Rugby World: The Champions

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
CHAMPIONS EDITION CHAMPIONS EDITION CHAMPIONS EDITION CHAMPIONS EDITION
SHE NATIONAL LEAGUE THREE WAYSIDERS put a tragic end to last beside Mike Todd, who is also over including a critical last-day clash at
WHITECRAIGS season behind them to take this title 40, prop Jackie Cockburn is 44 Dalkeith 26-5, to take the title. Gala
Captain Ryan Moffatt with a perfect record of 18 wins from and Cally Gordon, 47, is still in the YM won post-Christmas Group Two.
Coach Jim Henderson 18 games. Last spring one of their mix at scrum-half! Strathspey won
FORMER club under-18s coach young backs, Jono Laughran, died in post-Christmas Group Two. SHE WEST DIVISION TWO
Henderson returned to Whitecraigs a car crash and Waysiders’ bid to CLYDEBANK
last summer and helped take them take the title understandably waned, SHE CALEDONIA DIV TWO (N) Captain David Miller
from the bottom half of the table to with Marr winning instead. This ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY Coach Euan McQuarrie
the championship. They won 18 season they were determined to Captain Mike Hunter IT’S 14 years since Clydebank have
matches out of 22, one less than achieve their goal and succeeded. Coach Campbell Scott won anything, so they were delighted
runners-up Hawick YM, but amassed Their nearest challengers were NINE wins out of ten pre-Christmas to take this title. They won ten out of
16 bonus points along the way. Cumbernauld, whom they beat by a and three more in post-Christmas 11 pre-Christmas matches, drawing
Centre Moffatt, scrum-half Stuart point at home in September and 12-7 Group One gave Aberdeen University the other 6-6 with Wigtownshire, and
Henderson and No 8 Keith Hunter away in December. Captain Logue the title. It was their second title, but took the post-Christmas Group One
all had good seasons. Player of the formed a great centre partnership league restructuring meant they title with a game to spare. A group of
Year was 18-year-old prop Iain with David Millne, but it was consistent didn’t get promoted last year. their under-17s players stepped up to
Laidlaw while 17-year-old full-back team performances which gave Garioch beat them twice and Banff the ﬁ rst team and helped turn things
Ally Stevenson also impressed. them the title and promotion. once, but two of those defeats came around. Half-backs Ross Moffatt
when exams made it hard to raise and Ross McCombe forged a strong
SHE CALEDONIA DIVISION ONE SHE CALEDONIA DIV TWO (MID) a team. Flanker Dom Dunnett and partnership. Clydebank also had a
GORDONIANS BLAIRGOWRIE wing Redha Gouedrouj excelled. great run in the national Plate, losing
Captain Keith Wildridge Captain Kevin Brown Aberdeen University ended up with 11-8 to Portobello in the semi-ﬁ nals.
Coaches Richie Anderson, Chris Coaches Ian Robertson, more to celebrate as they added the Braidholm won Group Two.
Snape, Alan Hardie (scrum) Peter Ireland (ﬁ tness) Scottish Hydro Electric Plate to their
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FIVE years ago, Gordonians were in EACH division in Regional League league success. Ross Sutherland SHE WEST DIVISION THREE
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such a slump they resigned from Two split into two pools after ten won post-Christmas Group Two. COWAL
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National Division Two and returned to matches, with the top half of the Captain Alan McKay
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regional rugby. Now they’re heading clubs competing in Group One and SHE EAST DIVISION TWO Coach James MacArthur
back to the national leagues. They the bottom half in Group Two. MEGGETLAND COWAL earned promotion for the
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won this, their third title in a row, by Blairgowrie won all ten of their Captain Ross Young ﬁ rst time with 16 wins from 18 games.
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16 clear points from Aberdeenshire. pre-Christmas matches and Coaches Steve Douglas (backs), No 8 McKay was among the club’s
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Their partnership with Robert although they lost two out of ﬁ ve in Gerry Dryburgh (forwards) leading try-scorers, while utility back
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Gordon’s University, under which post-Christmas Group One, they still THIS was Meggetland’s ﬁ rst season Neil Walker was also on form.

players turn out for both teams, is took the title. They beneﬁ ted from the after they were formed out of the Secretary Malcolm Barclay says the
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thriving. Star players were prop Bob return of ex-Watsonians ﬂ y-half Euan Boroughmuir club last summer. critical stage of the season came
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Robertson, who scored his ﬁ rst try Ireland, Gavin Wynde moved from Having struggled to get ﬁ xtures as when they had to play Lanark twice
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for ﬁ ve years, ﬂ anker Gus Willis, No 10 to scrum-half and adapted Boroughmuir third or fourth XV, they in 15 days. “We’d not played them
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centre Mark Estachy and wing/ superbly, while wings Michael Black launched a separate club, while before and didn’t know what to
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full-back Paddy Cooney. Scrum-half and Andrew Cowans starred. remaining associate members of expect, but we beat them both times.”
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Jason Garden scored 24 tries. President Gordon Black describes Boroughmuir. They ﬁ nished the With a youth section now being
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the pack as “small but competitive” pre-Christmas section of the league developed, Cowal hope to maintain
SHE EAST DIVISION ONE and they certainly have experience: just behind Dalkeith but won all their their momentum with more
ROSS HIGH the 42-year-old president plays lock post-Christmas Group One games, home-grown players in the future. n
Captain Chris Hutchison
Coaches Graham Paris, Mark Urwin
NEW head coach Paris helped turn
around a club which has slipped
down the leagues from Premiership
Three. Ross High won 14 games out
of 18 and claimed 17 bonus points
to take the title by ten points from
Hawick Linden, who also had 14 wins.
Dean Jones was their proliﬁ c
goalkicker but the tries were shared,
with centres Hutchison and Michael
Patterson to the fore. Ross lost three
of their ﬁ rst ﬁ ve games, including
26-14 at Hawick Linden, but won the
return in late February 31-12. Paris
and Urwin both work at Ross High
School, from where a group of
ex-pupils founded the club in 1969.
SHE WEST DIVISION ONE
WAYSIDERS DRUMPELIER
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Captain Neil Logue
Student ball: Aberdeen University
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Coach John Shaw
celebrate their Murrayﬁ eld triumph
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Rugby World’s club guide returns next season. In the meantime, if you have any stories and/or pictures for the Scotland club guide, then please email catherine_king@ipcmedia.com or write to: Rugby World, Ninth Floor, IPC Media, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark St, London, SE1 0SU. Enjoy the summer!
RUGBY WORLD JULY 2008 117
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