Mansfield Park today
The grandstand at Mansfield Park holds 1400 spectators and is the biggest rugby club stand in the Borders. In the early days, crowds of four or six thousand were common, and ten thousand would come to watch overseas touring teams. In recent years two thousand or more might attend on three or four games each season, including the sevens, or sports, day in April. Facing the grandstand is a steep natural banking, south facing, which attracts many spectators on a sunny sports day. The clubrooms have modern bar facilities and a function hall.
Hawick has a tradition of producing many fine players, yet, after World War Two until season 1997-98, the Hawick club itself had only one team! The system in the town was that boys start to play rugby at primary school, at one time being coached by TV commentator, Bill McLaren, and then play for Hawick High School and Hawick Albion (12 – 16 years old), the “semi-junior” (16 – 18 years) teams of PSA (originally Pleasant Saturday Afternoon) and Wanderers, and the four “junior” teams, Harlequins, Linden, Trades, or YM. It is this system that fed players to the senior Hawick team. In July 1997 however, significant changes appeared in the set-up. A Hawick “A” team was established in the belief that with a larger squad of players training and preparing at Mansfield the club would be better equipped to meet the demands of the new professional game. Sadly, Hawick Trades and Hawick YM hav now ceased to exist as a playing club and the Quins and Linden still compete. Hawick A now play as Hawick Force at Mansfield Haugh