Police Scotland lock-up national double

Police Scotland capped a remarkable season defeating Welsh side Gwent Police, 29-17, in the final of the Police Sport UK knockout competition at the neutral venue of Stourbridge RFC, near Birmingham.In winning the 32-team competition, Police Scotland added to their success from earlier in the season when they stormed to victory at the National UK Police Sevens, also played at Stourbridge.Police Scotland team manager, John Shaw, said: “The team should be proud of themselves for the style of rugby they exhibited throughout the whole season.”A large amount of credit must be given to coaches Caine McIntyre and Mike Parsons, who prepared the boys for the mammoth task of the double, especially in the team’s infancy, putting an emphasis on our need to defend in an aggressive and tenacious manner, which has been at the crux of our success all season.”We’re immensely proud that as a new team, only just a year old, we have managed to win on a national scale, something which we look forward to building on in coming seasons.”Police Scotland are the first force to have recorded the feat of the national double in 75 years, and only the second ever Scottish side to win the Police Sport UK knockout competition – Lothian and Borders Police being the first in 2001.There has also been success for the Scottish Police national side, as the representative team took part in their first ever international game defeating their Irish counterparts, 52-23, at Lochinch Police Club, Pollok Park.