Jamie McPherson has been at the club since he was a teenager so it was a special moment for him to lift the RBS West Regional Bowl trophy with Uddingston, writes Gary Heatly.
The 24-year-old is in his 10th season at the Bothwell Castle Policies outfit and they are enjoying one of their most fruitful campaigns, having won all eight league games in RBS West 3 and have already secured silverware. They beat Isle of Arran 38-14 in the final in front of a crowd of nearly 300 who left more than satisfied as the Villagers scored six tries.
McPherson, something of a utility player who has mainly played scrum-half this term, said: "It's fantastic to have won the regional bowl but that's only the first part for us; we want to get through to the national final at Murrayfield. We've had a few tough years, losing experienced players and relying heavily on inexperienced, but enthusiastic, youths. Now, after a couple of years together and with some new blood having joined, things are a lot more positive."
Craig Ferguson took over as head coach over at the start of the season, having playing for East Kilbride, Army Scotland, Darlington, West of Scotland, Hamilton and Whitecraigs. He said: "I only knew a few guys but, while watching them at a sevens tournament, I knew I could help them out. I have tried to make things more structured and more fun. The boys want to work for each other and work hard. They are really young apart from myself, at 33, and Stewart Mackay and Garry McGill, which means they could have many years [together] as a team."
Uddingston bid for a ninth league win on Saturday away to mid-table Birkmyre.
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