Friday night rugby
Our senior squad welcome near neighbours Currie on Friday evening at Hartree Mill.
The last time the sides met was around the Christmas break when they enjoyed a decent encounter, Currie, unsurprisingly, running out winners.
With both teams taking their first steps towards the League season – Biggar kick off their programme with a home match against Dundee on 3rd September – the match will be experimental as the teams get to grips with a new season and new players.
Biggar have a number of new recruits to replace those who have left the club but it is expected that the game will also see a handful of last year’s Colts making their senior debuts.
Pre-season resumes…..season 2022/23 is just around the corner.
Senior training along with all Colts resumed last week with good numbers of around 30 players in attendance.
Work commitments and holidays always have an impact but any player looking to play for the club this season is assured a warm welcome.
There are a number of weel-kent faces missing having moved on and/or retired so the club is keen that all players make themselves available wherever possible. The Club has a very full fixture list with competitions at all age grades.
The senior fixtures can be accessed here by following this link to the SRU website. https://fixtures.scottihttps://fixtures.scottishrugby.org/club-rugbyshrugby.org/club-rugby
The Youth fixtures can be accessed here by following this link to the SRU websitehttps://fixtures.scottishrugby.org/schools-and-youth-clubs
CONGRATULATIONS…CONGRATULATIONS…CONGRATULATIONS
AND THE VERY BEST OF LUCK!!
After a tremendous series of performances for Scotland’s 6 Nations Squad and again more recently in the European Sevens Competitions, Emma Orr has now been selected for Scotland’s Commonwealth Games Sevens Squad.
This is another major, and incredibly exciting challenge and step for Emma on her rugby pathway. Her family are justifaibly buzzing at her inclusion while the Club take great pride in her achievements.
The Sevens will be held in Birmingham from 29th – 31st July. Scotland are in Pool B alongside Australia, Fiji and South Africa so things can’t get much more difficult but what an opportunity! Pool A includes New Zealand, England, Canada and Sri Lanka.
Netball
Also selected to represent Scotland, but at Netball, is another local athlete, Emily Nichol, who stars for Strathclyde Sirens and Scotland Thistles. A veteran of the 2018 Australia Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup, Emily has been selected as Vice Captain for the tournament which is testament to her all round ability and leadership skills.
Work gets underway at Hartree Mill
Aside, and in addition to the usual ground and pitch maintenance tasks work has now begun on the two planned developments.
The pictures below show the ground works for the additional two changing rooms and also for the machinery shed which will replace the current tractor shed.
Biggar RFC Summer Camps 2022
Advance notice of dates. Forms will be available here next week.
|
Please tick |
AGES |
DATES |
TIMINGS |
SPACES |
|
Primary 1 to Primary 7 |
Monday 25th July to Friday 29th July 2022 |
9:30am to 3.30pm |
80 spaces |
|
|
U13 to U16 Boys |
Monday 1st August to Friday 5th August 2022 |
9:30am to 4.00pm |
45 spaces |
|
|
U14, U16 & U18 Girls |
Monday 1st August to Friday 5th August 2022 |
9:30am to 4.00pm |
45 spaces |
Autumn and 6 Nations International ticket order deadlines.
Season 21/22 is barely over but the SRU are already thinking ahead and require your ticket orders by the following dates.
If you require tickets for any of the Autumn series – please note this is an application of interest and not a guarantee that you will get a ticket as this is dependent on demand – please contact GY asap but before the dates shown.
Autumn series: by 6th June (details for 6 Nations matches will follow).
Prices : Platinum £80, Gold £70, Silver £45 and Bronze £29.
Prices : Platinum £55, Gold £45, Silver £35 and Bronze £25.
Prices : Platinum £95, Gold £85, Silver £65 and Bronze £45.
Prices : Platinum £74, Gold £64, Silver £45 and Bronze £29.
A respectful reminder that the AGM will take place next Wednesday 8th June, starting at 7.30pm
This is YOUR club, please make it a priority in your dairy!
Biggar RFC Sevens
Saturday 28th May
What a great day! Fantastic weather and fantastic games. Thanks to all competitors and match officials – you were excellent!
A big thank you to all those involved in running the event;
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to Ian Notman, the playing committee and David Adams who was responsible for overall organisation (his trip to Paris to watch Liverpool was a greater attraction on the day although the result there was not the one he wished!),
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to Debbie Adams for marshalling the Ladies event,
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to Gavin Hill for his sterling work on the microphone as announcer which did so much to ensure teams were always ready and prepared and which kept the afternoon running smoothly,
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to the ball boys and girls
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to the Colts coaches who assisted chief Chef Jock Gray in the cooking of numerous burgers,
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to Kev Robison and his team for scoring,
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to the car park attendants, physios and first aid,
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bar staff,
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spectators
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and finally to the players themselves who will no doubt have been sore on Sunday.
Ladies Rugby – National Plate Final
CHAMPIONS!!
Biggar 36 Ayr 22
On a fantastic spring day, on the main Murrayfield pitch and in front of a massive support, Biggar Ladies defeated Ayr Ladies to become National Plate Champions.
This was a wonderful achievement for the squad and coaching staff and was truly the icing on the cake as the side have already celebrated promotion to the National league.
The final whistle heralded scenes of great celebration, captured by Nigel Pacey and available to view in the Gallery on this website while there were many other photos taken and included on the Club Facebook pages.
The Ladies proved to be terrific ambassadors and role models for the dozens of Biggar Youth players in the stands and received very deserved plaudits for their win and the way in which they played the match.
In addition to winning, Biggar fullback Gerry Kimm received the Player of the Match award, this on the back of her first half hat-trick of tries which did much to take the game. In truth while Gerry certainly deserved the accolade she was one of many who could have been recognised in this way.
Emma Orr, returning from international duty controlled the game from stand off, the pack held their own against a very strong Ayr pack, Alison Orr was her usual tenacious self in the back row, veteran Laura Watson increased her legendary status as she took ball forward whenever able, while behind the scrum Rebecca Clarke at scrum half was a constant threat to the Ayr side, skipper Abi Baillie won many turnovers and was ably supported by her fellow three-quarters with teenager Farah Conn made her first senior appearance look easy.
And then there was the rest of the squad all of whom played a stormer to ensure that the trophy came to Hartree Mill.
The Plate presentation was made by SRU Vice President Colin Rigby to the Ladies Coach John Bogle, this somewhat ironic as it was Rigby who made the National 1 presentation 2 years ago to John whom was Biggar president at the time – the hard won promotion which came with that award rescinded just a few weeks later as the SRU decreed the season to be ‘null and void’. Needless to say this prompted a comment or two on Saturday.
A full match report will be uploaded tomorrow on the Ladies section of this website.
ADULT SUMMER TOUCH IS BACK!!
Biggar Colts had a busy weekend when they took part in the Hamilton Sevens on Sunday before hosting Tynedale on Sunday at Hartree Mill.
On Saturday they ended up equal in their Pool with Dunfermline and GHK with the Fifers progressing by dint of a better try count.
In an enjoyable contest on Sunday Biggar ran out winners over Tynedale with an important aspect being the appearance for the first time at this level of some of this years U16’s.
The week ahead
Wednesday 20th
U15 v Cambuslang (H) 55-10 win
Saturday 23rd
1st V Highland Tennents National Div 1: 57-14 win
Boys Youth at Dalziel Festival – various results
Sunday 24th
Biggar Ladies v Dundee Valkyries National Plate 51-0 win
Girls Youth at Tynedale – various results
Mini v Boroughmuir – various results
Saturday 16th
1st XV v Ayr – Tennents National league Division 1 (H) 26-25 win
Friday
A number of girls made the long journey to join forces with Gala at the Morpeth RFC Festival. They played extremely well and won the Festival at both U13 and U15 age groups!
Many thanks to all the parents and coaches who drove the players south on what was a 300 mile round trip!
Sunday.
Three U16 players (pictured below) represented Glasgow U16 against Borders and East Lothian at Dalziel Park on Sunday. It was a challenging day to say the least, as the Glasgow boys came second while skipper Harry Stewart was forced off early on after a head knock. This means he will miss out on this weekends matches against Edinburgh.
Harry Stewart, Connor Murray, Stewart Neil
Wed 6th at Hartree Mill
Biggar XV v British Army
The Army XV is made up of Scottish based soldiers and coached by Nathan Knights.
The match ended with a 19-5 defeat for Biggar, but what a cracking performance from a very young Biggar XV.
There were some massive hits and real dogged defence. It was fantastic to see some of our ex-players making a return to Biggar colours and too to see some of this year’s Colts taking their first steps into senior rugby.
Many congratulations to all involved and to Nic and Donald for getting the team on the field and in pre-match preparation. While the Army provided touch judges and a referee, thanks to Cammy Forrest who took charge of the second half .
Finally, one of the most memorable end of match events was when the Army squad, most of whom have their roots in the South Sea islands, paid tribute to Biggar, as only folks from that part of the world can, in harmonious song. Haunting yet uplifting.
Listen and watch here https://www.facebook.com/100009141366270/videos/643298984029120/
Thanks to Mick Lister for the recording
Our Sevens tournament in May will feature the ex-Army VII named the Kaviti Baa-baas. They were a great attraction when they were last at Hartree Mill in 2018.
Despite the conditions a large touchline crowd assembled to watch the match –
many thanks as always for your support.
Scotland v France April 10th 2022
Emma presented with Scotland cap and proud family – minus Jamie who was lambing!
Having retained her place in the Scotland starting XV, Emma spent most of the game in defence which was frustrating as she is strong going forward in attack. This was another great performance from her however – onward and upward!
Emma gains huge praise following her performance in Cardiff – to read the full article clink this link
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=5069596573135371&set=gm.10158687940352913
Massive congratulations to Emma Orr who has been named in the Scotland’s Womens starting XV for Saturday’s 6 Nations match in Cardiff.
Emma was in the Scotland camp prior to the England game a fortnight ago and was there again this week. Her selection is well deserved as it comes on the back of her involvement at Scotland Sevens last summer and her work at Biggar and in camp.
As a club we are so very proud and absolutely delighted with Emma’s selection. The Facebook pages of the Youth sections have been buzzing with the news and literally hundreds of messages of congratulation have been posted and shared.
Womens coach Bryan Easson made the following statement regarding Emma’s selection:
“Emma has trained particularly well since she joined us at the start of the year and has fully deserved her place in the starting line-up this weekend. She has previously shown us her potential during her time with the Scotland 7s squad, before being selected in the extended GB Sevens training squad last year, and I’m looking forward to seeing her make her debut.”
The match is to be shown live on BBC2 with a 4.45 start.
Representative Rugby
Congratulations to Kirsty Ritchie who played for Scotland U18 against Wales and Italy on Saturday. The Wales match ended in a 24-0 defeat but there was a better result against Italy, albeit a 0-0 draw is an unusual result in rugby.
Kirsty is pictured post match and a clip of a great ruin out of defence against Italy.
Glasgow U18
On Sunday Harry Stewart, Connor Murray and Stewart Neil all played for Glasgow U18 against Caledonia in the FOSROC district championship. Glasgow lost both games unfortunately but there was were positives all three boys playing well while Harry was given the honour of captaining his XV and scored Glasgow’s only try.
Hearts and Balls Charity fundraising Grand Slam Dinner
Hearts and Balls role is to assist catastrophically injured rugby players and their families by offering financial support and advice on fundraising. Hearts and Balls role is to assist catastrophically injured rugby players and their families by offering financial support and advice on fundraising.
that got the crowd worked upAfter a two year delay the Charity if now able to organise Scottish rugby’s 30 year Grand Slam celebration dinner. Details of this event and tickets are available from the link below
https://heartsandballs.org.uk/news/hearts-and-balls-30-year-celebration-dinner/
Do you remember the famous ‘walk’ that so enthused the crowd?
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This weekend coming 2nd/3rd April
Saturday
1sts v Gala Tennents National 1 (H) 29-26 defeat
2nds v Musselburgh Tennents East Reserve 1 Now cancelled due to lack of available players
Colts v Dungannon RFC (Belfast) (A) 55-26 defeat
Sunday
Ladies v Wigtonshire National Plate (A) KO 2pm
Colts v Instonians RFC (Belfast) (A) 31 -19 win
Girls Youth U16 v Edinburgh Harlequins (H) 60-38 win
Micro and Mini training
Boys Youth training.
Wednesday 6th April
2nds v Army (H) KO 7pm
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Hot on the heels of the Ladies win in Dundee on Sunday comes the news that
Emma Orr
has been selected for the provisional Scotland Womens 6 Nations squad.
Fantastic news and undoubtedly makes up for missing the Dundee match.
STOP PRESS
Thursday 24th: Colts v Lasswade (A) 46-7 win
This weekend coming 26th/27th March
Saturday
1sts v Boroughmuir Tennents National 1 (A) 38-14 win
2nds v Musselburgh Tennents East Reserve 1 (A) Postponed due to Covid
U16’s v Musselburgh Grammar (A) 41-27 defeat
Sunday
Ladies v Livingston National Plate Competition. (A) 67-5 win
Micro training
Mini v Penicuik (A)
Boys Youth
U13 v Whitecraigs (A) 22-4 win
Girls Youth
U14 v Dumfries (A) Big win
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Weekend of 19th/20th March
Six Nations Super Saturday
Colts v West of Scotland West Youth Cup semi-final (H) 33-12 defeat
Sunday
Micro and Mini training
Boys Youth
U13 and U14 v Livingston (H) Postponed as Livingston cannot field teams
U16 v GHA West Youth Cup semi final (H) 41-21 defeat
Girls Youth
U14 v East Kilbride (A) 20-10 win
U16 v Fife (A) 60+ to 17 win
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Wednesday 9th March
U18 Girls v Dumfries (H) 52-19 win
Saturday 12th March
1st XV v Highland Tennents National 1 (H) Postponed due to Covid
2ns XV v Boroughmuir Tennents East Reserve 1 (H) 40-5 win
Colts v Lochaber West Youth cup (A) 17-5 win
Sunday 13th March
Ladies v Dundee Valkyries Tennents Regional league Play off (A) 22-15 win and PROMOTION to National 1 for next season.
President James and VP Rab enjoy the winning feeling!
The team and supporters pose.
And the team plus coaches. All Nigel’s photos of the match and post-match celebrations can be viewed by clicking on Gallery at the top right hand corner Menu.
Mini v Peebles
U13 v Cumnock (A) 26-14 win
U15 v Cumnock (H) Insufficient numbers
U16 v Cartha Queens Park West Youth Cup (H) 31-5 win
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Midweek match: Wed 2nd March
U16 Girls v Stirling County 17-12 defeat
Games this weekend 5th/6th March
This weekend –
Friday Lights 4th March
Biggar 500 v Moffat (H) Biggar win
Saturday 5th March
1st XV v Highland Tennents National 1 (A) 17-0 win
2nd XV v Jedforest Tennents East Reserve 1 Cancelled – Jed unable to raise a XV
Ladies v Shetland Tennents Regional League Play off (H) 51-0 win Biggar Ladies now travel on Saturday to play Dundee Valkyries. The winner of this match will gain promotion to National League 1.
SRU representative John Gillies presents the West region trophy to Captain Abbie Baillie
The squad in celebratory mood
Biggar squad as listed for the match: Geraldine Kimm, Vicky Haddow, Emily Inglis, Emelia Knights, Anna Forsyth, Emma Orr, Abbie Baillie, Robyn Struthers, Alyson Henderson, Megan McCarry, Alison Russell, Laura Watson, Rebecca Coffey, Alison Orr, Jennifer Bell. Reps: Verity Kennet, Megan Maciver, Cristone Ertze, Jenny Leech, Rebecca Clarke.
A delighted BRFC President James Orr with daughters Alison and Emma post match.
Click on Gallery at the top right Menu for a host of Nigel’s pics from Friday nights 500 match with Moffat and the Ladies win on Sunday.
Colts v Loch Lomond West Youth cup (A) 59-12 win
Sunday 6th March
Mini v Lanark (A)
Boys Youth
U13 v East Kilbride (A) 34-23 defeat
U14 v North Edinburgh Vikings (H) 30-0 defeat
U15 v Dumfries (A) No fixture, Biggar unable to field a team
U16 v Strathaven West Youth Cup (A) 54-0 win
Girls Youth
U14 at Annan Fesitval 1 draw 2 wins
U16 v Dumfries (A) 55-5 win
Magic May Fortnight of Rugby and Music
After a two year absence planning is well underway for this years events. As our major fund-raising events, please make sure you join the fun! Pass the info onto friends and family.
May Marque Ball
First up is the May Marquee Ball on Friday 20th May. @7pm Tickets are priced at £50 per person.
This includes
- a Prosecco Reception,
- 4 course Dinner
- Ceilidh followed by a Disco.
As in previous years, there is a timetable for payment of tickets and placing and paying for your menu and drinks order.
This is as follows:
- Pay for the tickets first 2 weeks in April (not before as our year end is the 31st of March).
- Place your menu and drink order by the end of April.
- Pay for your drink order by the 14th of May
On the rugby front there will be our Annual Sevens to look forward with Mens, Ladies, Boys and Girls Youth events while the musical entertainment will feature
Sunday 22nd May:
Skerryvore: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/skerryvore-in-concert-tickets-220222490397
Friday 27th May:
ABBA Mania http:// www.eventbrite.com/e/abba-mania-at-biggar-tickets-257807708797
Saturday 28th:
Cassi from Radio Clyde plays GBX https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cassi-from-radio-clyde-plays-gbx-tickets-272675659237
Sunday 29th May:
Red Hot Chilli Pipers https://www.eventbrite.com/e/red-hot-chilli-pipers-in-concert-tickets-258243823227
All tickets for these events can be purchased from Eventbrite – please follow the links.
Rugby Events
Saturday 21st May: 12-18 Boys Rugby Tournament
Sunday 22nd May: 12-18 Girls Rugby Tournament
Saturday 28th May: Annual Gents and Ladies 7’s competition
Sunday 29th May: During the day: Minis Awards and Fun Day
Easter Camp Application Form Below
Games this weekend – weather permitting!
Friday
1st XV v Gala Tennents National 1 (A) 33-29 win
Colts v Livingston (A) KO 11am
Sunday
Mini v Currie (A) cancelled
Girls Youth
U14 v East Kilbride (A) KO tbc
U16 v East Lothian (A) 33-33 draw
U18 v Dumfries (H) postponed
Boys Youth
U13 v Kilmarnock 20-19 defeat
U14 V Kilmarnock 37-21 win
U15 v Cambuslang West Cup (H) Postponed – pitches and Covid
U16 v Stewartry West Cup (H) (played at Lanark RFC) Biggar win
Many congratulations to Kirsty Ritchie who won an age group cap for Scotland U18 in their recent match against England.
Try as I could there seems very little coverage of the match anywhere…..why there isn’t a report on the SRU website I know not!
Games this weekend – weather permitting!
Saturday
1st XV v Heriots Tennents National 1 (H) 19-17 defeat
2nd XV v Boroughmuir Tennents East Reserve 1 (H) Postponed
Colts v Livingston (A) KO 11am
Sunday
Micro training 10am
Mini v Dumfries (A) KO 10.30am
Boys Youth – ALL BOYS AND GIRLS YOUTH MATCHES ARE POSTPONED/CANCELLED
U13 v East Kilbride (H) KO 1pm
U15 v Cambuslang (H) KO 2pm
U16 v Stewartry (H) West Youth Cup KO 2pm
Girls Youth
U18 v Edinburgh Harlequins (A) KO tbc
U16 v Stirling County National Youth Cup (A) KO tbc
Wednesday 9th
Girls U14 v Dumfries Saints Cancelled due to pitches
Saturday 12th
1sts v Highland Tennents National 1 (H) Postponed due to Covid in the Highland squad
Colts XV v Greenock Wanderers (H) West Youth Cup Postponed due to travel issues for Greenock squad
Sunday 13th
Micro and Mini training 10am
Boys Youth
U13 30-7 defeat
U16 v East Kilbride (A) West Youth Cup Postponed due to pitch
Wednesday
Girls U18 v Edinburgh Harlequins (H) 36-15 defeat
Saturday
Colts v Loch Lomond and Helensburgh Postponed
Sunday
Micro training 10am
Mini v Linlithgow (H) Cancelled
Boys Youth
U13 and U14 v Cumnock (H) Cancelled
U15 training
U16 v East Kilbride (A) West Youth Cup Postponed
Girls Youth
U16 v Stirling County (A) National Youth Cup Postponed
3rd June: Lions
Congratulations to all involved in Saturday’s demolition of the Emirates Lions in the first tour match in South Africa.
It was a ‘test’, perhaps not as tough as the Japan match but all involved came through it well.
‘Our’ Rory Sutherland – we can claim a legitimate connection as he played with us for 2 seasons – did exceptionally well against Japan the previous week at Murrayfield, with new skipper Conor Murray naming Rory as the strongest man on the tour party. No mean accolade.
Incidentally, the man responsible for bringing Rory to Biggar was Derek Armstrong who is making a return to Hartree Mill this coming season to look after the 2nd XV.
Also on the representative front, congratulations again to Emma Orr who was to the fore when the Scotland Ladies VII played in Moscow last weekend. Temperatures were much higher than had been the case in Portugal at the start of June but the girls performed very well despite this finishing in 3rd spot overall. A great achievement for the whole squad.
Scotland Ladies receiving their 3rd place awards with Emma centre stage.
It seems the journey home was quite stressful with flights delayed due to bad weather and a thunderstorm. With little support from the Russian authorities, Scotland nearly all got out just in time while the Belgian squad had to request new visas after their flight was cancelled and they were stranded in Russia for an extra day.
Back home.
While our Mini and Youth sections take a short break, our senior players returned to training this week. A healthy turnout of some 30+ saw the boys put through their paces by coaches Davy Wilson and Doug Fleming.
There was an obvious emphasis on fitness with conditioned, non-contact games ensuring the work was game-related, this a crucial aspect to aid match fitness.
Training is open to all senior players regardless of experience and/or ability. Every Tuesday and Thursday 7-8.30pm.
The lifting of Covid restrictions is still some way off but warm up games have been organised for August. Details of these will follow in the next couple of weeks.
Andrew Jardine adds a lot of content on Instagram and Facebook. Here is a quick link to recent activity at the club.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQyAzXAFEOA/?utm_medium=copy_link
Finally, another respectful reminder that ALL requests for 6 Nations matches in 2022 MUST be made to GY before the end of July.
CONGRATULATIONS EMMA ORR
The club is over the moon with the news that Emma Orr has been selected to be part of the Scotland Ladies Sevens Squad in Portugal.
Having been part of the Futures group Emma withdrew to concentrate on her 6th year studies but she was always ‘in the frame’ and has been training with the Scotland squad – alongside fellow Biggar members Sarah Denholm and Gerry Kimm.
Named initially as 13th player, Emma was brought into the competition squad after injury to Heriots Megan Gaffney. This meant a whirlwind couple of days when some school assessments had to be re-arranged before Emma flew out on Wednesday.
There is no doubting that Emma is deserving of selection. Her talent has been to the fore ever since she began playing with pace, strength, skills and thundering defence a real feature of her play. She has worked really hard to develop all of the above and has worked closely and conscientiously throughout with Academy manager Nic Humphries.
Her family are understandably extremely proud! Dad James is Club President, Mum Mara was a regular in the Ladies XV, sister Alison plays at Watsons and is a Biggar 1st XV physio, while brothers Jamie and Robbie star in the current 1st XV.
Emma’s selection comes after Sarah Denholm gained a cap last year and of course Donna Kennedy who was a real force in Scottish rugby.
There is little doubt that Emma’s success will be a huge boost to the Girls game at Biggar, and as she also volunteers as a coach at mini level there will be a big cheer for her when she gets back coaching.
The games can be watched by registering with Rugby Europe TV.
Good luck Emma!
The first Biggar side to get back into action was the girls U14 squad who hosted Dumfries on Thursday evening at Hartree Mill. Such was the enthusiasm and skills on display that the neutral spectator could have been forgiven for thinking there had been no year long Covid interruption to the girls learning and development. In the end Biggar gained the honours with a 14-11 try win but rugby was the winner!
At the weekend the Colts, Youth and Minis are all in axction.
Sat:
May 11th 2021
Mental Health Awareness Week (10th-16th May)
Go to the Player Welfare page http://biggarrfc.org.uk/information/player-welfare/ to see how you can help if you believe someone (yourself perhaps) is struggling with their mental health.
Mental Health is something we will all come across at some point or suffer from.
It is too important to ignore – our Club strapline is
Biggar RFC: One Club, One Family.
Please make sure you match up to that and look to help those who may be in need.
April 26th 2021
Huge thanks to all the volunteers who gave up their time on Sunday to help plant Hedge plants at the club. In just over 6 hours of work the team of around 20 volunteers planted around 1100 hedge plants to create over 250m of new hedges at the club which will hopefully mature to make the place look better and provide an enhanced habitat for the local wildlife.
Thanks must also go to Glenkerie Wind Farm who funded the plants through a grant and will also shortly fund a new boundary fence alongside the road.
April 2nd 2021
Rugby Action
At Hartree Mill, action has now resumed for almost all sections with the Ladies making a return this week. Most groups are restricted to non-contact activity but getting together again is a big bonus for all our members. Sunday’s are absolutely jam-packed from 10 am onwards as the micros, minis and several Youth sections are all busy.
Monday 17th May is an important date as that is the date when – all going well of course – all ages are able to resume ‘touch rugby’. Academy guru Nic Humphries has been busy organising a touch tournament which will run on Monday evenings for some 12 weeks through summer. It is for squads of 10 comprising senior players (men and ladies), U18 leavers, Over 35’s and non players. There will be 10 teams and if you are interested please follow this link to register (on Eventbrite).
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/biggar-rfc-summer-touch-league-tickets-148798246561
March 2021
Health and Well-being – something for everyone to ponder
There would seem to be a little light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the vaccination roll out and the Governments schedule to return to ‘normality’ which includes progressions for a return to rugby. Our Minis made a very quick return to action, some of our Youth squads were in action last week while our Colts and Senior players, who will be restricted to fitness and handling skills, are looking to return this week.
Getting back into action will be a massive boost for us all: members, supporters, coaches, staff and principally our players, young and old, who have really lost out this past year.
Missing games is the tip of the ice-berg.
The social aspect of meeting up, the dressing room camaraderie which comes from being with your pals, training together, learning about each other, developing social skills, practical skills, developing fitness and game time are all part and parcel of club life and their value cannot be underestimated. Particularly for those who have a myriad other challenges in this fast-paced, media driven world.
Health and well-being is a massive talking point at the moment and rightly so. Last weeks documentary by Roman Kemp
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p098hsv6 )
highlighted the very difficult position many face, not only during this current pandemic but more generally in growing up and living. Sadly, two of our former players, internationalists Fraser Brown and Rory Sutherland have both had to face up to the mental challenges posed by spending lengthy periods on the sidelines recovering from injuries. While both have struggled with their mental health they are now in a better place and are also involved in helping everyone to be more aware of the potential difficulties players face – and not just those who have made a career out of rugby. Fraser, through RSABI and Rory through the e-learning course launched this week by the SRU and described below are supporting these programmes.
It is our intention to look at health and well-being over the next few weeks with a focus on mental health.
We all have a role to play in helping each other, especially as we all have mental health in some shape or form.
The SRU e-learning course seeks to raise awareness about mental health, how to recognise it and how to break the negative stigmas which abound. Having completed the course, (it takes around 30 minutes) I would recommend it to you as a very good starting point for anyone interested in being of assistance to their children, friends and family. Follow this link to access the course or simply go to the SRU website and search for Mental Health.
The link is here https://rise.articulate.com/share/My4JjUzr4VfzBqpoZVCfIcu0PdIg__uS#/t
Look out for social media posts relating to this topic.
Biggar RFC: One Club, One Family
Now, some other important stuff!
Would you be willing to help the club by taking up a committee post? There are 2 vacancies up for grabs – Membership Secretary and Girls Convenor. Please see the adverts below.
Membership Secretary:
You would be responsible for collecting annual memberships, collating membership information, sending out reminders, reporting to the committee at monthly committee meetings.
Girls Convenor:
You would be responsible for representing the Girls Youth section at monthly committee meetings, overseeing fixtures, liasing between coaches and players.
The fact that we are not meeting up at Hartree Mill makes filling vacancies all the more challenging because no one has the opportunity to chat over ideas and roles or to make casual inquiries about the organisation and management of the club.
Biggar RFC is a leading club within Scottish Club rugby. We have fantastic facilities for both playing and socialising. We have a wonderful and very supportive membership, and massive backing from our local community. We are also very ambitious and look to make improvements to develop what we have to offer. Taking on any voluntary role (as so many do) can be demanding but equally, hugely rewarding.
If you are interested and would like more information about either post or about the committee and other roles please speak to President James Orr, Secretary Mike Booth, or indeed, to any committee member. Alternatively, if you think someone you know would be suited for the role, please let us/them know about these vacancies and encourage them to become involved.
To paraphrase John F Kennedy:
Ask not what your club can do for you – ask what can you do for your club?
February 2021
And NOW, showing on Biggar RFC TV……
Yes, it’s true! As from Friday 19th February we have our own YOU Tube TV!
Available to watch now are ALL last season’s 1st XV fixtures with the hope that in the coming weeks/months we can add other features including matches from 2018/19, 2020 Lockdown features such as My5 and Player Profiles.
If it’s possible we also hope to feature live feeds for whenever we are given the green light to return to live rugby.
Included are our sponsors and advertisers adverts which gives them a little more return especially after their very generous support for this season (despite there being no actual macth programmes or spectators at Hartree Mill).
Well done GY and especially Nigel who undertook to upload all the footage gleaned from the SRU files.
To watch, you can either go to You Tube and Search for Biggar RFC TV or if you’d prefer, simply follow this link
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyqhEhXB2PJMt92cgEjdZcg
Please remember to then hit the SUBSCRIBE BUTTON as the proof of the channel’s worth will be in the number of folks who actually subscribe.
ENJOY!
Sarah success
There is no activity at Hartree Mill at the moment and so good news is in short supply but there was one really good piece of news this week which features one of our own, namely Sarah Denholm.
There was much joy in the Denholm household this week – and of course within the club – when it was announced that Sarah was the recipient of the prestigious Captain S.T Garner Award for most outstanding First Year Athlete from Edinburgh University. Short listed with 3 other girls, Sarah came out top!
Many congratulations on this wonderful achievement which is a tribute to Sarah’s hard work and commitment. Sarah is a great ambassador for Biggar RFC and her award received many very positive comments about her as a role model for the younger girls at the club and indeed anyone who is looking to play rugby.
The first link below will take you to the actual announcement of the award while the second is a link to a full length interview with Sarah where she talks about how she got involved in rugby and how her career has progressed alongside her Uni commitments. Well worth a listen!
Award
Interview
These are the Gold Club results for 2021. Congratulations to all winners!
March
£250 John Hamilton
£100 Ian Barr
£100 Maggie Thomson
£100 John Wood
£100 Gareth Cathcart
£100 Gordon Hamilton
February
£250 Jan Warnock
£100 Carolyn Cairns
£100 Linda Bell
£100 John Bogle
£100 Robert Paterson
£100 Kevin Anderson
January
£250 Colin Hynds
£100 Jim Wallace
£100 Jean Taylor
£100 Linda Bell
£100 Janice Bogle
£100 Blair Hill
December 2
£250 Ian Warnock
£100 Colin Robison
£100 Kevin Dempster
£100 Tam & Sheila Tweedie
£100 Colin Scott
£100 Mrs T DonnellyDecember
£250 Mrs J Drife
£100 Alex Young
£100 Rab Ramsay
£100 Alf Tucker
£100 Neil Harrison
£100 Peter McDonaldNovember£250 George Watson£100 Robert Paul£100 Grant Sutherland£100 Tommy Taylor£100 John Wood£100 John HamiltonOctober
£250 Andrew Cairns
£100 Phyllis Tweedie
£100 Andrew Warnock
£100 Andrew Goldie
£100 Jeanette Allan
£100 Ted GordonSeptember£250 – Ian Conn£100 – Carolyn Cairns£100 – Thomas Forrest£100 – Donald Elliot£100 – Rikki White£100 – Maggie ThomsonMarch£250 – Wayne Godfrey£100 – James Wilson£100 – Elspeth May£100 – James Wallace£100 – Andrew and Joyce Clark£100 – John BogleFebruary£250 – Una Stewart£100 – Sheila Conn£100 – Gary Watkins£100 – Joanna Robertson£100 – Caroline Cairns£100 – 286 Trina Watson
Biggar RFC Grant funding award: £117,500
The Club’s Finance Committee (Nigel Pacey, Peter McDonald and Gordon Young) has put in another vast amount of time and effort to applying for funding for one of the latest club projects. All has been worthwhile however with the news that their bid has been successful. Those in attendance at the recent AGM will know, but the news is now official and the plans to install solar panels on the clubhouse roof can begin in earnest.
The addition of the panels will see a big reduction in electricity charges which are currently rising (as most will appreciate), while an important aspect of the bid was to create storage space for batteries to store the electricity generated from the solar panels. This will in turn ensure a much more plentiful supply of hot water for showering.
The aim is to make the club carbon neutral and these panels will begin that process.
The club is delighted with the award and is very grateful to the Funders, a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables, Greencoat UK Wind Plc and GLIL Corporate Holdings Ltd., for accepting the bid.
In total a sum of £459,000 was awarded in grants to the local community with Biggar RFC winning the biggest share. Many other local organisations are set to benefit which can only be good for our community.
Summer project
Those visiting the Hartree Mill site will soon see the start of another project. Works will shortly commence to begin the building of two additional changing rooms, the aforementioned battery store and a tractor shed. Much of the work will be undertaken by the membership in a bid to keep costs down so please keep an eye out for information about how you can help!
Many of the previous projects have seen a tremendous club effort and it is hoped that this can be replicated.
Biggar RFC Summer Camps 2022
Advance notice of dates. Forms will be available here next week.
|
Please tick |
AGES |
DATES |
TIMINGS |
SPACES |
|
Primary 1 to Primary 7 |
Monday 25th July to Friday 29th July 2022 |
9:30am to 3.30pm |
80 spaces |
|
|
U13 to U16 Boys |
Monday 1st August to Friday 5th August 2022 |
9:30am to 4.00pm |
45 spaces |
|
|
U14, U16 & U18 Girls |
Monday 1st August to Friday 5th August 2022 |
9:30am to 4.00pm |
45 spaces |
Autumn and 6 Nations International ticket order deadlines.
Season 21/22 is barely over but the SRU are already thinking ahead and require your ticket orders by the following dates.
If you require tickets for any of the Autumn series – please note this is an application of interest and not a guarantee that you will get a ticket as this is dependent on demand – please contact GY asap but before the dates shown.
Autumn series: by 6th June (details for 6 Nations matches will follow).
Prices : Platinum £80, Gold £70, Silver £45 and Bronze £29.
Prices : Platinum £55, Gold £45, Silver £35 and Bronze £25.
Prices : Platinum £95, Gold £85, Silver £65 and Bronze £45.
Prices : Platinum £74, Gold £64, Silver £45 and Bronze £29.
A respectful reminder that the AGM will take place next Wednesday 8th June, starting at 7.30pm
This is YOUR club, please make it a priority in your dairy!
Biggar RFC Sevens
Saturday 28th May
What a great day! Fantastic weather and fantastic games. Thanks to all competitors and match officials – you were excellent!
A big thank you to all those involved in running the event;
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to Ian Notman, the playing committee and David Adams who was responsible for overall organisation (his trip to Paris to watch Liverpool was a greater attraction on the day although the result there was not the one he wished!),
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to Debbie Adams for marshalling the Ladies event,
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to Gavin Hill for his sterling work on the microphone as announcer which did so much to ensure teams were always ready and prepared and which kept the afternoon running smoothly,
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to the ball boys and girls
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to the Colts coaches who assisted chief Chef Jock Gray in the cooking of numerous burgers,
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to Kev Robison and his team for scoring,
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to the car park attendants, physios and first aid,
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bar staff,
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spectators
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and finally to the players themselves who will no doubt have been sore on Sunday.
Ladies Rugby – National Plate Final
CHAMPIONS!!
Biggar 36 Ayr 22
On a fantastic spring day, on the main Murrayfield pitch and in front of a massive support, Biggar Ladies defeated Ayr Ladies to become National Plate Champions.
This was a wonderful achievement for the squad and coaching staff and was truly the icing on the cake as the side have already celebrated promotion to the National league.
The final whistle heralded scenes of great celebration, captured by Nigel Pacey and available to view in the Gallery on this website while there were many other photos taken and included on the Club Facebook pages.
The Ladies proved to be terrific ambassadors and role models for the dozens of Biggar Youth players in the stands and received very deserved plaudits for their win and the way in which they played the match.
In addition to winning, Biggar fullback Gerry Kimm received the Player of the Match award, this on the back of her first half hat-trick of tries which did much to take the game. In truth while Gerry certainly deserved the accolade she was one of many who could have been recognised in this way.
Emma Orr, returning from international duty controlled the game from stand off, the pack held their own against a very strong Ayr pack, Alison Orr was her usual tenacious self in the back row, veteran Laura Watson increased her legendary status as she took ball forward whenever able, while behind the scrum Rebecca Clarke at scrum half was a constant threat to the Ayr side, skipper Abi Baillie won many turnovers and was ably supported by her fellow three-quarters with teenager Farah Conn made her first senior appearance look easy.
And then there was the rest of the squad all of whom played a stormer to ensure that the trophy came to Hartree Mill.
The Plate presentation was made by SRU Vice President Colin Rigby to the Ladies Coach John Bogle, this somewhat ironic as it was Rigby who made the National 1 presentation 2 years ago to John whom was Biggar president at the time – the hard won promotion which came with that award rescinded just a few weeks later as the SRU decreed the season to be ‘null and void’. Needless to say this prompted a comment or two on Saturday.
A full match report will be uploaded tomorrow on the Ladies section of this website.