Today we extend a warm welcome to Edinburgh Accies, their Vice President Ewan Alexander, Secretary John Wright and travelling supporters. Accies are the oldest team in Scotland and the second oldest in the world. The first ever international between Scotland and England was played at their Raeburn Place ground in 1871. They are having a very good season and are contenders like us for a play-off place. A very interesting afternoon lies ahead.
We are now just over a year away from the 150th anniversary of the meeting which was held on 8th December, 1873 which led to the formation of what was initially Hawick and Wilton Football Club. Look at the article in this programme entitled “Hawick RFC – almost 150 years young” and you’ll read about the protracted negotiations which had to be gone through before the Club’s first ever game was played against Langholm on 7 February, 1874 at Buccleuch Park. My great-grandfather played that day and later wrote in his auto-biographical memoir “My Life Among the Teries”.
“When I look around today and see our splendidly equipped Border grounds and that wonderful enclosure at Murrayfield I think of those early days.
The game was then the only thing that counted. Our goal lines were the hedge at the Pavilion of the cricket field and Dodds’s dyke at the school. Touch when it landed was Buccleuch Street or in the River Teviot. No players clad in knickers (sic!) and jerseys. It was a case of throwing off your jacket and at it in your shirt sleeves”.
The announcement of the date for the big Dinner – Friday, 17 November – has caused a great deal of interest. Fuller details will be announced early in the New Year including how to reserve tickets. Another date for your 2023 diary – Sunday, 17 September. This is when a re-enactment of that first game against Langholm will be staged on the green turf of Buccleuch Park by kind permission of Hawick and Wilton Cricket Club. The players will be in period rugby dress. Clair Ramage and Liz Parkes are our historical fashion advisers, Lovat Mills, Johnstons of Elgin and The Cheviot Sock Company are generously providing the material free of charge and the Hawick sewing ladies are going to make the “knickers and jerseys”. The men from the Muckle Toon are up for the challenge so I’m sure it will be a memorable day.
Last week’s game was a close affair. Musselburgh were able to field a much stronger team than the one which played at Mansfield the week before and they thoroughly deserved their losing bonus point. Our boys did well to get the victory in the end and the Force lads came agonisingly close to making it a double win. Congratulations to Ronan McKean who made his 50th Hawick appearance. It was my privilege to present him with a celebratory bottle of gin. The Stoneyhill hospitality was excellent as always. Our two Clubs have a great bond and we hope that the men from the Honest Toun can escape from their current parlous League position to enable us to renew contact and further strengthen our relationship next season.
Now, get ready to cheer on the boys. They will need all the support you can give if we are to prevail this afternoon and retain our pole position and the Bill McLaren Shield.
