Melrose Rugby Bulletin 30/1/25
Afternoon Folks,
Hope everyone is having a good week! Apologies to those of you who have been getting garbled emails from me – still can’t figure why it’s happening, but it seems to be something to do with pictures, so I’ll not add any this week!
We had a very competitive match against Glasgow Hawks on Saturday, I’m not sure when we last had a draw, but it’s certainly been a while. The final score was 33-33. We’re now sitting 6th in the Premiership. Please CLICK HERE for Iain’s match report and CLICK HERE to view Andy Mclean’s photos. The Eclectic Coffee, Man of the Match was Allan Ferrie.
Mike from Eclectic Coffee presenting Al Ferrie with his man of the match coffee beans & champagne!!
We’ve got a few mentions in this week’s ‘Offside Line, Dream Team of the week’, Big congratulations to Morgan Gabe & Al Ferrie who were both named to the team. Corey Goldsburgh, Angus Runciman & Jack Dodie all got an honourable mention! To read the full article, please CLICK HERE.
We had a good turnout on Saturday, with members coming from all over the place – Country member Ian Bell headed up to the Greenyards from Yorkshire, sensibly waiting till the storm had passed before heading North, Morgan Gabe’s Dad Rhys along with a friend made the long trip from Devon, and our Man of the Match Sponsor, Mike from Eclectic Coffee made the journey up from Co. Durham! We really do appreciate the efforts you make to come out and support the team. It’s great to have you with us! To all those members coming from far away, do let us know if you’re coming to the club so we can say Hello and welcome!
There wasn’t an awful lot of rugby at weekend, the Storm’s game against Selkirk on Friday night, was obviously cancelled due to Storm Eowyn. This match has been rescheduled for Friday 14th February. The U18s did get a game against Selkirk on Saturday – unfortunately they came out the wrong end of it.
This week’s rugby
On Friday night we welcome Peebles to the club. It’s the 1XV’s first ‘Friday Night Under the Lights’ game! It’s a Border League tie & the kick off is at 7:30pm. The match is free, so come on down! The weather is looking like it will be dry too, oh and did I mention that we’ve got our friends from Pizza Paddock coming back? If you didn’t get to sample their wares last time they were here, make sure you do this time – their pizza is DELICIOUS!
Doddie Aid
Last Saturday, to mark Doddie Aid, we passed round some buckets & asked you to pass the ball round the pitch – we asked you to guess the time it would take to get the ball round the Greenyards, 6 minutes was the lucky guess! We raised £191.18 which has been donated to the charity – thanks to everyone who donated!
Arnold Clark Try of the Month – December
Big Congratulations go out to Struan Hutchison who has been awarded the Scottish Rugby Arnold Clark Try of the Month for December. We also got the #2 try with Corey Goldsburgh winning that one! CLICK HERE TO WATCH
Arnold Clark Try of the month scorer for December, Struan Hutchison
Six Nations…
As mentioned previously, we plan to show all the Scotland 6 Nations games here at the club starting this weekend. We’ll be showing France v Wales on Friday night too & the two matches on Saturday. For all of you going to the Italy match – ‘Divertiti!’ or ‘have a great time!’
The Bar will be open from 1pm on Saturday….
Prediction Cards
You only have 24 hours to get your prediction cards in! Please hand them into the office or one of the youth committee before 8pm tomorrow night – the first kick-off is at 8.15pm – you have a great chance to win some cash and it’s a great revenue stream for the club!
Supporter Tiles
Last Call for Supporter Tiles!! We’re planning on ordering next week, so if you’d like to get in on this round of Tiles please do head to the website and put in your order! If you have any problems, please just give me a call at the office and I’ll give you a hand! Please CLICK HERE to order.
Thanks to the Grounds Team
There is a lot done in the club by a fabulous group of volunteers, the grounds team have been in scraping the ceilings in the shower rooms & repainting – a much bigger job than it sounds, and I’m sure the players will really appreciate all that time and work that you’ve spent up there – so THANK YOU ALL very much – it’s good to have you around the club!
Safe travels to Will Owen
Will Owen played his last match for Melrose for a while on Saturday. He’s off to the sunshine and on Monday, he headed out to Australia! He’s assured me he’ll be back and it’s not the last we’ve seen of him at the Greenyards! Safe travels Will & enjoy yourself in Melbourne!
Sad news…
Esther Crawford
All of us at Melrose Rugby are deeply sadden by the passing of one of our treasured club family, Esther Crawford.
The much-loved wife of the late John, adored mum of Michael, Malcolm, Cameron & Callum. Esther has been involved with the club for decades, John donned the black & yellow, followed by her boys then grand-daughter Annabel for Melrose ladies & now two of her grandsons, Donald & Doug carry on the tradition of playing for the club.
Grandmother of eight, Esther was known as ‘Grandma Esther’ to many more. She knew most of the players, and they certainly all knew her. Rarely did Esther miss a match and could usually be spotted in the stand with her dear friend Sheila Hogg shouting ‘Come on Melrose!’ Although Esther was 86, she never really slowed down & was at the club making a list of all our trophies & organising to clean them just a couple of weeks ago. She was a dedicated volunteer of the club & wider community and absolutely devoted to her family & friends.
Esther will be sorely missed at the Greenyards, and we send our deepest sympathy to her family & friends.
Esther Crawford 1938 - 2025
Esther pictured with grandsons Doug & Donald
MELROSE NEWS FLASH!
We’ve just had some visitors walk into the club (and this would have made Esther smile) Scottish mum, Fijian dad with their son Paul who’s here to join the army – Paul like many Fijians has the middle name of ‘Melrose’ – apparently, it’s a really popular middle name choice in Fiji, honouring the home of rugby 7s – very cool!! The family always talked about coming to the town and this was their ideal opportunity – they’ve had a good walk round and absolutely love it – Doug is currently giving them a tour of the club – what a lovely surprise visit!
GM Doug with our Fijian visitor Paul, middle name Melrose!