Gey Raw
I played my first game of rugby
for Hawick Trades in season 54/55. I was 16 years old at the time
and “gey raw” as they used to describe youth and inexperience at
that time.It was a seven a side tournament in Edinburgh, and I was
to pack down beside Jock Mallin and Russell Crosby, with Jackie
Bowie and Jimmy Douglas behind the scrum. I don’t remember too much
about the tournament that day, other than that we made an early
exit, and that I was completely out of my depth. It did serve to
whet my appetite for the higher level of rugby though, and I knew
that if I wanted to move up from semi-junior and gain a place in the
Trades team, then I would have to learn and learn quickly.
Wrestling on the
bus
One other
incident that I was privilieged to witness that day happened on the
bus journey home, this the away game ritual of the Jimmy Douglas v
Jock Mallin wrestle to the death competition. It was indeed a
wonderful spectacle to behold especially for one so young. it
usually took place after a few drinks and the inevitable fish
supper, a bit of light-hearted winding up to start with, then slip
in the odd barbed comment, and before you could say “Gus Nixon”
they were locked in mortal combat. This was no five minute flurry,
it seemed to last for hours, up and down the bus falling on top of
sleeping players, knocking the drink from committee men’s hands.
Once when we stopped the bus for the toilet they even wrestled out
of the door, through the hedge, and into the fields. The, just as
quickly as it had started, it was finished, with no outright winner,
and the two of them settled down and were the best of pals for the
remainder of the journey.
The Glasgow weekend
The September holiday weekend used to be
the official start to the 15-a-side season. We would play at home on
the Saturday, then leave early Sunday for Glasgow where we had
arranged a Monday morning game against one of the FP sides - no
Sunday rugby in those days. Staying overnight at the Kenilworth
Hotel in the centre of Glasgow was the highlight of the weekend and I
remember Tom Reid the Trades president checking the rooms, lift and
cocktail bar trying to locate his missing players, who had obviously
slipped out for a pint and a chance to eye up the local talent.
Glynneath
The
game against Glynneath has been on the Trades fixture card for the
last 40 years, and I hope it will stay there for another 40 years,
such is the friendship that exists between those two clubs, but I can
recall something that happened 42 years ago that would have changed
all that. The Trades had arranged a fixture with a Swansea club on
the weekend that Wales played Scotland. In those days the
international games in Wales were held alternately at Swansea and
Cardiff. The week leading up to the game was fairly wintry and and
everyone was speculating as to whether the game would be on or off. However, Thursday arrived and we assumed that no news was good news,
and everyone duly assembled at the Horse, kilts and all, ready to
depart. You can imagine the disappointment that spread through the
entire party when someone arrived with the news that the game had
been called off due to frost, and that the whole weekend was
cancelled.
We more than made up for that huge disappointment when
we eventually made our first trip to Wales two years later; our
opponents on that occasion were Glynneath with whom the committee
and players struck up an instant rapport. Need I say more than the
rest is history.
Dedicated committee
men
Over the past 50 years the Trades club has been
fortunate indeed to have secured the services of many loyal and
dedicated committee men, some of whom have been great characters in
their own right. I won’t mention any names, but I’m sure that each
and everyone of you can recall some incident that happened or
something that was said, that still brings a silent chuckle, even
after all those years.
Each and everyone on these men made their own
significant contribution to the Trades cause over the last half
century, but one man who was a major guiding force behind the Trades
club for a long number of years, and one who I remember with great
fondness was our late president Tom Reid. To me, Tom Reid was the
Trades greatly respected not only by his own committee and players,
but by all who came into contact with him. Definitely “A man for all
seasons”.
Happy memories
My happiest and most lasting memories of my time with the
Trades were the games I played in, the players I played with, and
the after match post mortems in the bar with Tom Reid, hair down
over his brow as always, telling us all how badly we played. Here’s
to an equally memorable second 50 years. |
