High Level Overview
The 2025/26 season was a demanding season for the 1st XV. Despite several injury crises and the challenges of competing in a highly competitive National 1 league, the squad showed tremendous resilience and character to secure their place in Nat 1 for another season. A total of 42 players represented the club at 1st XV level, with 34 having progressed through the Biggar youth system, underlining the strength of the club’s player pathway. The season also saw strong individual contributions, with Ruari Watson, Andy Jardine and Gary Adams all scoring over 60 points. As the club looks ahead to 2026/27 under a new coaching team, there is confidence that the experience gained this season will provide a strong platform for future success.
Season Overview
The 2025/26 season proved to be one of the most challenging campaigns in recent years for the 1st XV. Throughout the season the squad faced several injury crises affecting key players, often forcing changes in selection and requiring younger players to step up into demanding National 1 fixtures. Despite these challenges, the group showed resilience, commitment and character to secure their place in National League 1 for another season.
The strength of the club’s player pathway continues to be a source of pride. A total of 42 players represented the 1st XV during the season, with 34 having progressed through the Biggar RFC youth system. The average age of the squad was 26 years, dropping to 24 years when some of the more experienced senior players are removed from the calculation. This highlights the continued development of home-grown talent and the opportunities being created for younger players within the club. There were also notable contributions from senior players in the form of Conor Lavery, Andrew Muir and David Reive which were much needed at times.
The opening fixture of the season, a narrow loss away at Musselburgh, provided an early indication of the challenges that lay ahead.
A strong away victory over Jed-Forest followed and showcased the attacking potential within the squad. The following weeks proved challenging, the squad produced several impressive performances against some of the league's strongest sides. This was evident against Edinburgh Accies away, with a notable performance from Robert Rennie who stepped into big shoes on a tough day away from home. At times the squad struggled to find the same consistency against teams around them in the table. This led to several frustrating results in closely contested matches.
The return fixture against Jed-Forest provided another highlight of the campaign, with the squad again delivering a strong performance to secure valuable league points and provided a significant boost at a crucial stage of the season. The following week brought another stern test against Marr, with Biggar competing well but ultimately falling short against quality opposition. An important away win at Boroughmuir pushed the team towards safety.
Towards the end of the season, one of the toughest assignments came with the trip to Gordonians. With injuries and unavailability significantly affecting selection, the squad travelled north under difficult circumstances. Despite the challenges, the players showed great determination and commitment in what was arguably one of the more difficult away fixtures of the season.
The closing weeks of the campaign were characterised by hard-fought performances and valuable league points which ultimately ensured the club retained its National 1 status.
Acknowledgements
As the season concludes, the Senior Squad would like to offer its thanks, on behalf of the Club, to Craig Borthwick and Jason Riley, who step down from their roles at the club.
Craig’s contribution to Biggar RFC has been significant, both as a player and as a coach within the senior men’s section. Throughout his time at the club, he has given countless hours to the continued progress of the 1st XV programme. His influence extends well beyond results on the field, and he has left a lasting impression on many players who have benefited from his guidance, leadership and commitment. We thank Craig for everything he has done for Biggar RFC and hope to continue seeing him around Hartree Mill whenever he can.
Thanks, must also go to Andrew Jardine, who moves on from the club this year. Andy departs having made 146 appearances for the 1st XV. His leadership, commitment and consistency over many seasons have made him a valued member of the squad and an excellent role model for younger players coming through the club. Andy’s contribution has been immense, and he will be greatly missed both on and off the field.
The season also saw several significant personal milestones achieved. Conor Lavery reached the remarkable landmark of 200 appearances for the 1st XV, a fantastic achievement that reflects his outstanding commitment and service to Biggar RFC over many years. He was not alone in reaching a notable milestone, with co-captains Ross Jackson and Rowan Stewart making their 150th and 100th appearances respectively. These achievements are a testament to their dedication to the club and the important roles they continue to play within the squad.
We would also like to recognise the excellent use of the club’s current facilities, which have been a real asset to the playing and training environment this season, and we look forward to continuing to benefit from them in the years ahead.
Finally, the squad would like to thanks Andy Barr and St Andrews Building Supplies for their support of the club over recent years. This doesn’t go unnoticed and is greatly appreciated by the players.
Looking Ahead
This season tested the resilience and character of the squad, but it also demonstrated the strength of the club’s player pathway and the determination of the playing group. With a young core of home-grown players, strong support throughout the club and renewed energy heading into pre-season, there is plenty to look forward to with another season in National 1.
Attention has already turned to the 2026/27 season. The squad has begun preparations with strength and conditioning sessions under the guidance of Ethan, with players working hard to build the foundations for another demanding National 1 campaign. Pre-season training is scheduled to commence on Tuesday 23rd of June, marking the beginning of a new chapter under the leadership of the new coaching team of Andy Henderson and David Adamson.
A key focus moving forward is the continued development and integration of the 2nd XV, and the positive impact a strong and competitive second team has on the performance and sustainability of the 1st XV. It is essential that all past, present, and future players are encouraged to step forward and get involved, whether from a playing perspective or in contributing to the wider club environment and supporting its ongoing development.
There has been a notable and positive shift in the approach to strength and conditioning within the club, with structured programmes now embedded and showing clear benefit. Alongside this, ongoing efforts are being made to improve physio provision. While progress has been made, this remains one of the key areas for development, and despite continued work there is not yet a complete solution that fully meets all requirements. It is, however, recognised as a priority area moving forward.
The team is also pleased to welcome BHC as the club’s new principal sponsor and would like to thank Brian and Marjorie for their support. The backing of a local business is greatly appreciated, and we look forward to welcoming them to Hartree Mill throughout the season ahead.
Ladies end of season report – AGM 17th June 2026
Coaches: Nic Humphries, Mark Yates, James McCaig, Sarah Denholm & Emma Telfer (S&C)
Captain: Alison Orr, Vice: Alyson Henderson
It has been a season of firsts for the ladies as they competed in the Premiership for the first time. August 31st 2025 saw the ladies take their first win in the premiership away to Cartha with their first home win coming on 4th October against Garioch. There were couple tough games against the top few teams in the premiership but the ladies took this in their stride and came out fighting week after week, finishing a very respectable 6th place in the first half of the season. The second half saw the league split into 2 sections with Biggar competing against Cartha, Garioch & Hillhead. The split allowed for a more competitive 2nd half to the season with Biggar gaining 3 wins from 6 safely securing their place in the premiership for a 2nd season. It was great to see 27 players secure sponsorship for the season, 6 more than the previous season hopefully we can continue to grow this going forward. 4 ladies also reached their 50th milestone caps: Alison Russell, Alison Orr, Alyson Henderson & Abbie Baillie. 13 new players played at least one game for the ladies this year with 7 of them coming up through the youth system and 2 having never played rugby before, it was great to see them all progress and rise to the challenge as the season went on. We already have a few exciting signings in place for the upcoming season which we are hoping gives valuable depth to the squad. The ladies were also recognised at the Clydesdale sports awards where they won Team of the year, a great achievement against some tough competition. The end of season awards were presented at full time of the last game of the season with the following prizes won:
Players player: Ellie Ritchie
Coaches Player: Ellie Ritchie
Most improved: Fiona Currie
Eric shearer memorial (Spirit of Biggar): Fiona Laing
A massive thanks must go to all the coaching staff, physios, team sponsors, background staff, players and everyone who supported us on this seasons journey. It would not be possible without you all so thank you! We also have a change to our coaching team for this upcoming season as Mark Yates moves into a specialist coaching role within the youth section at the club, we would like to take this opportunity to thank him very much for all the time and effort he has put in over the last few years and wish him the best of luck in his new role. Katie Mellanby also moves up to Head of the female section within the club and Stuart Moffat steps in as Head of the ladies’ section for the upcoming season. We wish everyone the best of luck in their new roles.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mike Booth for all his work as secretary for the club as he steps down from the role. His work behind the scenes does not go unnoticed – Thank you.
Report concluded.
Kim Laird – Ladies manager 2025/26
Biggar RFC AGM Wednesday 17th June 2026 - Colts report 2025/2026
Season 2025/2026 retained the coaching team of myself and Jordan Gray from 2024/2025 with the welcome addition of Calum Taylor, through a funding stream from the SRU targeting enhanced coaching for youth development. Wendy Johnston joined as medic for the season. It was decided to change the U18 coaching night from Tuesday/Thursday to Monday/Thursday to allow Colts to team up with and train with the U16s on a Monday and if desired team up with the seniors on a Thursday. This proved to be an excellent initiative with very active sessions across the U16/U18 group with up to 35 boys training at Monday sessions allowing really meaningful sessions to take place, helping both groups.
The team remained in the National 2 Youth League with Ellon, Deeside, Falkirk, Dundee and Dunfermline. This was a slightly reshuffled league from the previous year with Highland stepping up to National 1, Perthshire dropping out and Dundee and Deeside taking up their places in National 2. The league was interspersed with National Cup/Shield/Plate fixtures playing from September to December before moving into regional cup competitions after Christmas.
Squad numbers at training were moderate and game squads in the first part of the season were typically 15 or 16 players with numbers picking up later in the season when a group of 4 Moffat RFC boys joined the squad due to lack of numbers at their club. The Moffat boys were a welcome addition to the squad. The Moffat boys were unable to play in cup and league fixtures before Christmas due to competition rules, but they were free to play in the West Cup in the new year. The split of the squad was about 60% of first year colts and 40% 2nd year Colts.
The National 2 Youth League was a little disappointing in the early stages with the limited squad numbers impacting our ability to deal with injuries with us ending up 4th place in the league of 6 at the end of the first stage before the split, then a better showing to finish 2nd in our league behind Falkirk. National Cup fixtures were interspersed between the league schedule with us drawn in a group with National 1 team Mackie and regional league competitors, Stewartry. A competitive defeat at Mackie was followed with a default win due to Stewartry conceding the game due to lack of numbers, leading to us qualifying for the National Plate competition. A commanding win at Biggar versus Cartha Queens Park in the quarterfinalearned a home semi-final versus Selkirk Youth club which we managed to grind out in an edgy game typical of a Biggar v Selkirk game. This set up the final, away to Falkirk for the third time in the first half of the season. Falkirk has been a very tough physical game at the start of the league campaign and in the first league game they dominated the physical battle and ran out comfortable victors, however, the boys were determined to turn that around and our numbers grew with the winning streak we were on in the Plate competition, taking 21 boys to Falkirk to seek revenge for the first game defeat. The boys raised all elements of their game to put in an extremely dominant performance in conditions described as a Scottish monsoon, the performance of our season. It was great to see how the boys had grown across the first three months of the season. Victory in the National Plate was a suitable reward for the efforts of all the boys across the early part of the season, and this brought confidence to the group.
In early January we entered West Regional Cup competition. An away win at Kilmarnock was followed by a second dominant victory of the season versus Cartha Queens Park, then a default victory due to lack of numbers from the Lomond and Helensburgh team, meant we topped our pool, setting up a quarter final against West of Scotland, a National 1 team, that would be a good test. In another tight game, not too dissimilar to the Selkirk game earlier in the season, we put in a physically dominant performance against a well drilled, competent and capable West side and edged the win 19-14, when we really should have been further ahead given our dominance. This took us to the mouthwatering prospect of playing Ayr, a side who compete in the Open conference, the top youth league in Scotland where they play against the best club and school teams in the country. This was a tough fixture but a great metric to see where we stand against the top teams, and while we were well beaten the boys put in a spirited performance and never stopped trying, getting close to scoring a couple of times but unfortunately not able to get the ball down over the line. The defeat took us to the West Shield final away against GHA, another National 1 team. Unfortunately, it was not to be for us that day , but again a great effort from the boys saw us grab a try as a consolation in defeat to very good team who will join the Open Conference next season.
The season was concluded with the squad playing the Dalziel 7s/10s tournament on a social day out and a week later the final game against our neighbours Peebles in a really tight and physical game befitting of a local derby.
While the early part of the season was a little disappointing, the boys grew as a group and in the National Plate winning run, we developed a confidence that carried into 2026 resulting in us claiming a National 1 scalp in the West Cup, versus West. The opportunity we got to compete against teams who will play in the Open Conference next season is only possible due to the boys hard work and commitment. The senior Colts leaving this group should be commended for the effort they have put in over the years, its not been an easy journey for this group but a core of dedicated and hard-working boys have held the squad together and it has been a pleasure to help these boys on their rugby journey. Next year’s Colts will be bolstered with good numbers coming up from the U16’s as well as some of the Moffat boys returning next season along with a couple of new members joining from Lanark.
Some of the boys made their transition to senior rugby with Connor Frame playing for the 2nds on a number of occasions and while it was a huge step up to play Intercity 2nd Team rugby all reports from Craig and Doug reflected well on them demonstrating they are competent to play at this level and will hopefully continue to develop and push for 1st and 2nd team places next season. Gregor McCuaig made his senior debut playing for our 1sts against Stirling County in the league and Watsonians in the Cup, well done Gregor, those are some tough games for first experiences of 1st team rugby. It’s great that our boys can made that step up and not look out of place. It is really important that we work very hard to retain the services of all our graduating colts for a number of years after they leave the under 18s group.
That concludes the Colts Report for season 2025/2026.
Graeme Watson, Colts Team Manager, 15/06/2026.
