GHA's ambitions of returning to the top flight of Scottish club rugby after a long absence were left unfulfilled as Stirling County successfully defended their Premiership status in Saturday's play-off.

The 39-22 scoreline may indicate otherwise but GHA came close to matching their Premiership opponents by scoring four tries to Stirling's five, suggesting the south Glasgow side could mount a similar challenge next season.

"This was probably our best performance this season. We've worked hard for this match. You could see our fitness was still there at the end of the match. Unfortunately we were hit by injuries today. We lost both our props and both our second rows." said the GHA coach, Craig Sorbie.

He added : "We're disappointed with the result. We set ourselves the target of promotion this season and didn't quite make it in the league. But the play-off was the second chance. Hopefully we'll be back fighting again next year. We've used forty six players this season. And all of them are able to play first fifteen rugby. So going forward we've got a good squad who can play at this level."

For Stirling there was evident relief at retaining Premiership status and pride in that it was achieved by a relatively inexperienced group of players, albeit containing Glasgow Warriors additions, Fraser Lyle and Ali Price.

"We have a real hotbed of junior rugby that develops players. The Premiership is a competitive market and we don't have the same pull as some other clubs. So we have to grow and develop our players." stated the Stirling coach, Graeme Young.

Against a dynamic GHA side which played with real intent, Stirling's defensive organisation was crucial as was their ability to maximise scoring opportunities not least in goal kicking where Joff Hope, who was moved from full back to stand-off only minutes into the game after Alex Black was injured, kicked six goals from seven attempts.

Hope's ten points contribution in the first half gave County a 20-10 interval advantage, Chris Binnie having scored twice for GHA and John Brogan for Stirling who also earned a penalty try.

Then in the second half touchdowns by Ruairdh Leishman and teenager Matt Smith to a try by Peter Jericevich gave County a 34-15 lead before Lyle powered through midfield for a solo score, leaving GHA's outstanding flanker Ross Angus to sign off the game with a converted try in the corner.