"To see a Borders rugby game is to witness the intensity, fervour, rivalry and spirit of the Scottish Borders" Bill McLaren
While football drives the passions of the nation, rugby sets Border hearts beating faster. It's a matter of great local pride that this area of such low population (100,000) should have such an enormous contribution to rugby at a national level, as well as supplying so many of Scotland's greatest rugby players. The passion shown on the rugby field today was once expended in a tribal life of plunder and cattle thieving, known as Reiving (the ancient word for robbing). The Border Reivers grew out of centuries of warfare between England and Scotland, when continuous upheaval led local families to give up attempts to live in peace.
A land of farming and a countryside of outdoor pursuits are bound to produce some fairly big strong lads and when the area in question is the Scottish Borders, generations of these 'lad's' have shown their skills and honed their team spirit on the rugby field. In fact, it is almost impossible to talk about the Borders without some reference to rugby. The Melrose Sevens, Bill McLaren, Gary Armstrong - all testament to a proud tradition of the "gentleman's game" in the region.
Rugby players have to be tough and where better to find such men but in the farms of the borderlands - this is rich agricultural land and worth fighting for! All of the main towns in the Scottish Borders have a local rugby team who all fight it out against each other, the majority of the towns lend their names to a worldwide marketplace - Hawick, Selkirk, Melrose, Jedburgh (Jed-forest), Kelso, Galashiels and Peebles.
The Rugby season begins during the month of August until March, when the Sevens tournaments begin, with the season ending in May with the completion of the Sevens more...
Experience the Pride and Passion in watching a Borders town team take on a rival. For more information on local Borders teams, fixtures & results visit one of the following Borders Rugby team sites please see the links in the menu to the left.