted his own try.

Arbroath did get themselves on the score sheet, the type of penalty that marred Falkirk's first half performance returned and reared its ugly head, sealing off at the ruck. With the game beyond them it was surprising to see Arbroath choose a shot at goal but that they did and to their kickers credit, a good 30m kick bisected the uprights.

With the game won, Falkirk sought to end on a high and seal the victory with a bonus try point. The home support were not to be disappointed, as the clock was ticking down Falkirk again stretched the visitors defence and with an overlap created on the Falkirk right good hands along the line gave Gregor Ramsay the opportunity to score in the corner, conversion missed.

Full Time: Falkirk 25 v Arbroath 3

Right click on the video attachment and select open for the referee's interpretation of the ruck