It gives me particular pleasure to welcome our opponents Heriots to Mansfield Park today. Our Clubs have had a great affinity over many years. The New Year’s Day game was always a highlight not only on the Hawick rugby calendar but on the town’s social calendar and after a few seasons apart it is great that our two Clubs are back playing each other again in the same League. Many friendships have been forged over the years and Andy Irvine and Iain Milne in particular have become great friends of the Hawick Club. A warm welcome to Heriots Past President Iain Duckworth and all other Goldenacre supporters who have made their way down the A7 for this afternoon’s match. Hawick will today once again be defending the Bill McLaren Shield.
In April the Club lost one of its true greats. Norman Suddon was a hugely respected figure not only at Mansfield but throughout the town. He graduated via the PSA and Hawick YM to play his first game for Hawick as a seventeen-year-old. Initially he played in the middle row before establishing himself as a regular in the front row. In February I had the great privilege of interviewing him for the 150th anniversary book. His dedication to the green jersey shone through in our whole conversation – “I used to cycle in from Cavers early in the morning to work in the mill, bring my lunch into work then go down to train with Hawick after work, sometimes biking home again at night in gales or snow, not getting home to half past nine, but it was always great fun.” He was a member of the famous ten-in-a -row sevens team and played for the Greens at Twickenham Sevens. He first played for Scotland against Wales in 1965 and won 13 caps in all, most memorably being in the side which beat South Africa in April 1965. He played for and captained the Barbarians and was selected as a reserve for the Lions but the call never came which was a big regret. He captained the Greens in seasons 1970-1971 and 1973-1974 and went on to serve on the Hawick committee and as a selector. He was very proud when his son Keith and grandson Daniel, both followed him into the green jersey. A humble man of great integrity, his last words to me were “The wee boy at Cavers that used to play with a rugby ball in the field in front of the house at the Sawmill had no idea where Rugby was going to take him, I have been very lucky.”
Norman’s most respected opponents and the team he most enjoyed playing against were Heriots and in his memory Christine and the family are presenting the Norman Suddon Memorial Shield to be contested annually between the two Clubs. It would be appreciated if the crowd stayed to see the first handing over of the trophy which will take place in the stand immediately after the game. Which team will be the first to take custody of the shield? We are about to find out. Enjoy the game.