Aberdeen Grammar eased to within one win of a place in the last eight of the Caledonia Cup after seeing off spirited Aberdeenshire at Rubislaw.
Shire scored four tries against the Premiership men, who responded with 10 tries of their own.
The day had not started well for Shire, who had to surrender home advantage after their Woodside pitch was declared unplayable due to frost.
The switch looked to have affected Shire, as within 11 minutes they had shipped three tries.
But once they had found their feet, they contrived to give Grammar a game, mainly through an excellent pack which had near parity with the Premiership side.
Shire coach Eric Strachan said: “I was delighted with our showing.
“We more than held our own for long spells. Some of our youngsters stood out in a great game of rugby.
“The difference was Grammar’s Erlend Oag, who had a fine game on the wing, scoring three sparkling tries.
“We also lost one or two soft tries but, over the piece, I am proud of the guys. The real prize was in getting a bonus point for scoring four tries.”
Opposite number Kevin Wyness was pleased with his side’s application.
He said: “There were lots of positives for us to carry into next week’s cup tie at Cupar, where we meet Howe of Fife in what will be the decider in the section.
“More importantly, it gives us options for our league game against Currie the following week. Greig Ryan had a good game at centre, giving us extra options in midfield.”
Ryan, the Grammar captain, opened the scoring with a try in two minutes after a bout of good hand- ling from the rest of the back division, followed quickly by tries from winger Angus Rennie and hooker Sean O’Connor. A try from Oag in 20 minutes suggested a rout was on the cards, especially as stand off Mark Ryan was starting to find his range, kicking two of the conversions to make it 24-0.
To the relief of their large support, Shire came into the game, surprising Grammar with an enterprising try from lock Ryan Mountain which stand off Tom Kiwara failed to convert from wide out.
Grammar hit back on the half-hour when lock Jamie Metcalf rumbled over. Ryan added the conversion to make it 31-5.
Mike Erskine added some more points for Shire with a try converted by Kiwara to make it 31-12 at the interval.
But by the break Grammar had lost two players to yellow cards. The loss of O’Connor and prop Simon Cessford meant Grammar started the second half with 13 men.
Shire kept up the pressure, scoring a third try early in the second through flanker Conor Macfarlane, converted by Kiwara.
Then Grammar came to their senses and enjoyed a scoring spree, running in tries from Oag (2), prop Matt Dixon, O’Connor, and finally full back Steve Aitken, four of which were converted by replacement stand off Graeme Clow.
In the midst of this spree, Andy Watts claimed a fourth try for Shire to give them a deserved bonus point.