ABOUT THE CLUB

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Club was founded in 1893.  The use of the current ground, Rubislaw, was granted to the former pupils in 1914 and has provided the School and the FP Club with excellent facilities over the years.  The present stand was erected in 1993 to mark the Club’s centenary year and the plans for the further re-development of Rubislaw are now nearing completion.  Phase I of the re-development, a floodlit all-weather playing facility, was completed in 2005 and Phase II, a new “state of the art” pavilion and changing accommodation, was completed in the spring of 2009.  In addition, new improved floodlighting for winter training was installed in the autumn of 2009 and this summer the Club have carried out field improvements and also replaced the seating in the Stand.  We look forward to the coming season (2010/11) with the new improved facilities that are now available to us at Rubislaw.

The amenities at Rubislaw are complemented by the Club Centre at 86 Queens Road, which is only a few minutes walk from the ground.  The Centre has two bars, excellent TV facilities (including Sky Sports), a Gymnasium, Snooker room and Petanque piste.  It also has a large garden with a barbeque area. Membership of the Club Centre is open to all.  The Club Centre has an ongoing refurbishment programme and to date the first floor meeting / function rooms have been refurbished and main circulation areas redecorated.  The plans also include for the provision of new refurbished toilet facilities throughout the building.  Hopefully all these improvements will be in place by the start of the season.

The Rugby Club has produced a number of Scottish Internationalists throughout its 116-year existence.  Dr Donny Innes and the late Dally Allardice were its most capped players until Robbie Russell in recent times bagged 27 before retiring from the game.  The latest capped players are Johnny Beattie and Moray Low, both currently with Glasgow Warriors.

Our Club has been further honoured in having provided five Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union, the most recent being the late Charlie Ritchie in 1997/98.  D.W.C. (Doug) Smith is particularly remembered for also being manager of the victorious 1971 Lions Tour to New Zealand and Australia.

 

RECENT AND CURRENT PLAYING INFORMATION

In season 1996/97, when the Club was playing in National League Division 2, an ambitious 5-year plan was implemented to take the Club to the top level in Scottish Club Rugby.  In successive years the Club gained promotion through the leagues and after 2 seasons in Premier League 2 we achieved our objective in gaining promotion to Premier League 1 in season 2000/01.  We consistently finished in the top half of Premier 1 for 5 seasons before being relegated to Premier 2 in 2007.  The Club is re-building its coaching, playing and management structures with the aim of returning to Premier 1 at the earliest opportunity.

The Club runs two senior sides that play in National competitions and a 3rd XV who play ad-hoc local matches.  Through its Associations with other local clubs we aim to provide everyone who wishes to play rugby with a game throughout the season.

We currently have around 240 players under the age of 18 at the Club.  We run a successful Junior Section with boys and girls registered at Mini level (Primary 4 to Primary 7 age groups) and a thriving Midgets section for those below the P4 age level.  We also run Midi and Youth teams at S1, S2, U-15, U-16 and U-18 levels.  Last season all our Mini, Midi and Youth teams enjoyed significant successes in their respective competitions with our Under 18’s reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and winning the Caledonia Cup.

The Club has implemented a new coaching structure for this season.  The coaching team will be lead by Alex Duncan as head coach with Kevin Wyness as his assistant 1st team coach and with Craig Parslow appointed as the 2nd team coach.  Iain Stanger, Alan Hardie and Rob Potter will provide specialized coaching support and Rod Aspe has been appointed the strength and conditioning coach .  Rob Lawsonhas again been appointed as Club Captain for the coming season.  These coaches together with a host of coaches and managers from throughout the Junior Section will be working hard to improve the quality of rugby at all levels at the Club.

One measure of progress at the Club is the continuing elevation of players to the upper ranks of Scottish Rugby.  Moray Low, Johnny Beattie, Ruaridh Jackson, Stuart Corsar, Sean Crombie, Andrew Wilson, David Millard, Rory McKay, Ben Prescott, Matthew Taylor and Robbie Russell are all players who have gone on from our Club to play in the professional game.

 

COACHING AND TRAINING

Coaching and training sessions for the senior playing squads are held at Rubislaw Playing Fields on Tuesday and Thursday evenings commencing at 6:15pm.  During holiday periods the timings may vary and will be advised by the Coaches.

For further details please contact Alex Duncan, Head Coach: Tel 07766 130782 (mobile).