Landmark Year for Perthshire Rugby

Perthshire Rugby Club is a local sporting institution. Head down to the North Inch on a Saturday afternoon and you'll see their black and white jerseys covered in mud as they do battle with rival teams from across Scotland. Not only are they a huge part of Perth's sporting community, Perthshire Rugby is also one of Scotland's oldest rugby clubs and offers the people in our region the chance to get involved in the game at all ages and levels.

And our local team is celebrating a very special anniversary in 2018. Perthshire Rugby has spent the past 150 years at the heart of our community, and there are a whole host of events lined up to mark this special landmark in the club’s history.

The club was founded in 1868 (16 years before St. Johnstone F.C. was formed) and on the 10^th January 1869, Perthshire lined up for the club’s first match against Scots Greys in front of over 8,000 spectators. The rest is history and since then, the club has grown and grown and has produced some fantastic players over the years, becoming an integral part of Perth’s sporting scene.

The club’s first Scottish internationalists were Dr. R.W. Irvine and Dr. Charles Reid, who both represented their country in the 1880s. Former Wales captain J.A.G. William played for Perthshire in the 1950s and the last internationalist to wear the black and white stripes was Jimmy Greenwood – capped 20 times by Scotland and 4 times by the British and Irish Lions.

In more recent times, Perthshire Rugby was the starting point for Scotland Rugby Sevens star James Fleming. The 30-year-old played on the North Inch for the club until he was 21 having first popped along to one of the annual open days and caught the rugby bug.

Perthshire Rugby’s Chief Executive, Allan Brown, outlined the 150^th anniversary celebration plans at last Saturday’s home clash with St. Boswells and hopes that the landmark will bring together players and supporters of different generations over the course of the year.

“The club would very much like to use this as an opportunity to reconnect with players and supporters from previous decades and generations,” he said.

“The committee and I are keen to speak with as many former players, supporters and their family members who have been part of the club through the years and we hope we can create a lasting record of memories and memorabilia which represents every era of the club’s history.”

The first event planned to celebrate Perthshire Rugby’s 150^th anniversary is a team golf day, which is taking place on Friday 11^th May at the North Inch Golf Course. Details on how you can note your interest or book a place for the golf day can be found at the bottom of the page. There will be more activities and events throughout the 2018/19 season which will be announced by the club in due course.

The club is also hosting a Burns Night on Saturday 27^th January, with members and their guests welcome to join in the fun. The event will take place in The Loft and tickets are priced at £25 per person. You can reserve your tickets here.

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If you’re interested in taking part in the Perthshire Rugby Club golf day at the North Inch Golf Course, contact Sandy Hay at sandyhay999@gmail.com or Ian Dunbar at id.dunbar@btinternet.com.

If you shop at Perth or Scone’s Tesco stores, then you can currently vote for the Perth Athlete Development Programme to receive some additional funding which would go towards new gym equipment which will help enable Perthshire Rugby’s athletes and also other athletes from across a wide range of sports to realise their potential.

Perthshire Rugby is recognised as one of the leading providers of amateur rugby in Scotland and the club’s dedicated members and volunteers manage the activities of around 400 players from primary one age to under 18s, in addition to the senior first and second XI, and the veteran teams. New players, members and volunteers of all ages are welcome and anybody interested should contact the club at admin@perthshire-rfc.co.uk.

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