Kelso RFC
| Full name | Kelso Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Scottish Rugby Union | |
| Founded | 1876 | |
| Ground(s) | Poynder Park | |
| Coach(es) | Adam Roxburgh | |
| League(s) | Scottish National League Division One | |
| 2016–17 | Scottish National League Division Two, 2nd (promoted) | |
| ||
Kelso Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team founded in 1876.[1] They play their home games at Poynder Park, Kelso in the Scottish Borders.
The team currently play in BT National League Division 1 and Border League (the oldest established rugby union league in the world).
Kelso's Sevens Tournament takes place annually in May (until recently Kelso along with Selkirk RFC held their 7's competition in August) and the competition is part of the Kings of the Sevens tournament. The most recent winners of the trophy (2015) are Melrose RFC.[2]
Kelso RFC won the prestigious Melrose Sevens tournament seven times in the space of 12 years from 1978 to 1989. Kelso were also winners of the Scottish Premiership in 1988 and 1989.
The most recent successes for the club in the 15-a-side game were consecutive Premier League championships in the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons. Notably, however, the team also reached the final of the Scottish Cup, played at Murrayfield, in both 1998 and 1999, losing to Glasgow Hawks (36–14) and to local rivals Gala RFC (8–3), respectively.[3]
Adam Roxburgh took over as a head coach at Kelso from 2015.[4] The captain for 2016–17 season was Dom Buckley.[5]
In April 2017 the team secured promotion to Scottish National League Division One for the following season.[6] They finished second in the league.[7]
Notable players
- Gary Callander
- Gordon Cottington
- George Fairbairn, who later went to rugby league.
- Ross Ford
- Jimmy Graham
- Bob Grieve
- John Jeffrey
- Andrew Ker
- Scott Newlands
- Alan Tait, who crossed over to rugby league, and came back again.
- George 'Happy' Wilson, who later went to rugby league.
- David Borthwick
- Iain Fairley
- Adam Roxburgh
- Roger Baird
- Ken Smith
- Oliver Turnbull
References
- ↑ "Club Website". Kelso Rugby Club. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
- ↑ "Kings of The Sevens". Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ↑ "Rugby Archive.". Rugby Archive. Archived from the original on 2012-11-22.
- ↑ "Adam returns to his roots". Southern Reporter. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ↑ "Squad: forwards: Dom Buckley (captain)". www.kelsorfc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ↑ Lyall, Michael (19 April 2017). "Derby victory secures promotion for Kelso". The Southern Reporter. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- ↑ "Fixtures & Results: BT National League Division 2". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 1 August 2017.