This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page NORTH BERWICK have become the latest rugby club to withdraw from Scottish Rugby’s league structure due to lack of players The East Lothian outfit have struggled all season and were well adrift at the bottom of the National League Four table on -8 points due to multiple points-deduction sanctions for failing to raise a team The club was due to play Greenock Wanderers away this weekend and posted a plea for player volunteers on social media on Tuesday before making the decision today [Friday] that it was time to call it quits for this season with five matches still to go so as to provide other teams in the league with some clarity as to how the remainder of their campaign looks North Berwick – the hometown club of current Scotland co-captain Rory Darge – were promoted into National Four ahead of the 2023-24 season finishing fifth out of 10 teams with a record of 10 wins and eight losses in their first year at that level as has been the case with other clubs who have taken the step up from the regional to the national leagues the second season proved to be far more challenging in terms of raising teams for regular road trips of several hours Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership round 19 preview: when Saturday comes: runners, riders and verdict Scotland Under-19s to play two matches during April URC: Glasgow v Ospreys: Adam Hastings starts at full-back in generally settled Warriors line-up “A large number of our team consists of people who have moved into or back to the town to bring up their families so persuading them to be away all day Saturday eight or nine times per season is really hard,” explained club President Ken Muir “Our closest away match this season was Linlithgow [just under 100 miles round trip] but we were also up to Elgin and Forfar to the north and had a lot of games through in the west against Ardrossan who we are really sorry to let down this weekend because they had a big lunch organised … unfortunately we’d just reached the end of the road “We’ve had a lot of help from other clubs like Ross High Lasswade and Selkirk giving us players who just want to play rugby but the league rules state that you can’t loan players during the final five weeks of the season and that just left us in a spot where we had to make a decision which we didn’t take lightly but we knew was the right thing to do.” While North Berwick’s fate next season is still to be decided by the SRU Championship Committee the likely (and sensible) outcome will be that they are placed back in East One and if we are in that league then we are confident that we can have the numbers to be competitive every week,” added Muir “We’ve got a good youth section at the club with about 20 players coming out of the under-18s this season and while a lot will go off travelling or to university some will still be around to add to our player base “We won’t be asking guys to give up their whole Saturday and we can get back to enjoying the game and not battling to scrape together a team every week.” Three teams are set to be relegated from National Four into the regional leagues at the end of this season Stewartry and perhaps Whitecraigs now fighting it out to escape the two remaining demotion spots A Scottish Rugby statement said: “North Berwick advised Scottish Rugby they are unable to fulfil their remaining National 4 fixtures and have withdrawn from the league with immediate effect While it is saddening to see a club in this position Scottish Rugby recognises the club is proactively protecting the integrity of the league and the competition “Scottish Rugby is now in the process of recalculating the remaining fixtures based on a full programme of home and away matches by the remaining teams and Gala YM withdrew from East League Three in December Those are just some of the most notable examples of grassroots clubs buckling under the strain of low player numbers. In a column on this website on 17th December, Dom Ward discussed the number of men’s club matches being called off due to personnel shortages, reporting that 224 games had fallen by the wayside in the first for months of the season. Guest column: time to properly tackle the club rugby call-off crisis Surely that sets a bad precedent for teams that are struggling that are already near enough relegated that if they fold they just drop a league and continue from there as it means that there is no real penalty for not fulfilling fixtures There have been many clubs in that situation that have been dropped to the bottom league in their regional area to start again but due to them being social now a days they tend to go into the league above A straight relegation for a team who were already getting relegated to that league doesn’t really seem fair to the teams that have battled to get teams out and scraped to fulfil fixtures We were due to play a home game against the league leaders They have to make a three hour journey to us just as we did to them earlier in the season (We went with a weakened team due to the 6 hour round trip As this was a big game on our calendar we had a big sponsors day lined up the SRU announced that teams were not to take any risks travelling and could call off without penalty On the day we had probably the best conditions of the year sun shining and pitch in perfect condition Our opposition called off 24 hours before kick off We later found out that this club had a stag weekend on and would have a below strength team but we still had a caterers bill to pay as all the food had been bought and prepared We tried to sell this food at a cut rate at the club to any hungry members We never even got an apology from the away team perhaps with a National play-off at end of season to determine Scottish Champions It strikes me that community rugby in Scotland needs to recognise reality in other sports Societal changes and the steep fall in birthrate mean that playing numbers are doomed to decline many kids participate in American Football during school years During what might be termed the “university years” a smaller number of players participate heavier and more physical than ever before and therefore the risk of injury is significant Why would cheerful amateurs commit to rugby for 9 month seasons any more Youngsters who played under 18 do not translate to adult participants any more when the likes of Hamilton Burr and Cammy Wilson were playing for other clubs in the Waikato league That league has an intriguing set up – a focussed 3.5 month programme and then the 15 a side season is finished for most with the representative players then going on to play at provincial level Imagine that setup in Scotland – the leagues start in late August and finish in December with playoffs at the highest level and a Premiership Grand Final played as a curtain raiser for the annual Edinburgh vs Glasgow fixture far easier “sell” for the average family man a 6 match round robin Inter District competition with 37 man squads then kicks off in late January and works its way through to a final in early March Those that want to test themselves at the best possible level are presented with their opportunity whilst the average amateur isn’t trying to commit to a 9/10 month season (once pre season is taken into account) You’ve articulated well what I’ve been thinking for a while This season would have started on 17 Aug to finish on 17 Dec And no break for Autumn tests or accommodate any cup rounds or weather That’s 2 less home games with subsequent income issue Certainly a possible approach as long as we accept the consequences the consequences would need to be accepted something the vested interests in Scottish rugby have historically not been good at * 8 team leagues would indeed be preferable * If clubs are concerned about loss of income / balancing the books perhaps not paying players might be advisable * A common sense approach to cancellation of any weather affected games might be needed * Why do amateur players need an Autumn international break Can some flexibility around timing of fixtures on those weekends not be achieved Using that same model in Scotland in 2024 you could have started on August 31 and be finished on December 7th So plenty of space to incorporate extra fallow weeks if needed (in an 8 team league) Of course clubs would never vote for this because everyone wants to sit at the top table rather than focussing on a structure that might encourage participation and raise standards One additional thought – the Jan-March district games would be accommodated mostly at Prem 1 grounds – a chance to make up some of that lost revenue in an 8 team league They don’t need a break for the Autumn tests – as shown by games being played on Saturday when the international is a Sunday There is a tradition – of course that could be done away with – that club rugby isn’t played when Scotland are at home It’s a moot point now how many players actually go to Murrayfield anyway Speaking about running 8 team leagues as a club who are in a 7 team league – it’s not great and is a financial issue Nice to consider the Prem teams though what happens to the other 130 odd clubs in the country This is the second time I’ve seen the phrase common sense used And if it can’t be codified no one knows what the actual rule is for weather related issues Each rugby club is essentially a small business – many of which have their own playing fields and dressing rooms that must be maintained and run for 52 weeks these small businesses do not generate enough cash to pay for professional managers to run their business so rely on volunteers (who are probably the same people who line pitches You might think the current structure is about people wanting to sit at the top table but from personal experience that is just not the case – the majority of representatives who vote for ongoing new structures are just hoping that the next new structure will help their Club survive I’m betting the majority of Clubs will struggle to see survival with just 7 competitive home games per season I’ve often wondered about the Autumn Break for club rugby I wonder if the reason is the SRU want all eyes on the internationals to boost the TV ratings with rugby fans watching their own telly’s rather than in the club bars which would count as one Clubs should maybe have some junior / senior senior / junior affiliation allowing them to fill teams can’t clubs form allegiances to put out full teams and keep players in the game An easy way to meet folk and firm friendships outwith the enclosed single club community Allowing NB to borrow players until the last 5 matches but not for the last 5 matches is a bit nuts Marr 3s played Dumfries 2s today and won 26-31 First of all Ayr RFC don’t have a 3rd XV If you check the appropriate league you will find Marr 3rd XV and Ayr 2AXV have both fulfilled 16 games each so far this season Both clubs regularly put out approximately 60 senior players on Saturdays There needs to be some honesty here – travel is a major issue for the majority of Scottish regional rugby The 23 Clubs playing in the East leagues probably don’t experience the sorts of issues that West and Calie leagues face through-out the season of hours sitting in cars & buses – but they do still have Clubs withdrawing and facing points deductions folks will take the opportunity to make their feelings known about the competition formats via the recently issued survey from Murrayfield and perhaps we can find a structure that works better – however no structure is going to be perfect due to our geographical spread Sadly the survey is on when rugby is played not on league structures It’s a cleverly worded survey to elicit replies to support what Rugby Development wants to see happen (IMO) the survey is a nonsense – no requirement to register or reveal who you are You could answer all five surveys if you want Why exactly do we need so many ‘National leagues’ Scottish rugby and its clubs really shoot themselves in the foot far too often North Berwick have my up most respect for coming to this difficult decision Life and amateur rugby doesn’t seem fairly balanced right now in Scotland and players putting their hands up and saying this isn’t for me is ho the best can reform things We can’t afford to lose more players from the game so I hope clubs survey their players and use that information to bring reform to the game so it can be healthy both for the rugby and the individuals involved Shame that north Berwick is unable to loan players I’m in Glasgow and our game is called off tomorrow as the opposition cancelled due to lack of numbers 22 of our guys and the opposition numbers who were available could have travelled to Greenock to assist which is to prevent teams from borrowing better players to win leagues and fight off relegation It’s harmed it so maybe a reform to that rule where it certain scenarios rules can be lifted or amended to make sure we get rugby on Get money in the bar tills and keep the game strong Really disappointing and yet another sign that Scottish club Rugby is going to the wall I dont think there is any way to reverse this demise scratch the surface and all clubs are in peril Melrose Storm and Gala A play a Border Junior League cup “ final “ tonight the result of having played only one game each with all other games in the Border Junior League Cup being cancelled (6 ) Club rugby in Scotland is on a knife edge and the game is dying The decision making around these reguonal leagues is short sighted and was always just another backwards step … This is very sad news and I feel for the folks at North Berwick “Regional” rugby isn’t the panacea everyone seems to think it is Caley and West cover massive geographic areas the most compact and with leagues specifically set up for their needs has a huge call off issue 19 games were called off in Border Junior League this season with a further 3 in the Junior Cup To be fair some of the 19 Border Junior League fixtures were called off due to weather That is a reserve team league and everyone involved is to be applauded in making the fixtures happen when they can and it would be great if they could fill the calendar next season – I think all of the teams in that league have firsts that are playing in national leagues All 19 matches were due to one or both teams being unable to raise a team SELKIRK A P – P PEEBLES REDS Frozen pitch Rescheduled from 22.11.24 (Frozen Pitch) I skimmed this first time and I misread the fact the match was postponed twice.I thought there were two separate fixtures https://fixtures.scottishrugby.org/club-rugby/2024-2025/3597/results How about you offer a solution for once instead of highlighting potential flaws as usual Dominic I have several pieces on OSL outlining solutions which you are free to go and read There are no silver bullet solutions and those that call for them are being disingenuous by doing so Unless you want to move to a micro level of localism – Edinburgh city clubs can play each other and not worry too much about travel Then we discover that Stew Mel called off against Edinburgh Accies recently Doesn’t quite fit the local league narrative does it systematic issues that need careful analysis and solution creation not knee jerk responses unintended consequences arises from seemingly benign changes Oh the total irony yet again from Doogie boy Well Dom let’s just carry on as we are and watch our game decline even further There is so much we can do to improve things to fit in with the player of today When we think of regional leagues forget what we have now but look at meaningful competitive regional leagues scrap all reserve leagues and put them into the regional set up ( yes I know that’s what North and Mids do) I’d only have 2 National leagues but if you want 3 so be it Our Nat 3 & 4 resemble a holiday programme round Scotland with the travel involved ( by the way travel = time and that is the issue) that’s why we have the issues you use as an example Have you ever thought why it now takes teams to have pools of 30/40/50 to complete a 18 game league season ? There are many ideas we can try but I can tell you what we’re doing at the moment isn’t working and hasn’t worked for years We’re dumbing down club rugby instead of moving with the times being creative and dare I say the word change Rather getting some better understanding of the underlying issues and countering the local rugby is the solution narrative Let’s assume we have three National leagues Using todays league standings for Caley Region Midlands Aberdeen Grammar Dunfermline Moray Perth Ellon Blairgowrie Aberdeenshire Grangemouth Ross Sutherland Kinross Caithness Panmure North Police Hillfoots Interesting competition (or not accurately poor competition given relative strengths between those sides) Of course we could throw in some 2s and 3s of higher level sides to make it interesting and allow further spankings for the smaller clubs – go check the results if you doubt this My point – is not as easy as just reduce leagues and play local Well while you’re pondering what the perfect solution is for the 4th-year running I desperately hope someone at Scottish Rugby grabs the grassroots by the scruff and makes radical changes using common sense approaches and fixes the minor issues which arise because of the changes afterwards And what are those common sense solutions Douglas As a point of principle – it’s not Murrayfieids job to make change to domestic club rugby I already stated on this article theres too many National leagues The rest of the clubs should contribute to building strong ‘local’ rugby scenes It does not have to be the perfect solution or a panacea for everyone It just has to be better than the crap we have going on now Let me know what you think after you have pondered over it for the next 4 years while rugby in Scotland continues to crumble It was in reference to another post which is dealt with up the page It helps if you fully read the comment before replying I’ve provided an example above of what it looks like in Midlands and North if we had Prem plus 2 national You can work out what prem plus Nat 1 looks like yourself Sanctimonious hypocrites rarely read anything properly Dom A few years ago there was change to more regional leagues Scotland had more national leagues than almost any other country in world rugby (I think maybe Ireland had similar iirc) and even back then there was the problem of getting players to commit to whole days away and this was at the time when they could be paid The benefits of regional leagues were less travel more derbies and the idea was that there would be more takings at the bar due to the number of local games where supporters would be willing to make a short trip as part of the process I went through every league result in Scotland in the new leagues the argument against the regional structure had been that standards would drop National leagues would allow for clubs to rise to the top quicker etc What I found was interesting in that none of the arguments for national leagues stacked up clubs that had previously been in leagues above local rivals were being beaten in regional league derbies – this happened lots and lots of times The better performing clubs were gaining promotion quicker in the regional leagues under the old national structure there was a bottleneck at each step of the way a club only had to win four or five games a year to remain in the same league for donkey’s years The clubs were indeed saving money on travel and more players were available for regional games this was a few years ago now but I don’t recall any fixtures not being fulfilled the perceived loss of status of being in a regional as opposed to a national league didn’t sit well with some clubs If I recall correctly an extraordinary AGM was called votes were cast and the national structure was reintroduced As things stand we’ve got teams from The Ayrshire coast travelling to the Moray Firth of course the return fixtures have to be played too so the clubs from opposite ends of the country are travelling all over No disrespect to anyone who plays in these games but when times are tight and players don’t want to give up whole days or even more for a rugby match it seems just plain daft to have these fixtures on the calendar it went down hill for them since Iain MacIntosh left the set up Man was everything that was decent at that club That’s a shame played them a few seasons ago and they were incredible Came off the pitch having been battered and genuinely thought we played well Anyway having 5 national leagues including prem is imo too many Don’t know how many folk are keen for the travel Used to live in Inverness and we were travelling to Aberdeen every 2nd weekend Loved it at the time ( my early/ mid twenties) but by the end of my time up there ( late twenties) had had enough And I wouldn’t still be playing if I lived up there Stuart Hogg facing lengthy lay-off and … “If Langholm proves anything, we have to stay focused. As far as the title race goes, it was huge for us that Kelso got only three points at Earlston.” … “We did well to fight back at times, but we gave away some silly penalties, allowed them far too easy access into our 22. When you give them access to the 22 time and time again, it’s difficult to put that amount of effort in.” … Enjoyed this article? Quality journalism like ours is made possible by readers like you. If you value our in-depth coverage of Scottish rugby at all levels and want to see more, please consider supporting us with a subscription or donation It helps us keep delivering the news you love Thank you for being a part of The Offside Line community independent and up-to-date coverage of all aspects of Scottish rugby photographers and business minds bring their talents and enthusiasm to our unrivalled coverage of the game © 2016-2025 Scottish Rugby News from The Offside Line | Kept onside by webporty Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page.