Hawick Rugby Football Club is a semi-professional
rugby unionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
side, currently playing in the Premiership Division One and
Border LeagueFor the defunct baseball league, see Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901...
. The team are based at
Mansfield ParkMansfield Park is a rugby union ground in Hawick, Scotland, with a capacity of approximately 5,000It is the home of Hawick Rugby Football Club, who currently play in the BT Premiership 1 and Border League...
at
HawickHawick is a town in the Scottish Borders in the south east of Scotland. It is best-known for its annual Common Riding.It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale and the largest town in the former county of Roxburghshire...
in the
Scottish BordersThe Scottish Borders or simply the Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan...
.
Hawick RFC are one of the most famous rugby clubs in the world. They have always contributed a huge amount to the national side with 58 Hawick players having represented
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked tenth in the IRB World Rankings as at 23 March 2009, and makes up one quarter of the...
.
One of Hawick's lesser known claims to fame is that they held the first floodlit match in Scotland in 1879. Bizarrely, it is said that some of the players in the match attempted to tackle shadows.
Early history
In October 1872, members of the Hawick and Wilton Cricket Club decided that in order to keep fit over the
winterWinter is the coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring.-Meteorology:Meteorological winter is the season having the shortest days and the lowest average temperatures. This corresponds to the months of December, January and February, which have the coldest weather and, especially in the...
they should begin playing
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
. Both association and
rugby union footballRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
were experimented with but the rugby format triumphed as it was considered "manlier and more congenial to the
BorderThe Scottish Borders or simply the Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan...
nature than the tamer association game". The club was formed on December 8th 1873 and played at Buccleuch Park, the home of the
cricketCricket is a bat-and-ball team sport that is first documented as being played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being...
club.
However few games were played as there were not many other rugby clubs in the
areaThe Scottish Borders or simply the Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan...
, players had difficulty being released from their work, and
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
sides were seldom willing to travel down to play individual club teams.
Establishment of the Club
1885 saw the rugby players reorganised themselves as Hawick Football Club, moving to new premises at the Volunteer Park, just beyond the cricket pitch. New colours were adopted, dark green jerseys and stockings with white shorts, and in 1886 Hawick was admitted to membership of the
Scottish Football (later Rugby) UnionThe Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, being founded in 1873.-History:...
, only the 19th club to be admitted, the only earlier Border clubs being
GalaGala Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, founded in 1875, they play their home games at Netherdale....
and
Melrose RFCMelrose Rugby Football Club, located in the town of Melrose in the Scottish Borders, is one of the most famous and oldest rugby clubs in the world.-History:The club was formed in 1877 and was elected to full membership of the Scottish Rugby Union in 1880...
.
In 1888 Hawick Football Club moved to its present home,
Mansfield ParkMansfield Park is a rugby union ground in Hawick, Scotland, with a capacity of approximately 5,000It is the home of Hawick Rugby Football Club, who currently play in the BT Premiership 1 and Border League...
, at the other end of the town. The early seasons brought keenly contested games against Edinburgh Academicals,
GalaGala Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, founded in 1875, they play their home games at Netherdale....
, and
WatsoniansWatsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, but now accepts players who did not attend the school.-Squads:...
, and in 1896 Hawick won their first Scottish championship.
1945 to 1972 – Scottish Domination
Between 1945 and 1972 Hawick club firmly established among the leaders of Scottish rugby, winning the unofficial championship eight times, taking the
Border LeagueFor the defunct baseball league, see Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901...
title fifteen times, and earning fame as
sevensRugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side and VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. The game originated in Melrose, Scotland, and the Melrose Sevens is still played annually. The game is popular at all levels,...
specialists.
In the 1950s, all 15 of Hawick RFC were approached by
rugby leagueRugby league football is a full-contact form of football, played with a prolate spheroid ball by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. Rugby league is one of the two codes of rugby football, the other being rugby union...
scouts from Yorkshire.
In this period,
Hugh McLeodHugh McLeod was a Scottish-born lawyer and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Cape Breton in the Canadian House of Commons from 1878 to 1879 as a Liberal-Conservative member....
,
George StevensonGeorge William Stevenson is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.In 1984 George Stevenson was elected Member of the European Parliament for Staffordshire East. He was elected Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent in the 1992 general election...
, Adam Robson, and
Derrick GrantDerrick Grant is a former international rugby union player.Grant was capped fourteen times as a for Scotland between 1965 and 1968. He scored one try for Scotland...
alone won 100
international capsThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked tenth in the IRB World Rankings as at 23 March 2009, and makes up one quarter of the...
between them, while fifteen other Greens played for their country.
1972 onwards
The official Scottish championship began in season 1972-73 and since that time Hawick Rugby Football Club has maintained its prized place in Division One, winning the championship on twelve occasions. The proud record of winning the first
Border LeagueFor the defunct baseball league, see Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901...
in 1901-02 and the first Scottish championship in 1972-73 was added to in 1995-96 when the club were also first winners of the SRU Tennents' Scottish Cup. Indeed, in season 2002/03, the Greens completed the treble, winning Scottish League championship, Scottish Cup and Border League championship.In 2009 Hawick were relegated to the 2nd Division for the first time in their history.
Famous Players
Hawick RFC already seen 58 players represent
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked tenth in the IRB World Rankings as at 23 March 2009, and makes up one quarter of the...
.
- John "Jock" Beattie
John Beattie is a Scottish former international rugby union player. He earned a total of 25 caps playing for Scotland as...
(23)
- Alister Campbell
Alister Campbell is an Australian rugby union player.He was born 17 July 1979 in Newcastle, NSW.As of 2008, he plays lock on the Canberra CA Brumbies Squad.-External links:*...
(15)
- Colin Deans
Colin Thomas Deans born on the 3 May, 1955 in Hawick in the Scottish borders was a rugby union player with Hawick RFC and . His nickname was the Hawick Hooker.He made his debut against in 1978 when Scotland lost, 16 - 19...
(52)
- Derrick Grant
Derrick Grant is a former international rugby union player.Grant was capped fourteen times as a for Scotland between 1965 and 1968. He scored one try for Scotland...
(14)
- William "Willie" Kyle (21)
- Hugh McLeod
Hugh McLeod was a Scottish-born lawyer and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Cape Breton in the Canadian House of Commons from 1878 to 1879 as a Liberal-Conservative member....
(40)
- Cameron Murray
Cameron Murray is a former Scotland rugby union footballer. Murray played professionally for Scottish team Borders between 1996 and 1997 before the team merged with Edinburgh Rugby in 1998. He continued to play for Edinburgh until Borders were revived in 2002. For the teams he played in both the...
(26)
- Jim Renwick
Jim Renwick was one of Scotland's greatest rugby players, usually at . He played for Hawick Harlequins RFC, and the British Lions, 1972–84. He earned 52 caps for his country....
(52)
- Adam Robson (22)
- Tony Stanger
Anthony George Stanger is a former Scottish international rugby union player, and is Scotland's joint record try scorer....
(52)
- George Stevenson
George William Stevenson is a Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.In 1984 George Stevenson was elected Member of the European Parliament for Staffordshire East. He was elected Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent in the 1992 general election...
(24)
- Colin Telfer (17)
- Alan Tomes
Alan Tomes is a former international rugby union player. He toured South Africa in 1980 with the British and Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for Hawick RFC.He is the father of Newcastle Falcons Sean Tomes.-References:...
(48)
- Derek Turnbull (15)
- Willie Welsh (21)
- Gary Froud (72)
The famous rugby commentator
Bill McLarenWilliam Pollock "Bill" McLaren CBE, OBE, MBE is a retired Scottish former rugby union commentator. Until his retirement in 2002, he was known as 'the voice of rugby'....
also played for Hawick.
See also
- Hawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders in the south east of Scotland. It is best-known for its annual Common Riding.It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale and the largest town in the former county of Roxburghshire...
- BT Premiership Division One
Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership Division One is one of Scotland's national rugby union league divisions, and therefore part of the Scottish Hydro Electric League Championship - being the highest division in the Scottish Hydro Electric Premiership....
- Border League
For the defunct baseball league, see Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901...
- Borders Sevens Circuit
The Borders Sevens Circuit, is the name given to rugby union sevens Tournaments that are held annually in the Scottish Borders.It is the oldest Sevens Circuit in the world with most sevens dating from the 19th century....
- Hawick Harlequins RFC
Hawick Harlequins Rugby Football Club are a Scottish Rugby Union team. Based in Hawick, Scotland they play in the East Regional Leagues.-External reference:*...