Emily Mather stepped forward first, followed by the rest of the Scotland team, to collect their gold medals, the trainee teacher having tipped the balance in the countdown for the Celtic Cup.
The Manchester-based angler was fifth in her section on Day One of the two-day coarse fishing event at Strathclyde Park and she finished a highly-creditable third in her section on Day Two which edged out Wales.
Gus Brindle, Scotland’s team manager and the event organiser, said her results made the difference and Scotland celebrated.
It’s been a remarkable run for Scotland team in angling events in the last year. The Stillwater Bank team took gold at Largs in their event then the fly fishermen struck gold in the Spring and Autumn Competitions, and now this.
In Lanarkshire, Scotland finished on 21 points in the tough event which aims to develop fresh talent for European and world teams.
Second were Wales A with one point more and third Ireland on 29 points.
Welsh angler, Matthew Powell, won the individual gold with what Brindle described as a “blinding total” of 40kg-plus. James Dornom from Currie, Midlothian, finished in second place with 14.525kg with his Scotland team-mate, Barry Young, in the bronze medal spot with 10.775kg.
After the first session on Saturday, Wales and Scotland both had eight points but the men from the Principality had a bigger weight. Ireland were third.
On Sunday, Ireland Seniors won with nine points with Scotland Blue in second place on 13 points and Scotland White also on 13 points, but Emily’s finish made the difference after a complex countback.
Brindle said it was 40 years since Scotland last hosted an international coarse fishing event and, in the interim, only one day competitions had been held. Now the hope is among the angling fraternity that more can be hosted here with Strathclyde Park a prime candidate as rival teams were full of praise for the venue.
CELEBRATION TIME: Emily Mather on the bank at Strathclyde Park. Picture Chris Paton
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