On a Sunday when the whole of the Stewartry was frozen, the sunshine of the Costa del Stranraer was somehow enough to defrost the pitches just enough to provide an excellent playing surface.
The Shire had a large squad drawn from two clubs and the Stewartry players knew enough about many of the opposition to know that it was going to be tough.
That proved to be the case, Shire scoring two tries easily and early against a rather shambolic Stewartry defence.
