glenrothes
Glenrothes
RFC
Article provided by Club President John Goodall
G
lenrothes Rugby Club is
a small club based in the new town of
the same name in Fife. The club will
celebrate its 50th anniversary with a
dinner next May and during all that
time has identified itself closely with
the local community of Glenrothes and
its surrounding towns.
We have played in a local park, Carleton
Park, for most of the club’s history and
lease our cosy clubrooms from the local
authority. Visitors to the club are often
surprised to see the impressive collection
of international jerseys on display from
Iain Paxton and Dave McIvor, both of
whom learned their trade at Glenrothes
before playing for Scotland’s back
row. Former players Sean Crombie
and David Young have also gone on to
forge professional careers in the game
and the club has produced a number of
international players at youth and club
international level.
Like all clubs, Glenrothes has had
successes and disappointments over
the years. In 1997-98 we finished 6th
in Premier League 3, the 26th most
successful club in the country, but since
then we have had our ups and downs.
In 2012-13 we won our league but, due
to the convoluted promotion/relegation
structure of Scottish rugby, lost out on
promotion in a play-off.
Last season we were runners-up in the
league, largely due to a rash of injuries
to key players in mid-season, but won
promotion, again through a play-off.
We also reached a national final for the
first time in our history, ending up as
beaten finalists in the National Bowl.
This season, under Captain Kenny
Christie in Caledonia League 1, we
have started off with 5 wins in our first
6 games and have won our way to the
semi-final of the Caledonia Shield.
The success of the past two seasons, and
the strong start to this campaign, have
led to a feel-good atmosphere within
the club and this is not just confined to
first XV players as the coaching staff
have worked hard to foster a “one club,
one squad” attitude across all players
whether turning out for our first XV or
development squad.
Our main ambition this season
is to confirm our promotion by
consolidating our position in
Caledonia League 1 though our
strong start to the season has led
to some “what if…” speculation.
Maintaining our league position,
or better, would be a fitting farewell
to our coach, Tom Hainey, who will
be stepping down at the end of the
season due to work commitments and
will be sorely missed. Most of our first
XV players are of an age that they will be
available for some years to come so once
we are secure in the league we can build
on that and aim for promotion to
the National Leagues.
The overwhelming
majority of players at
Glenrothes are home
grown
and
for
this reason our
youth
system
is essential for
the continued
success of the
club. Every
Sunday sees
hordes
of
youngsters
from 5 to
16
years
old training
or playing.
Our
U16
coach, Dougie
MacKinlay,
reckons
that
some of his
charges will be
very
important
players for the club
in the not too far distant
future.
We have been unable t