Meet the team behind Borders Rugby TV & Rugby Radio
If you're passionate about Borders Rugby and would like to join the team, we'd love to hear from you.
We have a mix of experience and youth, and for enthusiastic reporters, presenters, camera operators, commentators or content producers we have a platform where you can showcase your talents, particularly for youngsters who have ambitions of a career in the media.
There have already been some great success stories with the likes of Stuart McFarlane and Ronald Yule both working nationally on BBC, ITV and Talk TV, with Dale Clancy now a regular commentator on Premier Sports.
Stuart is the founder of Borders Rugby TV & Rugby Radio and has been a regular voice on Radio Borders for many years covering sport as well as being Scotland's rugby reporter for TalkSPORT following three years with Sky Sports TV.
Stuart has been with ITV Border as their Rugby correspondent for 10 years and has produced five series of "Border Sport In Focus" for the channel, with a sixth coming in 2024.
His main passion is Borders Rugby and giving coverage to local clubs, as well as providing opportunities for people interested in media and rugby.
Although born in Edinburgh Stuart has lived in the Borders for 24 years.
Stuart presents and produces BRTV programmes as well as the two weekly shows on Rugby Radio and the new Scottish Club Rugby Podcast.
Sam is 2022’s latest signing to the Borders Rugby team.
As a podcast host focusing on sports people and their story, he brings experience in co-commentary and a new voice to the commentary box.
Sam will mainly be bringing his knowledge to the behind the scenes team as the lead of “Marketing and Partnership Relations”. Building and maintaining partnerships for all our broadcasts including our new “Borders Rugby Radio” live show every Saturday from 2pm till 5pm.
On the pitch, Sam played his youth rugby at Peebles with a stint for Edinburgh Napier University. Sam ended his playing career with Walkerburn Rugby club before injuries finally took their toll.
Bill is the most experienced member of the BRTV team.
He has been at the sharp end of journalism for many years and any youngster wanting to get into journalism could not do any better than learn from him.
Bill provides us with reports on matches on a regular basis usually around the Edinburgh area and many will remember him from the days when Radio Borders used to provide a local rugby service on a Saturday afternoon.
You can now hear him on BRTV as well as our new radio service on Borders Rugby Radio every Saturday afternoon between 2 and 5pm.
Dale played all his senior rugby for Peebles, captaining the club for two seasons until he had to retire at the age of 23 due to a knee injury.
Dale was promoted, relegated and also a winner on the Kings of the 7s circuit during his short senior playing career, which has led to a venture in the local media which ironically has lasted longer and less tasking on his fragile knees!
Since then he has covered local rugby for Radio Borders both a summariser and also a lead commentator.
Dale has a reputation for being very fair and balanced with his comments and is not afraid to give his opinions on air.
Dale puts a lot of time and energy into broadcasting with BRTV & Rugby Radio as a commentator and pundit and also covers the Super Series for SRTV.
Stuart has an encyclopaedic sports brain, recalling facts and figures at the drop of a hat, which perhaps explains why he is never lost for words as a commentator.
A much in-demand live presenter of sports and entertainment functions, Stuart's work as commentator for Radio Borders and Borders Rugby TV in the past has led to him being the number one rugby commentator for BBC Radio Scotland, covering the Japan World Cup and being the commentator on BBC Radio Five Live when Scotland drew 38-38 with England at Twickenham.
He now also provides TV coverage for Premier Sports and we will be delighted to have him commentate for us when he is available!
Kelly has been involved in rugby for over 20 years.
She captained the Scotland Women's under 18 team and played for Scotland Women's 'A' squad. She was also the captain of Melrose Ladies for their first home 7s win.
As a referee she achieved a Level 3 qualification and spent over five years doing that before turning to coaching.
She was Head Coach of Kelso Ladies RFC, but now concentrates on filming matches for Borders Rugby TV.
When not filming Kelly offers her expertise during some of our commentary matches and her experience as a referee, player and coach means she is able to give informed insight on matches.
The pinnacle of Robin's playing career, he will be the first to admit, was hardly Everest!
A few games for Jedforest in the old mid 90s First Division and a couple of turnouts for South Under 18s was as good as it got for him.
However, Robin is an extremely keen watcher of rugby at all levels over many years, and he can certainly be described as a rugby nut who has always harboured a secret desire to report on the game.
Now he gets his chance to cover rugby at all levels, and his enthusiasm will be there for all to see and hear on BRTV & Radio, whether covering a Premiership match or a Semi Junior game.
It's important for any commentator to do his research before games and Robin spends literally hours preparing.
Hugh has been a well known voice in the region for over 25 years, having hosted the popular 'Golden Brown' programme on Radio Borders as well as the Saturday Sports Show.
He reported on Berwick Rangers for BBC Radio Newcastle for many seasons and was also the centre green presenter for the Berwick Bandits speedway team.
Prior to that he presented weather bulletins for STV as well as football reports for Scotsport Results.
Hugh has a wide sporting knowledge and is a tremendous asset to the team as a presenter, interviewer and reporter, and he also indulges in his hobby as a photographer adding another dimension to what he brings us.
Born and brought up in Darnick just outside Melrose and now living in Newtown St Boswells, Barbara trained and taught P.E. but now works as the Principal Teacher at Ednam and Sprouston Primaries.
Married to former Melrose scrum half Beezer Shiel they have two teenagers, Thomas and Lewis, and two dogs. Barbara also played for Melrose Ladies Rugby Club.
She enjoys participating in all sports, loves to keep fit and enjoys a challenge. She recently completed the Coast2Coast challenge with seven others raising money for Doddie Weir's Foundation and when the ITV Border special programme was shown viewers saw her bubbly personality light up the show.
She presents our TV shows and is a busy contributor to our output behind the scenes.
Andrew is a 25-year old farmer’s son from outside Kelso.
He has a background in journalism, but despite working in agriculture (often seen helping out fellow Kelso farmer and rugby legend John Jeffrey out in the fields) he has a burning passion for sport.
He's been an avid rugby watcher for as long as he can remember and has played competitive football for a number of years.
He's looking forward to bringing coverage of Borders rugby in the months to come as a reporter and camera operator.
Graeme Dodds was one of the most successful players in Borders Rugby when playing for Melrose.
He was capped for Scotland Club XV four times as well as for Scotland's 7s squad in 2005 playing on the World Series legs in Paris and London.
He won the Premiership title several times with Melrose and was part of their Scottish Cup winning side in 2008.
He won the Kings of the 7s title six times between 2002 and 2014 with his club and he has a coveted Melrose 7s winners' medal from 2011.
He is a superb summariser and memorably worked with the late commentator Stuart McCulloch as summariser on Radio Borders.
The big man from Kelso is rarely seen without a phone almost super-glued to his ear!
He is always in contact with players, clubs and agents, working hard to develop and promote fresh talent not just from the Borders but from all over the UK.
He is currently Director of Rugby at Kelso but has been team manager at Heriot's and also for Samurai Rugby, the world famous invitational Sevens team.
He has been team manager for The South since 2016 and believes the South still has a place in Borders Rugby.
Neil has many interesting views on the game and we look forward to hearing what he has to say when he joins us as a pundit this season.
Grahame is one of the most recognisable broadcasters in Scotland.
He has been with BBC Radio Scotland for many years covering rugby and working in the news department.
Grahame contributed a lot of Borders Rugby TV in the early days of its existence from 2008 onwards and we are delighted to have him back this time round.
One of his astonishing claims to fame is that he has never missed a Scotland rugby home international game since 1953 which must be some kind of record as he approaches the 300 mark!
He is a seasoned presenter, reporter and commentator.
Another Radio Borders and Borders Rugby TV commentator and interviewer who has gone on to broadcast for Premier Sports TV, Bruce has been involved with rugby for many years as a player and coach.
Following his spell at Kelso RFC he is now Director of Rugby at Duns, and he also runs his own gym in that part of the Borders.
Bruce is certainly in demand for his commentary work and looks back at one of his most memorable times at the microphone when he covered Scotland A against England Saxons for BRTV when the Scots won 35-0 with Stuart Hogg scoring that wonder try which has since gone viral with millions of views.
We hope to have him at the microphone to capture more magic moments with BRTV although he has taken the role of Head Coach at Watsonians' Women's team this season, so he will be very busy!
Ronald has been filming rugby for several years. A former pupil of Hawick High School, he went straight into the world of media to form his own company.
His images have been used on all the national TV stations and he went from freelancing for ITV Border to Technical Director of “Good Morning Britain” and now at Talk TV, working on the Piers Morgan Uncensored Show among others.
Ronald will be looking after our social media output from his base in London and will be contributing to BRTV with his graphics skills.
He also built this website. There’s no doubt he is heading for the top in his profession and with age on his side (he’s still only 22) he has a wonderful career ahead of him.
Iain Heard is often in our commentary box providing expert analysis at games.
Iain has been a rugby referee at the top level for many years and has been a big part of the Borders Rugby Referees Society.
He also worked at the SRU for a number of years.
Keeping up with the laws for a referee is essential and having Iain on hand at matches often helps to clear up any controversy and gives us a referee's take on decisions which are often controversial.
He brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our commentaries from time to time when he's not on the pitch or performing AR duties.
Euan has a very keen interest in the non-playing side of rugby. He comes from a very good rugby stock with his grandfather playing for Hawick in the team that once won 10 7s tournaments in a row, and his dad played for Hawick YM.
When he was 16, during the 2018/19 season, he covered a few of Hawick Youth Rugby's games and edited footage into a highlights video, conducted post-match interviews and match reports.
That experience has helped him develop his broadcasting and creative skills and in his first season at Borders Rugby TV he produced high quality content for Borders Rugby TV as a camera operator and reporter, and hopes to develop further into commentary which he will be doing this season.
Euan is multi-skilled in all aspects of TV production behind and in front of the camera and is a huge asset to BRTV & Radio, reporting most weeks on games.
Alan was a very good middle-distance runner as a youngster but his love of rugby has taken him all over the world as a journalist working for many of the big newspapers including The Sunday Times, The Scotsman, The Herald and the Telegraph.
He has also freelanced for Radio Borders and the BBC and he is one of the most informed media people on the Scottish schools rugby scene.
He is a welcome addition to the BRTV and BRR team this season and is likely to be covering matches from this season's Premiership and Super6 competitions.
Passionate about grassroots sport, David Ferguson has covered Scottish rugby for over 30 years.
Starting his journalism career in the Borders with the Berwickshire News and Southern Reporter, where he was sports editor, David covered rugby for national newspapers, BBC Scotland, ITV Border and Radio Borders, and was editor of Scottish Rugby Magazine.
In 2000, David took over as Chief Rugby Writer at The Scotsman and, in the next 14 years, covered club, professional and international rugby, including a series of Rugby World Cups and Lions tours, alongside other major sports events.
He started his own communications and media business in 2014, and has gone on to work across a wide range of areas from Scottish and UK government to charities and corporate business, most recently as Chief Executive of the Observatory for Sport in Scotland, Scotland's only research think tank on sport.
Scott has been involved in rugby as a player, coach and referee, with one of his biggest achievements coaching St Boswells to a dramatic win at Murrayfield in the Scottish Shield Final in 2015 following an unbeaten couple of seasons going 45 games undefeated.
Scott played 339 times for Selkirk at various positions, and was a Scottish age grade international at all levels up to Under 21s.
He is a level 3 IRB Referee and Coach who was head coach of Jedforest for two seasons and head coach with St Boswells RFC.
He is currently an SRU talent scout and head coach for th Borders and East Lothian Academy U17s squad.
He brings a valuable insight to BRTV and Rugby Radio as a summariser and reporter.
