Borders rugby

Found this piece on the scottishrugbyblog.co.uk and thought it was worth sharing - rugby is alive and well, and thriving in the Borders, its heartland in Scotland:

Border League Revamped

Posted by Cameron Black

There are plenty of people in the Borders who will happily tell you that rugby in the region has continued to thrive despite the efforts of the SRU. The Union’s decision to disband the Border Reivers in 2007 resulted in the Scottish Borders Council taking out a full page newspaper advert that described it as “as one of the most misguided and unpopular decisions in the history of the sport.” But five years later Melrose have won Premier 1, Gala secured the RBS Cup and the region continues to provide a disproportionate number of players for the national side given its small population.

In 1901 a handful of clubs in the Borders banded together to form the world’s first competitive rugby union league. The idea of meaningful competition between teams was frowned upon by the SRU’s predecessor the Scottish Football Union who opposed the creation of the league. Unlike the similar split in England, the league didn’t depart from Union rules and despite various changes in its format continues to be played to this day.

The league is changing again in 2012/13 with Langholm, one of the founding members of the league in 1901, dropping out along with Berwick. Both sides now compete outside the top leagues and have suffered heavy defeats in the league in recent seasons against superior opposition. Melrose, Gala, Selkirk, Peebles, Hawick, Kelso, Jed-Forest and Hawick YM will compete for the League title whilst Berwick and Langholm will enter the newly formed RBS Border Shield. Both teams retain full membership and it has been agreed that they will automatically regain entry into the league when they gain promotion back into the top 40 Scottish club sides.

Berwick and Langholm will play Duns, Hawick Linden, Hawick Harlequins, Earlston and Gala YM for the Shield. Each team will play 3 home games and 3 away games in a league format with the overall winner going on to represent the Borders in the RBS Shield semi-final.

Berwick President, Bryan Speirs, said: “Because of our current situation on the playing side, it makes sense not to be playing the top teams in the Borders. We fully expect to regroup and work our way back into the top divisions of Scottish Rugby.”

Anyone interested in the history of the Border League or why rugby continues to hold sway over the region should pick up Southern Comfort: The Story of Borders Rugby by Neil Drysdale which was nominated for 2012 Sports Book of the Year, losing out to stiff competition in the rugby category.

I wholeheartedly second the book recommendation

I worked out that there is 7500 people per rugby club in the borders. If only this was the same in the rest of Scotland we might have been World Champions by now

With Italy the ERC has asked the FIR to repalce their clubs in the amlin with regional teams or representive teams or national teams.

One option they are looking at is entering their u20 and a representive team from the Super10 of people that could make the grade for Italy eg ex-u20s and project players.

If Scotland entered a representive team from the boarders teams in the Amlin so they would play six games so three home venues which could be the finalist and third place winner of the Boarder cup from the previous year.

This might also presuade the SRU to go back and look at it as a region. You also could add in a northern team on the same princple.

If you take the Cup that now only the Rabo two play that would be another two matches. The boarders and North could play their game the week before the amlin starts.

I think that Boarders should be slowly brought back, are representive side of the clubs in the boarders, being entered in the Almin (with a mix of players from the Glasgow and Edinburgh acamadies) also they play Glasgow and Edinburgh as one of Glasgow and Edinburghs warm up friendly games, and entry into the BandI cup.

That would create plenty of games for a team starting out, with the long term aim of Pro 12 reentry.

However there is the question that if Scotland has a 3rd team it should be in Aberdeen?

I'm really pleased to hear (and not surprised) that the Borders is still a passionate hot bed for Scottish rugby. Hopefully, once Edinburgh are established as the premier club rugby side in Europe, they will consider making the short trip to Murrayfield on a regular basis to watch them.

As for the abolision of the Border Reivers, the Borders Scottish Council can whinge all they like, but the fact is that the locals never bothered to watch them, and only started to turn out in protest once the SRU had to shut them down (for perfectly sound financial reasons). They are a tribal bunch down there, and clearly Melrose fans have an issue sitting in the same stands and cheering on the same team as Hawick, Jed Forrest and Gala fans on a weekly basis. I've no issue (in fact I thoroughly encourage) the locals to continue their die hard support for their amateur teams. I just hope that they can find it within themselves to also support a professional rugby team as well.

SRU haven't really helped themselves sell Edinburgh to the Borders. Fair few Border lads were moved to Glasgow as well as them signing players like Stuart Hogg and Fraser Thompson. Would make more sense for Glasgow/Caledonian/Exiles join Warriors and Border/Edinburgh join up with Edinburgh.

I think a 'South' team for the Amlin would be perfect. SRU supply the Border players not competing in the Heiny. Only problem, doesn't the B&I Cup take place on the same weekend?

Borders will support the team, just not a SRU led team. Border League shows that they like doing things under their own steam.

Decent amount of pro players and Sco U20 that possibly won't be playing Heiny rugby.

Plus forwards of
1. Robin Hislop
3. Gavin Robertson
6. Gary Graham
7. Andrew Nagle

Backline of
10. Scott Wight
11. Fraser Thompson
12. James King
13. John Houston
14. Mark Robertson
15. Gregor Hunter

Bench
Bruce Dick

And that's not including Ford, Laidlaw, Jones, Hogg, Cross

I have started another tread on it but lets all agree that players playing in the amlin would be more worth while then the B&I

also the SRU could tell boarders they have x number of years to get it going or it will be moved north. The boarders then can be like any of the irish teams and run themselves but take guaidance from the SRU.

More young players may stay in scotland if they thought they could play 6 amlin game rather then head to france and not be seen for 2 years.

Brendan wrote:I have started another tread on it but lets all agree that players playing in the amlin would be more worth while then the B&I

also the SRU could tell boarders they have x number of years to get it going or it will be moved north. The boarders then can be like any of the irish teams and run themselves but take guaidance from the SRU.

More young players may stay in scotland if they thought they could play 6 amlin game rather then head to france and not be seen for 2 years.

Brendan, unfortunately as a democratic society we cannot compel of force young players to stay in Scotland (believe me, I'd vote for any party that proposed to do so). Mark Bennett, whom I assume you are referring to, left Scotland not because he was offered more money elsewhere, nor because he wouldn't get any rugby in Scotland, but because (I can only assume) he felt that the coaching levels and the exposure he'd have to the Clermont top players would ultimately benefit him more. We have debated on here whether or not this was the right decision for him to make, and I'm pretty much in a minority of one in thinking it was the wrong call and badly advised. I see Stuart Hogg, Lee Jones, Alex Dunbar, Matt Scott and Duncan Weir all making big strides towards international rugby, and yet I see Mark Bennett playing some ok stuff in the U21 Championships and playing junior rugby in France. Given the situation at Glasgow last season, I think Bennett would have become a regular for Glasgow, and given NDL's pretty poor 6 Nations and injury to Ansbro, could well have been capped by now had he stayed.

In any case, I disgress. I don't think 6 Amlin games would make a hoot of difference, other than costing the SRU money. We should spend every penny making the two existing pro sides as good as they can be (see the points made on your other thread for my specific priorities). If, at some point in the future, we have a saturation of talent, and good young players have to leave to get rugby, then we throw the kitchen sink at a 3rd pro side (and my money would be on up north rather than in the Borders). If the Borders wanted a pro rugby team, they'd have backed the Border Reivers. If they feel really sore about it, then can make the colossal travel commitment of 40 minutes that would comprise the trip to Edinburgh to support Edinburgh.