Apr 25th
Once again Earlston Annual Sevens is being held on Sunday 2^nd May 2010 - it will be the penultimate BSPC Kings of the Sevens, in association with Radio Borders, tournament.  President of the host club, Hugh Briggs is pleased to announce for the 80^th playing of their tournament a new and exciting sponsorship venture with Lauderdale Heating Services, of Earlston, being the main sponsor. Hugh said “I’m delighted that a local company such as LHS has decided to sponsor our prestigious tournament.  

George Hardie of LHS said, “I’m proud that our company is to be associated with such a well established 7’s tournament, and we look forward to a great day on the 2^nd May. 

Left to Right: Alun Hardie (LHS) Hugh Briggs (President ERFC) George Hardie (LHS) Shelagh Briggs (Secretary ERFC)

The club wishes to note that it fully supports the announcement from member clubs who organise the King of the Sevens Tournament Circuit that it will no longer be permissible to carry alcohol into the ground on the day of the tournament. For further information please refer to the official Kings of the Sevens Website http://www.kingsofthesevens.net , Earlston RFC encourage supporters to drink sensibly and make the day enjoyable for all. 

For further information contact Shelagh Briggs on 07793580154.

Feb 21st
Rugby returned to the Haugh on Saturday for the first time in 11 weeks but only after some sterling work by the groundsmen enabled the game to go ahead. The rugby starved home supporters gathered in force hoping to see Earlston put basement strugglers Broughton FP to the sword.

The match itself failed to live up to expectations though and the home side looked ring rusty, struggling to string phases of play together and mis-firing in the scrum and line out against a Broughton side who quickly sensed that they may get something out of the game.

It was Earlston who had first chance to put points on the board after ten minutes but the normally reliable Chris Shand put a simple penalty attempt wide of the posts and the home crowd had that stunned look of disbelief that was evident on the faces of the Scots fans in Cardiff last week.

Mid-way through the first half Broughton took the lead with a successful penalty after the home pack were guilty of killing the ball at a ruck. They extended their lead on the half hour mark with a well taken try in the corner and a poor first half ended with the visitors eight points up.

The second half saw an improvement in the set piece play of the home forwards but despite the best efforts of David Sinclair and Barry Watson in particular, some poor decision making and poor handling meant that scoring chances were limited for both sides.

The Earlston backs finally managed to string a decent handling move together with seven minutes of the game remaining to put the “Duke” Ben Douglas over in the corner and the home support finally had something to cheer about. Shand was unsuccessful with the touchline conversion.

With the Earlston tails up now Broughton conceded a penalty on the 22 metre line with two minutes to go and it looked like Shand would level the scores but once again his attempt went wide and Broughton looked set to take the spoils.

To their credit the Earlston side had other ideas and in the final minute of the match they produced their best rugby of the day. Ross Aitchison swept round the tail of a lineout to set up a ruck on the 22 and quick ball coupled with slick handling put a rampaging George “Pie” McDougal through under the posts to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Shand converted to make the final score 12-8.

Nov 29th
Earlston progressed to the second round of the Scottish Hydro Bowl on Saturday after a convincing 53-3 win over Walkerburn at the Haugh. Ben Douglas opened the scoring for the home side after only two minutes when he went over in the corner to finish off a fine handling move and things looked ominous for the visiting "Burn" side. Chris Shand failed to add the extras when he hit the post with the conversion.

Walkerburn fought back well though and a combination of strong tackling and good counter rucking saw them work their way into the attacking third and they were rewarded with a penalty which was successfully kicked by the Walkerburn fly half. The Earlston forwards slowly started to dominate at this stage and after a penalty kick into the corner, Jock Guthrie was driven over the line by the home pack, Chris Shand adding the conversion. Shortly before the break No.8 George McDougal went over for an unconverted try after stealing a lineout ball on the Walkerburn five yard line.

Walkerburn had their best spell of the game after the half time oranges and although they never threatened the Earlston line, they made the home pack work hard for possession and territory. The superior power of the Earlston forwards eventually told though and some rampaging runs from Stewart McDowall and good support play from the evergreen Guthrie allowed Earlston to cut loose in the last quarter and run in a further six tries. Stevie Renton scored under the posts before Guthrie and McDougal both added to their first half scores and full back Barry Watson ended up with a hat-trick. Watson converted two and McGarva converting one.

Earlston side – Barry Watson, Ben Douglas, Scott Bell, Gary McGarva, Gordon Dawtry, Chris Shand, Craig Jamison, George McDougal, Les Bottomley, Lewis Gracie, Jock Guthrie, Angus Wilde, Ian Russell, Ross Aitchison, Stewart McDowall, Alan McDowall, Alistair Hogg, Steven Renton, Shaun Cessford, Craig Moore

Nov 22nd
Earlston met Hawick Harlequins at the Haugh on Saturday keen to gain revenge for their opening day league defeat at the hands of their local rivals.

Earlston started the better of the two sides but it was the Quins who had the first opportunity to put points on the board when the home side conceded a penalty on halfway and some unnecessary back chat moved the award forward ten metres and put the kick within range for fly half Gavin Douglas, however he was wide of the target in difficult underfoot conditions.

The home pack started to work well at this point and some excellent line out work from Neil McDonald set up a concerted assault on the Hawick line but their strong mid-field defence held firm and never looked in trouble.

Hawick ended the first half on the attack with second row Smith rampaging close to the Earlston line but this time it was the home defence that held firm with Alistair Hogg in particular putting in some big hits.

Earlston rang the changes at half time and within five minutes of the re-start George McDougall made a 40 metre break and had Hogg sprinting up onto his shoulder in support to go over in the corner for the first points of the game, Chris Shand missed the conversion from the wide angle.

Both sides were still attempting to handle the ball despite the incessant rain but scoring chances were few and far between and there was little to separate the two teams. Earlston’s indiscipline almost cost them again when backchat put a penalty attempt in range for Douglas but once again underfoot conditions contributed to the chance going wide.

Midway through the second period Hawick got their first points on the board when Shaun Goodfellow kicked a penalty at the second attempt after the referee correctly spotted an Earlston player failing to remain still when the first effort went wide.

The home scrum was dominating proceedings at this stage with the McDowall brothers on song in the set piece. This brought about a chance for Chris Shand to increase the Earlston lead but his penalty attempt was off target when his standing foot slipped.

The Quins looked to have snatched the game when with five minutes to go, scrum half Goodfellow kept his footing to kick a penalty after Earlston had transgressed. The faces in the home crowd looked as miserable as the weather at this stage.

The home side threw everything at the visitors at this stage but a mixture of handling errors and strong defence from Hawick kept Earlston at bay. In the final minute of normal time Earlston were awarded a penalty 45 metres out. In the gloom and rain, up stepped debutant Gary McGarva who kept his nerve and his footing to slot over the kick, much to the delight of the soaked home faithful.

Deep into injury time, Hawick had one last chance to snatch victory with a penalty kick from the half way line but the kick fell short much to the relief of the home side.
Not a classic by any means but a hard fought border derby and a win for Earlston 8-6.  Team – Barry Watson, Ben Douglas, Scott Bell, Steven Renton, Craig Jamison, Chris, Shand, Steven Shiel, Gavin Hastie, Darren Cessford, Lewis Gracie, Neil McDonald, Alistair Hogg, Ian Russell, Les Bottomley, Stewart McDowall, Alan McDowall, Ross Aitchison, Jock Guthrie, George McDougall, Gary McGarva

Nov 7th
Earlston travelled to the east coast to take on league leaders, North Berwick. The game started off at a furious pace with both sides intent on running the ball at every opportunity. Earlston had the chance to take an early lead but Chris Shand's penalty attempt fell short.

The home pack who were well drilled by former Gala player, Ken McAuley, turned the pressure on the visitors and this resulted in a simple penalty converted by the home fly half who quickly followed it up with a well taken drop goal to take a six point lead mid-way through the first period.

Earlston had their chances at this point and a fine three quarters move saw a good scoring chance squandered when Barry Watson was tackled just short of the line. Gordon Dawtry was next to go close but the pacy winger was bundled into touch at the corner flag. Dawtry's strange decision to wear tights under his shorts on a gloriously mild autumn afternoon was to prove costly later on as he was forced to wear luminous pink tights and a tutu after the game for his fashion faux pas!

Although under pressure from the home pack, the Earlston forwards worked tirelessly and following some excellent driving play from Stewart McDowall and George McDougall, the normally reliable Shand was wide of the target with a simple drop goal attempt.

On the half hour mark North Berwick got the all important first try when a concerted attack from the visitors broke down and the home winger sprinted the length of the pitch to dot down under the posts for a seven pointer.

Ten minutes into the second half the east coast men extended their lead with another penalty and at this stage with both sides fully committed in what was a bruising encounter. Earlston knew that they had to score next to have any chance of upsetting the league leaders. It was the home side who got that all important score though when a high Garryowen was fumbled in the Earlston 22 and the loose ball was gathered up by their winger who scored an unconverted try in the corner.

Earlston heads failed to go down though and they got on the score sheet when Barry Watson kicked a penalty in front of the posts following some great support play from backs and forwards. This was quickly cancelled out by a similar award for North Berwick to give them a 24-3 lead but the visitors bounced back with a well taken try in the corner by the influential Watson.

The game ended in a somewhat bizarre fashion when Earlston were attacking through the backs - the home winger knocked on in his attempted interception but the match official was the only person not to notice it and allowed him to run in under the posts for a converted try. This didn't affect the outcome of the match and although there were many positives to be taken from the game Earlston were beaten on the day by a very well organised North Berwick side 31-8.

Team: Barry Watson, Ben Douglas, Scott Bell, Steven Renton, Gordon Dawtry, Chris Shand, Jamie Watson, George McDougall, Darren Cessford, Lewis Gracie, Angus Wilde, Stephen Brown, Alistair Hogg, Les Bottomley, Stewart McDowall, Craig Jamison, Liam Hunter, Ross Aitchison, Jack Gracie, Jock Guthrie.

Oct 31st
Earlston won a hard fought encounter at the Haugh against a well organised Dunbar side. Both sides endeavoured to run the ball at every opportunity in excellent conditions for rugby however a mixture of handling errors and resolute defence meant that there were very few scoring opportunities in an even first half, the only points coming from the boot of Chris Shand with a 16th minute penalty.

Two minutes into the second period, Shand doubled the lead for the home side with another penalty and quickly followed that up with a well taken drop goal following some fine attacking play from full back Barry Watson. Dunbar reduced the deficit with a penalty of their own on the hour mark and started taking the game to the home side but some impressive tackling from man of the match George McDougal ensured that Earlston held firm.

Earlston began to exert some real pressure on the visiting side at this stage with some fine handling from Scott Bell and Ben Douglas but once again Dunbar held firm. The visiting defence was finally breached in the 74th minute when outside centre Stevie Renton stepped off his right foot and raced over the line to the delight of the home crowd. In the final minute of the game Dunbar touched down in the corner to earn themselves a losing bonus point.

Final score 14-8 - Earlston team: Barry Watson, Ben Douglas, Scott Bell, Steven Renton, Gordon Dawtry, Chris Shand, Jamie Watson, George McDougal, Darren Cessford, Lewis Gracie, Angus Wilde, Stephen Brown, Les Bottomley, Ross Aitchison, Alistair Hogg, Gavin Hastie, Jock Guthrie, Neil McDonald, Liam Hunter & Craig Jamison

Oct 24th
Earlston returned from their trip to the capital city with the full five points following a convincing win over Broughton FP.

Playing down the slope in the first half Earlston had the better of the opening exchanges but went behind against the run of play when a loose ball was hacked through by the Broughton winger and when Watson's attempted clearance was charged down on his own line, the home side were first to pounce on the loose ball and duly went into a 7-0 lead after 17 minutes.

The Earlston response was immediate and following fine handling between Renton, Brown and Cessford, Alan McDowall powered his way over the line for a try which Chris Shand converted.

Shand started to run the show at this point with an excellent kicking display, keeping the more powerful Earlston pack on the front foot, and he slotted a simple penalty midway through the half to put the visitors in front.

Earlston increased their lead on the half hour mark when some superb forward play involving the youthful back row of Gracie, man of the match Angus Wilde and the diminutive Cessford created space for powerful centre Stevie Renton to burst through the home defence and touch down under the posts, Shand again converting.

On the stroke of half time, the best backs move of the game saw some slick handling open the gap for full back Watson to enter the line and gallop home to score in the corner and Earlston went into the break 22-7 ahead.

It took Earlston until midway through the second period to tie up the game and claim the bonus point. A blistering run by winger Gordon Dawtry set up an easy five yard run in for captain Brown to score under the posts, Shand again adding the extras.

Broughton scored their second try of the match when Earlston were down to 14 men following a yellow card for Watson, but Earlston rounded off the game in the dying minutes when Les Bottomley touched down to give the visitors a fine win 34-14.

Team - B.Watson, B.Douglas, S.Bell, S.Renton, G.Dawtry, C.Shand, J.Watson, S.McDowall, L.Bottomley, A.McDowall, D.Sinclair, S.Brown, A.Wilde, D.Cessford, L.Gracie, C.Jamison, B.Smart, D.Wilks, E.Thomson

Oct 10th
Unbeaten league leaders Portobello were the visitors to The Haugh on Saturday but hosts Earlston sent them back up the A68 well beaten by an all round Earlston team performance that was full of determination. Earlston got off to a dream start when centre Steven Renton burst through space to score a try two minutes after kick off, converted by Chris Shand.

Portobello pressed to get back on terms but found no way through the Earlston defence only scoring a penalty. Fired up Earlston took the game to Porty. Gary Alexander scored a try unconverted by Chris Shand who made up for the missed conversion with a drop goal.

With confidence and belief flowing through the team Earlston centre Barclay Smart finished off a backs move to score a try which Chris Shand duly converted.

The home crowd were puzzled when the first scrum of the second half went uncontested; this allowed Portobello to move the ball away from the dominant Earlston pack. Porty scored two tries converting one but this was all the home side were going to let through.

With Chris Shand's second drop goal making it 25-15, man of the match Steven Renton broke tackles to score Earlston's 4th try to gain the bonus point. Shand added the conversion making the final score 32-15. A great win for Earlston who take on Lismore at The Haugh on Saturday.

Oct 3rd
In East League 1 Duns beat Earlston 31-20 in the local derby.

Sep 26th
Earlston were the only local winners, beating Edinburgh Northern 32-10 at The Haugh. They scored a try bonus thanks to Alan McDowall, Steven Renton, Barry Watson and Ben Douglas, with Chris Shand kicking two penalties as well as converting three of the tries.

Sep 19th
Earlston won on the road against Penicuik by 27-15 to give them their first win of the season. They scored a try bonus thanks to Steven Renton (2), Ross Aitcheson and Scott Bell who all crossed for 5-pointers, while Chris Shand kicked a penalty and a conversion, with Steven Brown also getting on the scoresheet with a conversion.

Sep 14th
In the brilliant sunshine at The Haugh, Earlston on Saturday cheques totalling £2,200 were presented to Fiona Graham of Earlston RFC to go the fund for the purchase of a publicly accessible defibrillator for the benefit of the Community of Earlston. Pictured are Mr Harry Cummings (Chair Earlston Community Council) handing over a cheque for £500, and "The Ben Nevis Trio" (Stan Mathew, Jake Gillie and Gavin Duffy) all members of the Earlston club who walked up Ben Nevis in May of this year handing over a sponsorship cheque for £1,700. Looking proudly on is President of the Earlston Club Hugh Briggs. Mrs Graham noted that the next stage prior to the purchase is to hold meetings with the local health authority and the community to determine the most suitable place in the village for the siting of the defibrillator, and to organise training for possible user groups.

Sep 14th
On a glorious afternoon at The Haugh on Saturday 30 past players and committee gathered together to celebrate 25 years since Earlston won National Divison 7 by defeating Biggar RFC 10-9. An excellent lunch, provided by the ladies of the club, was had prior to all watching the current 1st XV take on North Berwick in an East 1 league fixture. This was followed by a speech from the then captain D Forbes, and much reminiscing. Pictured are those players in attendance from the original line up in the final game of the season on 31st March 1984. Compare with the original photo from 25 years ago published below! Some of them haven't changed a bit!

Sep 12th
Earlston narrowly lost 13-15 at home to North Berwick in today's EL1 match.

Sep 6th
30 past players and committee have now confirmed they will be there on Saturday 12th September at a special lunch to mark their achievement of winning Division 7 back in 1984. Let's turn back that clock and show you the guys who did it all those years ago!

Sep 5th
The East League started today with Hawick Harlequins running out 35-16 winners over Earlston in division one.

Sep 1st
Plenty of celebrations are going to take place on 12th September at The Haugh in Earlston on the day Earlston play their first home match of the season in East League Division 1.

First of all at mid-day a cheque will be presented to the Community of Earlston for the purchase of a defibrillator for the village. This has been possible thanks to a sponsored walk up Ben Nevis by two of the Earlston RFC committee members.

There's a special lunch taking place to mark the 25th anniversary year of Earlston winning the (then) National Division 7 title. Many of the team and selectors from that year will be in attendance. At 3pm it's Earlston v North Berwick but prior to that it is hoped a 2nd XV match between the two clubs will take place as a curtain raiser.