The two sides battled out an absolute cracker from start to finish in a tie that featured eight tries in the regular 80 minutes and another two in extra time.

Tries from full-back Viki McGinn, and winger Pamela Gillespie – the first of a crucial hat-trick from the captain – put the Quines in the driving seat but, true to the nature of the tie, Melrose battled back with a pair of their own – stand-out centre Gillian Ingles and full-back Kirsty Cook crossing for the scores with the conversion accuracy all that separated the two teams, 14-12.

Aberdeenshire then extended their advantage with two unconverted tries, this time wing Lauren Harris and ever-present prop Lynda Allanson got in on the act (24-12) before Melrose stand-off Halfpenny slotted a penalty to keep her side in reach at the break.

HALF TIME: 24-15

After 15 minutes of toe-to-toe rugby, Melrose reduced the deficit once again – Hannah Rorrison’s try (and Halfpenny’s conversion) put them just two points adrift before Inglis crossed for an unconverted score to snatch the lead for the first time, late in the second-half, 24-29.

The match continued at a break-neck speed and as the minutes ticked on it was clear that Aberdeenshire had more still to offer, it was to be a matter of whether they had the time to prove it.

Fortunately for the Quines, they did.

With literally seconds left on clock, Gillespie (one of the outstanding contributors to finals day) scored a phenomenally important try at the death to tie the match which, after stand-off Heidi Park put her conversion wide, meant the teams were headed for extra time.

Despite the full-throttle nature of the tie continuing outwith the regular 80 minutes, aching bodies, nerves, or sheer fatigue are the most probable of reasons for a scoreless first-half.

The tie therefore came down to just ten short second-half extra-time minutes and who else but Gillespie would cross the whitewash for a try to complete one of the most crucial hat-tricks in seasons gone by, 34-29.

The Quines then showed outstanding fitness and desire to ensure the game was out of reach with some great running rugby that defied the 100+ minutes played by the team.

Allanson crashed into contact, offloaded to Cook who passed to the overlapping Harris on the right wing for a great score.

Parks slotted her conversion and the final whistle heralded the end of a truly memorable match.

FULL TIME: 41-29

ABERDEENSHIRE QUINES
Vikki McGinn; Pamela Gillespie CAPTAIN, Kirsty Coghill, Sally Byrne, Lauren Harris; Heidi Park, Kirsty Grant; Lynda Allanson, Sam Flannigan, Elaine Nicol, Lauren Rennie, Laura Baxendale, Ciara Watsonsarah Butcher, Sian Hill
Substitutes
Helen Ryrue, Claire Jubb, Nicola Durieux, Laura Noorits, Emelie Sinet, Jenny Oelman

MELROSE
Kirsty Cook; Laura Turner, Diane Turner, Gillian Inglis, Lynn Clark; Nicola Halfpenny, Steff McKenna; Elaine Brady, Laura Purves, Lorna Doyle, Natasha Blaszk, Jodie Beaton, Emma Hackney, Megan MacIver, Gillian Thomson
Substitutes
Dawn Hope, Hannah Rorrison, Rachel Wood, Lyndsey Gilchrist, Ruth Poole

Player of the match: Hiedi Park
Referee: Alex Pratt