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Scottish League Rd 2

Fife 8 - 48 Edinburgh 

Glasgow 26 - 86 Strathmore 

Two tough games for Fife and Glasgow against the league's big boys, Glasgow especially doing well after a 18 month layoff 

Some footage from Fife showing them doing some good line speed and solid tackling 

Well done to everyone

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

An impressive collection of missed tackles!

😄

That's ugly.

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Can i suggest something?

Before next season, contact BARLA for a list of clubs and invite (all of them or) some of them to visit your home teams, on a weekend tour basis.

That way, you'll get a mixed bag of opposition (who won't be trying too hard to win) which will pad out your season, freshen up the limited group of clubs you've created up there and fuel an amazing social scene (when these incredibly friendly Northern people visit) in and around your communities.

Lifelong memories and friendships, will be created and with any luck, the game just might stick, grow and prosper up there.

Anyway, you only live once and trust me, you want to get the most out it that you can. 

So will your visiting tourists, so it's a win - win situation.

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1 hour ago, fighting irish said:

Can i suggest something?

Before next season, contact BARLA for a list of clubs and invite (all of them or) some of them to visit your home teams, on a weekend tour basis.

That way, you'll get a mixed bag of opposition (who won't be trying too hard to win) which will pad out your season, freshen up the limited group of clubs you've created up there and fuel an amazing social scene (when these incredibly friendly Northern people visit) in and around your communities.

Lifelong memories and friendships, will be created and with any luck, the game just might stick, grow and prosper up there.

Anyway, you only live once and trust me, you want to get the most out it that you can. 

So will your visiting tourists, so it's a win - win situation.

You raise a very good point, which Edinburgh did by joining the North East league and doing very well.

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On 17/07/2021 at 18:27, fighting irish said:

Can i suggest something?

Before next season, contact BARLA for a list of clubs and invite (all of them or) some of them to visit your home teams, on a weekend tour basis.

That way, you'll get a mixed bag of opposition (who won't be trying too hard to win) which will pad out your season, freshen up the limited group of clubs you've created up there and fuel an amazing social scene (when these incredibly friendly Northern people visit) in and around your communities.

Lifelong memories and friendships, will be created and with any luck, the game just might stick, grow and prosper up there.

Anyway, you only live once and trust me, you want to get the most out it that you can. 

So will your visiting tourists, so it's a win - win situation.

We have a few contacts already from various places where we will be looking to arrange various tours and visits in the future.

It's been a tough learning experience for the boys and obviously some heavy defeats. But now we've got 2 home games against the two weaker teams in Fife and Glasgow. We will have pretty much a full squad available bar a couple of injuries (alot of boys missing against Edinburgh in particular) and will be looking to really compete hard.

Another thing to point out is that we have some really young guys in the team. 4 or 5 lads aged 17/18 have been playing regularly and a couple more coming down to training. If they stick at it we should see steady improvements.

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It's really exciting times in Scotland, I know to hardened fans south of the border it can look a bit suspect, only 6 teams been here before, cricket scores being seen blah blah blah but the guys/gals at Forth, Fife, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and in Forfar are really working hard in difficult circumstances to make this stick and despite the results some great play and spirit is seen. 

Would be great to get a couple of more teams sorted but what's been achieved by the players and backroom staff so far is amazing 

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50 minutes ago, 2blackrooks said:

It's really exciting times in Scotland, I know to hardened fans south of the border it can look a bit suspect, only 6 teams been here before, cricket scores being seen blah blah blah but the guys/gals at Forth, Fife, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and in Forfar are really working hard in difficult circumstances to make this stick and despite the results some great play and spirit is seen. 

Would be great to get a couple of more teams sorted but what's been achieved by the players and backroom staff so far is amazing 

Do you know of any other teams who may be interested? Even if not, 6 is a healthy number for the time being I reckon. 

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29 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Do you know of any other teams who may be interested? Even if not, 6 is a healthy number for the time being I reckon. 

Something else that we need to remember and be realistic about is that alot of these players are first and foremost rugby union players. They do it to have a bit of fun and get themselves fit in the summer months. 6 teams in a normal year is a 10 game season (plus cups) and that's ideal for them. If the season was a lot longer then you would probably see guys dropping out.

We need to grow organically and try to focus on keeping the older union guys interested whilst getting the new generation to actually want to be rugby league players, rather than just fitting it in between their union season.

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Ayrshire did have a successful team at one point, I knew a lot of union players who loved playing RL in the summer.

The border's again is a prime area, Scotland played Wales there a few years back, with a reasonable crowd and a strong rugby background, albeit union.

Always thought Hamilton area would be a good area, nice and central, Motherwell, East Kilbride close by.

As MZH says we currently rely on Union players, we need to develop our own RL players, with an international pathway to entice the youngsters, but all credit to the current Union and new players for giving it a go.

Just this weekend RL Scotland had a good turn out for there development weekend U20 U17 Women's etc

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6 hours ago, 2blackrooks said:

Ayrshire did have a successful team at one point, I knew a lot of union players who loved playing RL in the summer.

The border's again is a prime area, Scotland played Wales there a few years back, with a reasonable crowd and a strong rugby background, albeit union.

Always thought Hamilton area would be a good area, nice and central, Motherwell, East Kilbride close by.

As MZH says we currently rely on Union players, we need to develop our own RL players, with an international pathway to entice the youngsters, but all credit to the current Union and new players for giving it a go.

Just this weekend RL Scotland had a good turn out for there development weekend U20 U17 Women's etc

There was an under-16 team called Hamilton Lions in the late 1970s at a time when Rugby League was unheard of in Scotland.  It was run by an exile from Cumbria and they used to play matches down there.  My mate and I went down to training but we were too old to play in matches. I read somewhere later that they played in a curtain-raiser at Knowsley Road, St Helens in 1979 before the England v Wales international.

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47 minutes ago, CmonTheBorough said:

There was an under-16 team called Hamilton Lions in the late 1970s at a time when Rugby League was unheard of in Scotland.  It was run by an exile from Cumbria and they used to play matches down there.

If it was unheard of in the late 70s, it is probably even more unheard of now. 

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8 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

If it was unheard of in the late 70s, it is probably even more unheard of now. 

How can that be true?  There wasn’t a single open-age team at that time so surely having even five or six teams nowadays represents progress, albeit limited.

If only the RFL had as much enthusiasm and drive as these lads trying to establish new clubs and maintain existing ones. The RFL gave up on Scotland when it binned its Development Officers to ensure Sport England funding several years ago.
 

Small mindedness goes back even further.  The professional clubs voted against admitting a  team from Glasgow in the 1950s because it was too far to travel.  
 

For me, any development in Scotland is welcome at whatever level.

 

 

 

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13 minutes ago, CmonTheBorough said:

How can that be true?  There wasn’t a single open-age team at that time so surely having even five or six teams nowadays represents progress, albeit limited.

How can it be true?

Because in the late 70s the game was on TV on a Saturday afternoon in people's living rooms.

Now.... The general public probably couldn't name 1 Rugby League player. The game is invisible.

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7 hours ago, The Frying Scotsman said:

How can it be true?

Because in the late 70s the game was on TV on a Saturday afternoon in people's living rooms.

Now.... The general public probably couldn't name 1 Rugby League player. The game is invisible.

Grandstand, which is how I got interested in Rugby League 45 years ago, stopped in about the mid 90s.

That’s history. The fact is that Rugby League is being played on pitches in Scotland by lads who want to play the game.  Doesn’t bother me that they might play Rugby Union in the winter.  Doesn’t bother me that they might not all be Scottish.

In later years, those lads will remember that they played Rugby League and might be inspired to do something about it.

 

 

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54 minutes ago, CmonTheBorough said:

Grandstand, which is how I got interested in Rugby League 45 years ago, stopped in about the mid 90s.

That’s history. The fact is that Rugby League is being played on pitches in Scotland by lads who want to play the game.  Doesn’t bother me that they might play Rugby Union in the winter.  Doesn’t bother me that they might not all be Scottish.

In later years, those lads will remember that they played Rugby League and might be inspired to do something about it.

 

 

Hear hear! 

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