Broughton Rugby Club Official Website

The Muir the merrier as Broughton land plum Cup tie!

Broughton have been paired against Premier 1 outfit Boroughmuir in the fairytale fixture of Round 4 of the National Cup. The tie will be played at Wardie on Saturday 20th January with a 2pm kick-off.

Boroughmuir currently sit in 6th place in Premier 1 and have had a fairly inconsistent season by their own standards. No strangers to the BT Cup latter stages, our visitors have won the Cup no fewer than 3 times in the last 6 years.

Broughton President Mark Brown was delighted with the draw. "It's potentially the biggest game many of the Broughton lads will play in their Club Rugby career" he said. "Although we will have been resigned to the Plate competition already by many, I honestly believe that we can give a tremendous account of ourselves, particularly with being blessed with one of the strongest packs in the lower leagues".

He added, "Whatever the result on the day, I am sure that the Club will be buzzing and I urge all Club members and friends to come along and cheer on the boys".

Head Coach Graham Bonner commented, "I would have preferred a National 1 or 2 side in the draw to see just exactly how far the team has progressed this season so far, however we will have to work hard to prepare for this lucrative tie".

Match Sponsorship of this tie, which is already receiving press coverage and will no doubt result in further media exposure on the day, is available. Please contact Club President Mark Brown for further details on 0776 4149767 or 0131 662 3205 (during office hours).

The draw in full can be found here: http://www.scottishrugby.org/sru/community-rugby/club-rugby/cup-news.cfm?news_uuid=7BE45519-D94A-6B19-F7D4-D03991702288

10/12/06 - Fairlie easy win as Broughton centre on the big guns

Broughton will join the big guns in the hat later this week for the National Cup Round 4 draw after a 15-07 win away to North Berwick on Saturday.

It was a day dominated by the Broughton centre partnership of Scott Fairlie and Neil Matthews and it was an inspirational piece of individual brilliance by Matthews on 23 minutes that set up the chance of a glamour tie in the next round with a powerful run up the touchline which ended in the former Currie man going over the whitewash. The full Match Report can be found here.

10/12/06 - President returns after having a baw' wi' McCaw!

Club President Mark Brown returns to give his usual unbiased match reports after a trip to the Dubai 7's, won by the spectacular South Africans who disposed of the Kiwis 31-12 in the Final at the rain soaked Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground.

The lure of sunshine sevens was an opportunity not to be missed for a trip out to the Arab state, unfortunately no-one told the Big Man Upstairs (whichever one you want that to be of course!) and it rained for almost the entirety of the Tournament!!

You would have expected the Scots to have adapted to these conditions, but sadly they couldn't compete with the winners of the previous 3 Dubai 7's competitions, England in the opening game and it went downhill from there! The last chance was the Bowl but they lost out in the 1/4 Finals to those 7's Giants Portugal 33-12

Despite the rain, a 'Glastonbury without the music' mud bath ensured that spectators were wet on the outside and inside (courtesy of Heineken).

Sadly, as hard as I tried, contract talks with this Kiwi broke down as I had ran out of my carry-out by that point therefore our squad will not be strengthened in time for the new year!

06/12/06 - Pain for McFarlane as Lasswade put paid to shock

LASSWADE and Broughton shared 13 tries on Saturday in a pulsating encounter which saw the Midlothian side come out on top to keep them well out in front in East League One.

The match at the Dalkeith schools campus was played in atrocious conditions with swirling wind and rain making it hard for both sets of players.

However, they made light of the weather to serve up a 90-point feast of rugby for the hardy supporters who had braved the rain to take to the touchline.

Broughton, who now sit fifth in the table following the 60-30 loss, took the game to their unbeaten hosts from the outset and, despite going behind, the Capital men fought back to lead 16-7 at the break.

Lasswade were rattled, but composed themselves to come out all guns blazing after the half-time oranges. They ran in nine tries - man of the match Richard Borthwick weighing in with two from centre - to take the game away from the Wardie men in spectacular fashion.

Lasswade vice-president Stan Adams said: "All credit to Broughton, they were a stuffy side and we really had to dig deep to win.

Broughton Coach Graham Bonner commented that his charges had played very well, possibly the best first 60 minutes of the season, but lost out in the final quarter chasing the game with inferior fitness.

19/11/06 - Quins steal win as Broughton freeze at Wintery Wardie

Broughton lost out 13-22 to Hawick Quins on Saturday in a game refereed by perhaps the most officious whistler seen at the lower levels of the rugby spectrum for such a long time.

Match report can be found by clicking here.

Next week we play Waid Academy in a Pre-international friendly with an alarm clock busting 11.30am kick-off. Afterwards, why not watch the International in the Club?

Broughton will have representation on the hallowed Murrayfield turf next Saturday when Scotland take on Australia in their final Autumn Test. Max Love, son of former Club President Gerry Love, will be a Scotland Mascot for the day. Hope you have been practising the words to Flower of Scotland for the cameras, Max....!!

12/11/06 - To Saint from Sinner - Big Dunc grabs the winner!

Broughton edged out North Berwick 13-5 at Wardie on Saturday to end the 1st half of the League Campaign sitting in a respectable 4th spot.

The match, played on a glue pot due to the torrential downpours experienced in the Capital over night was tetchy in parts with Broughton prop Duncan Nicolson getting a ten minute rest on the half hour mark for an altercation at the side of a maul.

The Sinner redeemed himself and turned Saint with ten minutes to go when he bundled over the North Berwick try-line to breach the visitors whitewash.

Dan Arrandale, who surprised his fellow colleagues by his 1 hour before kick-off pre-match kicking practice, slotted over two penalties to secure a hard fought, but well deserved victory. The sides meet again in the Cup (Round 3) down at Recreation Park on December 9th and North Berwick will be sure to seek revenge on their home turf.

The match was a fairly big non event and hardly worthy of a match report other than commenting on the North Berwick penalty kick attempt on 15 minutes which failed to gain any height as it left the tee, causing the Wardie Worm to duck for cover!

Saturday's Man of the Match Award went to Stan who managed to avoid injury this week! Well done Stan!!

Next week we welcome Hawick Harlequins who travel on the back of a 82-14 defeat on the road to runaway League Leaders Lasswade. I am sure they will be out to bounce back from that result & improve on their 9th place league standing.

05/11/06 - Turtle in Tatters! - Will he continue as a Hero in a Half-Shell?

Missing from Saturday's Team is Vice-President Andy Turtle. Here we have a first hand (bad pun, sorry Andy!) account of the injury that could put paid to the line-out legend's rugby career. Over to you Andy:

"Playing for the BATS on Saturday (had a blinder of a game - ask Sid), tried to maintain my 100 % tackle record for the game by nailing their scrum half who was going flat out. Almost textbook tackle, but took him a bit low and a bit far from my shoulder, with the result that his knee (I think) smashed my fore arm.

An X-ray at the Western confirmed it was broken, along with a dislocation of the wrist, put me in a stookie and sent me up to the Royal. The registrar there confirmed it would need to be plated, and that they were getting my bed ready upstairs.

So, on Sunday, they opened up the arm and inserted a plate (permanent fixture!) and I got out on Monday afternoon. Bubba claimed it was a lot of effort to got to to get out of taking the S1 BATS at their tournament on Sunday!

Back at the consultant on Friday, so should find out then if my playing career has been tragically cut short."

05/11/06 - It's Hall-Hell for Broughton as Dunbar take the spoils

There were no great fireworks at Hallhill on Saturday as Broughton and Dunbar failed to serve up the same points frenzy from their Cup encounter 7 days earlier as the windy conditions contrived to spoil what could have been a good game of rugby.

Several chances went a-begging throughout the match for the Broughton side looking to edge further up the league table. The game was finely balanced at 3-3 (Maddocks penalty cancelling out a 6th minute drop goal by the Dunbar stand-off) as the teams turned around and 5 minutes after the restart Nicolson scored Broughton's only try as he out ran Dunbar's Calum Jeffery after charging down the scrum half's clearance.

With 15 minutes to go, former Broughton guest player Stevie Bisset showed enough soccer skills to perhaps merit a game across the wall at Dunbar United FC when he capitalised on an error in midfield and his neat close control of the oval ball at his feet allowed him to score under the posts. The easiest conversion of the day by the full back gave Dunbar the 10-8 victory.

Dunbar survived a last minute onslaught by the visitors with Parnell racing up the touchline but his weary legs ran out of steam near the line. His infield pass, aimed for Prem didn't reach it's intended recipient due to a touch of obstruction and despite Urqhuart's best attempts to dive to the line, it was held up and the replacement referee blew the final whistle.

Assistant Coach Rab (Nae f*****g relation to Davie) Wood commented after the game that he found it "frustrating watching the players dominate every week and struggle to put points on the board. Dunbar learnt quickly from last week and shackled up our ball carriers very well, although we should have comfortably won the game". Wood, a Broughton stalwart continued, "Graham (Bonnar, Head Coach) and I are enthused by the positives that can be taken from the game and note the significant improvement from last year. Wood concluded by adding, "I am sure the Broughton WAGS are enjoying the attractive game we are playing!".

29/10/06 - Cup win is Dun the hard way

The Road to Murrayfield continues as the Broughton bandwagon came back from a first half de-railing to win this enthralling Cup Tie against Dunbar 32-22 at Wardie.

Yet another Man of the Match performance by No.8 Adam McFarlane, including one of the finest hand-offs seen at Wardie in recent years, saw Broughton come back from a 22-05 first half humping.

2 tries apiece from McFarlane and Kiwi Sandy Urqhuart contributed significantly in a comeback which Frank Sinatra would have been proud of!

Match report can be found here and here is what the papers say

Broughton now await the draw for Round 3 which sees the qualifiers from Regional Round 2 (24 clubs) join the 36 Clubs from the 3 National Leagues in the draw due this week. Mmmm, Broughton v Trinity....who will give me a �5 bet on that coming out of the hat....or an away trip to Orkney!

After the game, it was time to say our fond farewells to Rob Shaw who departs these shores to live over in Oz. Many a drink was had and no doubt there will be a few pictures floating about, which may or may not find their way onto the site for fear of litigation!!

Ex-Broughton Pair are Powerhouse Premiers! - We stay Down Under for our next news story where we are delighted to give a big well done to ex-Broughton players Ruairi 'Hands' Hanly and Paul Hamer who recently helped the Melbourne Powerhouse Rugby outfit to become First Division Premiers in the Victorian Competition. Ruairi, who is currently Club Captain out there, is threatening a return to Broughton in time for next season.....

Shaw gives us a Sygn before he heads Down Under

A message from winger Rob Shaw, who is leaving at the start of November to live in Oz:

"Could you put a note on the web generally inviting the team to drinks at Sygn Bar (behind Indigo Yard) on Saturday 28th October, 7.30pm onwards.

As an excuse to have a few drinks I'm getting a few people together in the corner of the bar, nothing planned.....only downfall is that prices are a little steeper than the Globe but on the positive side the chicks are far more attractive plus if you're lucky I'll get my sister to give you a kiss!"

Now, as it happens, the Broughton website has managed to get a hold of Louise, Rob's sister, who holds a BSc in Adult Nursing (oo-er missus!) and currently works in Hereford as a Project Development Manager. She writes:

"Just a wee picture of Rob Shaw's sister in regards to his comment, on his top story of the day party ad, on your website. In case the guys want to see how better looking Rob's sister is than Rob!!! Please place this photo next to his advert."

Happy to oblige Miss Shaw as she poses here with her vino on a recent trip to Budapest!

21/10/06 - It's the Lean Mean Hawick Linden Reducing Machine

Broughton recorded a well deserved bonus point 29-17 victory over Hawick Linden at Wardie on Saturday with nearly 21 year old Adam McFarlane grabbing the Man of the Match honours with his 2 try performance.

It was 29-0 to Broughton on the hour and despite a spirited comeback by the tourists, it was too little too late. The victory allowed Broughton to leapfrog North Berwick to move into 4th place, one place and one point behind our next opponents Dunbar who we face in the Cup next week then the league 7 days later. The Match Report can be found here..

The weekend threw up possibly one of the most bizarre results in Scottish Rugby history and it happened in our league. Edinburgh Northern and Dalkeith battled (snoozed?) out a NIL - NIL draw and I will be interested to read the match report on that one!! Youth Section Co-ordinator Richard Chalmers reliably informs me that Broughton have featured in two similar games - The year in which we won the Fourth Division title - we drew 0-0 with Aberdeen Grammar School at Wardie in our first match. We should have won as we had a good try knocked off by some dodgy refereeing (Richard's words, not mine!) and Richard also played in another 1st XV 0-0 match against Perthshire at Gypsy Brae - it was played in a force 9 gale and the only excitement was the sight of aircraft struggling to make their way towards Edinburgh Airport!!

Elsewhere, Lasswade continued their relentless march to the title with a 48-5 win over North Berwick, Leith lost 7-29 at home to second place Penicuik and Dunbar picked up the points on their travels to Hawick Quins with a 20-14 morale boosting victory ahead of the back to back fixtures against us.

Our Associated Clubs were also in action, again with mixed luck. Edinburgh Accies kept a hold of 3rd spot in Premier 2 but left it late to win 21-19 away to Gala and Trinity narrowly lost out 10-14 on the road to 2nd placed Newton Stewart.

07/10/06 - Broughton huff & puff before blowing House down! - With both Broughton and Moray House given byes into Round 2 of the Cup, a free Saturday was used by both sides to give players a run on a blustery day at Wardie.

The East Division 2 side went in at half-time 12-10 up, with Mollier-Alexander scoring under the posts in the final play of the 1st half to put some respectability to the Broughton scoreline.

Fitness and better utilisation of the ball by Broughton in the second half saw the home side run in 6 unanswered tries down the Wardie slope to give a final score of 46-12. Full report can be read here.

30/09/06 - Curry night starts with under-Cuiked performance

It was revenge in the form of a dish best served cold for Penicuik on a day when Broughton held their Curry Night as the Mid Lothian side ran out 08-12 winners in a proverbial game of two halves.

Still bitter about Broughton's National 5 (East) last gasp Championship winning day 2 years ago, evidently clear by the threats of violence witnessed on the touchline (or a friendly Penicuik welcome as it is affectionately known as) it was Penicuik who came out of the blocks fired up and within the opening minute they had opened the scoring. Full match report here

27/09/06 Club Accounts ratified at SGM

The Broughton Rugby Club Accounts were ratified last night (26th Sept) with emphasis on cost savings and greater utilisation of the bar by all members.

If you have any ideas as to how the Club can make savings or generate much needed income - perhaps you or your company would like to sponsor a home game - then please feel free to call the President.

If you were unable to attend and would like a copy of the Club Accounts, please send an SAE to the President and a copy will be sent to you.

26/09/06 - A thrill of a girl - it's a hat-trick for O'Neill!!

Latest news from the O'Neill household: Broughton stalwart Chris O'Neill is the proud father of a baby girl.

Angie gave birth to a Sophie early morning on the 25th.

Sophie tipped the scales at 8lb 4oz with both baby and Mother are doing well. No doubt the brothers will keep a watchful eye over their wee sister in the years to come!

Broughton go whistle happy!

7 Broughton players, past & present recently passed their Referee Level 1 Written Exam at Murrayfield.

Stan Smith	97%
Andy Turtle	93%
Euan Haggerty	90%
Mark Brown	85%
Colin 'Sid' Devine	83%
Jonny Wells	83%
Martin Scott	75%

So far Stan Smith and Mark Brown have taken charge of BATS S1/2 fixtures prior to their assessment later in the year.

Refereeing at this level allows you (with a bit more experience) to referee up to District Level.

23/09/06 - Broughton reign on Leith in the Sunshine - Broughton moved three places up the league table to second top with a hard fought, if not laboured at times, 23-14 win at Academy Park against rivals Leith helped by a dynamic display by Man of the Match Duncan Nicolson.

The Proclaimers once sang the immortal words 'Sunshine on Leith' and they weren't far off on Saturday as the warm conditions made this game a pleasure to watch in the shadow of the Concrete San Giro that is Easter Road Stadium, the home of the other EH6 side to lose on Saturday.

Broughton had an early scare in the warm-up as Chris O'Neill dislocated his shoulder. Doug needs to clearly go on a 1st Aid course as he yanked it further out before putting it back in!! Read the match report here.

For the first and hopefully not the last time this season, all 3 Associated Clubs won! Edinburgh Accies won 22-14 on their travels at Cartha Queens Park and Trinity had one of their best results in the last couple of seasons, defeating Lismore away 20-0, with Broughton Head Coach Graham Bonnar's son Ruairidh claiming the Man of the Match award.

16/09/06 Broughton have Bouncebackability - Broughton were determined to show their bouncebackability after losing in last week�s game against Lasswade and answered their critics with a 12-6 win against near neighbours Edinburgh Northern.

Tries from Urqhuart & Dickson on either side of half-time moved the side up the league roster by 2 places to mid-table. A match report from our mystery scribe can be found here with added photos!

Another week and another mixed bag of results for the Associated Clubs. Trinity got their first league win at the 4th time of asking, beating basement side Ross High 31-24 at Bangholm. Edinburgh Accies missed out on top spot in Premier 2 after losing 24-29 to Stirling County at Raeburn Place

09/09/06 - Dan drums up another try but Broughton are snared by lively Lasswade!

Dan Arrandale notched up his second try in as many games however this was no more than a consolation as Broughton went down 07-37 to early League Leaders Lasswade on Saturday.

Broughton, without first team regulars Smith, Kelly, Williams, Mollier-Alexander, Fragne, Lenihan, Cox, Baxter were simply outplayed against a well drilled Lasswade side who will be difficult to beat this season.

Lasswade's back division played collectively well and it was no surprise that Broughton Head Coach Graham Bonnar chose their Scrum-Half as his Opposition Man of the Match.

The visitors breached the home try-line on 7 occasions and these all came by virtue of fine back play which Broughton had no answer for.

The home side were not helped by the 6th minute departure of Full-Back Paul Maddison, who had to go to A&E for 3 (badly administered) staples to a head wound.

Broughton's consolation try came from an Arrandale charge-down at a scrum midway inside the Lasswade 22. Matthews obliged by slotting the extras but it was too little too late.

Many thanks to Sandy and Stuart for their post match bar duties and Sid for his chilli making prowess. Sadly, the same can't be said about the pasta....

Other results from East 1: Penicuik 27-22 Dunbar, Leith 15-15 North Berwick, Dalkeith 19-24 Hawick Linden, Edinburgh Northern 27-0 Hawick Harlequins.

Next week, we welcome close neighbours Edinburgh Northern to Wardie as we aim to bounce back towards the higher places in the league standings.

Once again, it was a mixed bag of luck for the Associated Clubs, with Edinburgh Accies winning away at Selkirk by 14-11 to go joint top of Premier 2 with GHA who lead by a better points differential. Trinity indifferent start to National 3 continued with a 19-24 loss at home against last season's National 4 runaway winners Dumfries.

02/09/06 - Hooray for Ollywood!

Broughton were Singing in the Rain as they opened their campaign with a 15-7 win at Hawick Harlequins on Saturday. Rain more akin to an Amazonian Rainforest fell for the full 80 minutes and prohibited any chance of a decent game of rugby to welcome the new season.

Dan Arrandale ran in for the first try within the opening 60 seconds and Sykes doubled the try count 10 minutes later. Maddocks kicked a conversion and penalty to earn Broughton an important victory on the road. Full soggy match report can be read here

Coach Graham Bonnar was delighted to get off to a winning start. "The torrential rain hampered our handling but the players stuck to the gameplan: kept the ball close to the forwards and kicked for position. The halfbacks: Dan Arrandale and Olly Maddocks, eventual man of the match, controlled the game well in the first half and we took our tries well." Bonnar, who was a former Club Captain added, "In the second half we continued to dominate the Quins forwards and should have put further points on the board but perhaps we lost our composure at crucial times. Overall an excellent performance from all eighteen players and a great start to the league campaign."

In the other East Division 1 matches, Lasswade - visitors to Wardie next week - destroyed Dalkeith 54-0, Dunbar beat Leith 18-0 at Halhill, Hawick Linden edged out Penicuik 19-10 and North Berwick won 25-17 against Edinburgh Northern.

Our Associated Clubs had mixed fortunes this week. Edinburgh Accies continue their 100% success rate with a 22-0 win over Hillhead / Jordanhill at Raeburn Place. Trinity, who nearly travelled without Allan Spencer following his attempt to get on board the Broughton bus, lost 23-8 away to Whitecraigs.

Biggest result of the day came at Orkney who beat Panmure 104-5.

27th August: Heavy defeat but Brown upbeat

Broughton went down heavily in the final pre-season fixture against a well drilled Oban Lorne at Wardie on Saturday. With as many players unavailable as they were available, it was a makeshift side who took the park, with a front row knocking up a mighty 135 years - Norsworthy (54), Gillies (42) and Clark (39)!!

For the record, the Final Score was 0-56 but Club President Mark Brown was not reading too much into the result. "The guys who turned out this afternoon stuck in but inexperience in a couple of key positions showed. We were missing the majority of our pack, including Duncan Nicolson who travelled to Kelso with Edinburgh Accies 1st XV, and two or three backs." He added, "It's back to basics this week at the training paddock and I have tremendous confidence in Head Coach Graham Bonnar and the fantastic squad of players we have to turn this performance on it's head for the trip to Hawick next week."

The opening League fixture at Hawick Harlequins will see a bus leaving Wardie at midday. Please come along on the bus FREE OF CHARGE and give your support.

26th August: SRU ticket plans slammed by Capital clubs
(source: Edinburgh Evening News 26/08/06)

CAPITAL rugby clubs have hit out at Murrayfield bosses over plans for Six Nations ticket sales ahead of a special SRU financial annual general meeting tomorrow.

Broughton and RHC Cougars are among those concerned about linking tickets for Italy's visit to Edinburgh in the RBS Six Nations to allocations for more popular fixtures against Wales and Ireland.

They say that having to buy an Italy ticket to get the right to purchase up to three Irish or Welsh briefs could rebound on the governing body - both in terms of turning off potential fans and reducing club memberships.

Broughton president Mark Brown said: "What happens to supporters who would love to go and cheer on a resurgent Scotland, who have a couple of kids and can only afford to attend one of the matches?

"These supporters are liable to say 'sorry kids you can't go to see British Lions stars like O'Driscoll, Henson and O'Gara because I can't afford to buy tickets for the Italian game as well'."

RHC official Robin Boog added that imposing a September 30 cut-off date for clubs to indicate to the SRU the number of tickets they will purchase was liable to reduce club membership lists. He said: "People may not feel they need to be club members to get tickets if they can buy them as individuals after September 30 - something which flies in the face of trying to grow the game at club level.

"I also think a ratio of an Italy ticket guaranteeing just three Ireland and Wales tickets is a bit tight. There is a case for starting with a ratio of 1:5 and then gradually reducing it."

The plans to link ticket sales for Wales and Ireland with the Italy match are set out in a letter to clubs from SRU chief executive, Gordon McKie. Sunday's financial agm will hear that the SRU, as announced earlier this month, has increased turnover and pegged costs to hold their debt static at �23 million.

They claim that new financial systems have meant a loss of �0.4 million compared to �2.2 million for season 2004-05.

19th August 06 - Accies are King of the BATS!

Broughton, Accies, Trinity & BATS U/19's took to the Wardie slopes on Saturday to take part in a Pre-Season tournament which proved to be an important part to each club's final arrangements for the start of their respective league campaigns.

Edinburgh Accies, who's fixture v Murrayfield had been called off earlier in the day, took the spoils with victory over Broughton & Trinity.

Broughton took 2nd spot with a 17-07 victory over rivals Trinity in the final match on the main pitch.

The Captain's Ceilidh was well received in the evening, with over 45 people attending. A late replacement in bands saw 'hud yer wheesht' take the floor and whipped the attendees into a frenzy on the dancefloor.

A report from the day's events and more photos can be found here

Next week we welcome Oban Lorne to Wardie in the final pre-season warm-up fixture. Our visitors come on the back of two impressive victories against Crieff 36-06 & Allan Glens 22-17, so the match has all the hallmarks of a tough test before the league campaign begins.

19th August 06 - Summer Lovin'

There are 3 types of ring - Engagement ring, Wedding ring and Suffering!

3 Broughton players will be taking their good ladies up the aisle next summer. Doug McClure (2nd June), Andy Turtle (30th June) & Grant Wilson (7th July) will be tying the knot with Leanne, Elaine & Charis respectively. Congratulations to all from everyone at the Club!

July 06 - Former Broughton player now Gunning for Edinburgh success

IN the course of their short history, Edinburgh Rugby have known many highs, including competitive victories over five of the eight clubs to have captured the blue riband of European rugby - the Heineken Cup - namely Toulouse, Munster, Ulster, Northampton and London Wasps.

But, according to the Gunners' new managing director, Graeme Stirling, the most important outing of all still lies ahead - and is looming on the horizon.

"With due respect to our pre-season rivals, Leeds and Sale, and even the opening Magners Celtic League trip to Neath/Swansea Ospreys, it is probably fair to say our September 8 meeting with Leinster stands out as the most important game ever for our club."

Brought in by the new consortium headed by the Carruthers brothers Alex, pictured below right, and Bob to front the operation, Stirling knows full well the importance of the occasion from every angle including as an ex-player in Edinburgh district with the Broughton club and as a businessman.

He said: "It will be very, very important that the supporters turn out with passion to see us kick off a new era against Leinster.

"If we can get people along, making noise off the pitch then our players will do their very best to provide fireworks on it.

"It is our first real test in terms of drawing power and a benchmark. But, particularly if we get a good start, things can only develop from there.

"That is especially the case given the goodwill we have already found, in just over two weeks, to be out there.

"Of course, we had to hit the ground running. But, already, schemes are being devised to provide fans with what they want in terms of match-day experiences with various catering proposals being formulated, for example.

"As for season tickets, we are targeting a sizeable proportion of the 2600 average attendance from 2005-06 in the hope that the figure can be steadily built up."

Insiders are already suggesting that, when season tickets went on sale earlier this week, a figure of 130 was reached on the first day and, as a former HR director with Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, Stirling hopes to combine that business acumen with a genuine feel for the game.

That is the only possible description, surely, of someone who is in charge of a youth team at GHA on Glasgow's south side while his playing credentials also extend to having toured - of all places - Mull in the company of mates from Broughton whom he represented in the mid-late 1980s.

For the full article from the Edinburgh Evening News, click here

July 06 - Bye for Broughton in the Cup

The draw for the 1st Round of the National Cup has been made and the good news is that we have been give a Bye!

The format of the National Cup has changed for 2006-07 as the draw for the first and second round ties are between the clubs in the regional leagues only. The national leagues come into the competition in round three with the premier divisions entering the fray in round four.

In order to ensure there are 24 regional clubs going into round three, some clubs have been awarded a bye in the first round. In Caledonia, there are six byes between 30 clubs, the West regional leagues have been awarded four byes among the 32 clubs competing, and in the East, three clubs out of 21 have a first-round bye.

The regional league clubs that are knocked out in rounds one and two then compete in a new Plate competition, so every club in Scotland has a genuine chance of reaching finals day at Murrayfield.

Fixtures for East Region
Leith - Bye, Moray House - Bye, Broughton - Bye

North Berwick v Edinburgh Northern, Dunbar v Eyemouth White Horses, Dalkeith v RDVC, Lasswade v Hawick Harlequins, Penicuik v Earlston, Hawick Linden v Liberton, Portobello FP v Gala YM, Heriot-Watt University v Inverleith, St Boswells v Walkerburn

26/05/06 - New President installed at AGM - Mark A Brown was installed as Broughton Rugby Club President at the Club's 82nd AGM held on Thursday 25th May. Brown replaces Gerry Love who stood down after serving 4 years in a role which has seen Broughton as a major pioneer in the setting up of the highly acclaimed BATS rugby project.

"It is an honour to be asked to become President of the Club", commented Brown. "I have had a great 7 years playing at Broughton and I welcome this challenge to help bring higher level rugby back to Wardie."

He added, "We will begin pre-season in July with a fresh outlook and it is our intention to put out 2 XV's each week for the first time in several years to give Head Coach Graeme Bonner enough depth to choose a potential Championship winning side."

Brown, who oddly enough edits this very website, will continue his role as Honorary Secretary with Stan 'Sean' Smith assisting (skirt as uniform is optional for this post big guy!).

Coming in as Vice-President will be Andrew Turtle, who will also stay on as Treasurer. The rest of the Committee was voted back on board 'en-bloc', with Head Coach Graeme Bonner and Club Captain Johnny Wells making up the required quota.

The Secretary's Report of last season can be downloaded here.

There will be a SGM, likely to be held in June, in order to ratify the Club Accounts which were unavailable for perusal at the AGM. Notification will be sent out to all Members once the Auditor has signed off the Accounts.

Honour for Bonner as former Captain installed as new Coach

Broughton Rugby Club are delighted to announce the appointment of Head Coach Graham Bonner.

Graham has been a member at Broughton for 16 years and served as a player, club captain, junior rugby co-ordinator/coach and committee member. He previously played for Annan Academy, South West Scotland Schools U18, Annan and Edinburgh Accies. Recently Graham returned to Edinburgh for work reasons having spent three years working in Brussels. Whilst there, he coached the British School of Brussels U19 1^st XV & 1^st VII: the 1^st XV were runners up in the 2004 international schools tournament in 2004. In 2005 he coached the U17 1^st XV which won the Belgian championship. While in Brussels he also scouted for the Scottish Exiles age-grade teams.

�I followed the club�s progress closely while I was in Brussels and was very pleased to see us winning the Division 5 (East) championship in 2005. I am keen to continue coaching and having the opportunity with Broughton next year is fantastic. From what I�ve seen of the current squad and the excellent BATS organisation feeding us some young talent I believe the future is bright and that we can repeat the success of 2005 but this won�t just happen. We all, coaches, players and committee members must work hard together to achieve success. I�m sure we will do this and I am very much looking forward to the challenge�

05/05/06 - Successful end to BATS season.