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Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup match reports

30 Mar 2025

Swirling gusts and driving rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of more than 600 young rugby players at the Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup finals in Aberdeen.

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND - MARCH 30: Robert Gordon's College, U18 Cup Winners during the Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup finals day at Countesswells Playing Fields, on March 30, 2025, in Aberdeen, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Scates / SNS Group)

The jewel in the festival’s crown, the U18 boys and U18 girls Cups were won by Robert Gordon’s College (defeating Howe of Fife 53-28) and Stirling County (defeating Caithness 36-7) respectively.

Spectators turned out in their droves to Countesswells Playing Fields at Robert Gordon’s College on Sunday to see the best rugby from the north of Scotland. The event rounded off another successful Saltire Energy Rugby Schools Week.

To reach today’s finals showdown, each side had topped their respective regional leagues, as well as Cup, Shield, and Bowl knockout rounds, culminating in 18 boys’ and six girls’ teams reaching the big dance.

This year’s event saw the Sevens format trialled for all girls’ matches – as opposed to the traditional 15-a-side.

Caledonia Area Director Rudi Urbach said staff wanted to further provide opportunities for clubs to bring standalone teams and be represented at finals day.

“In terms of further developing a different type of skill set in the girls game, we went with the sevens format to ensure that an all-girl format is something we’re really excited to bring to the girls programme this year.”

Caledonia Regional Lead Manager Chris Pacey said the finals day had been brilliant, with well over 500 players from across the Midlands and the north participating in the finals.

“We tweaked the format slightly from last year, thinking more clubs could enter a seven a side team than a full 15 a side team. So, by changing formats slightly, we worked out that would have more girls involved overall, but also more teams involved, and more coaches involved as well.

“So that was the logic behind the tweak, and it’s proven to be a success. And you can see that by the amount of smiles on faces over there, on the pitch that the girls are playing on today.”

Saltire Energy CEO Mike Loggie said he was hugely impressed with the quality of the rugby on show.

“Honestly, the match we were watching there was going right down to the wire. It was fantastic. The kids were playing fantastic rugby. Their quality of the rugby has moved on so much in the past few years. It’s amazing.

“(Sport in schools) it’s really important. We’re involved in a lot of kids sport, and it’s so important because this is the future of the sport, and the fact that’s such diverse groups of children involved in this now, it’s great for the sport, and it’s great for the kids as well.”

Look out for our Saltire Energy Caledonia Cup finals gallery coming later this week.