Borders boys’ rugby team raising cash to fund trip to take part in sevens tournament in Austria
A Borders rugby club have lauched a fundraising appeal in the hope of securing the thousands of pounds needed to send one of their boys’ teams to compete in an international sevens tournament in Austria next summer.
Selkirk Rugby Club’s under-14 boys’ team have been invited to take part in 2026’s United World Games in Klagenfurt in June and the Philiphaugh outfit’s rugby development officer, Kieran Westlake, is hoping they can raise the funding required to take up that offer.
They’ve set up a GoFundMe page, https://www.gofundme.com/f/selkirk-u14s-austria-rugby-tour-2026, and it’s already more than 90% of the way towards its initial £2,000 target but Westlake estimates that up to 15 times as much as that could be needed to cover costs.
He said: “The big thing for us is that even though we’re going over there to play in an international rugby competition, it’s about giving all these young boys who have committed to our rugby programme, and sacrificed a lot to what we at Selkirk are trying to achieve in terms of growing this club for the future, the chance to broaden their horizons.
“A lot of these boys have never been outside Scotland, so we feel it’s an amazing opportunity for these boys to learn valuable life skills in terms of fundraising, getting our story out there and connecting with the community.
“Rugby is almost an extra to giving these boys the opportunity of a lifetime to experience other cultures, make new friendships and learn about themselves.”
A girls’ team from Garioch in Aberdeenshire will also be flying the flag for Scotland at the four-day event, featuring 11 different sports, but Selkirk’s youths are believed to be the only Scottish male team set to join them.
The youngsters have been asking local businesses and using family contacts to gather support for their trip and their fundraising bid is being backed by the likes of Borders rugby legend Greig Laidlaw.
The Jedburgh 40-year-old, currently an assistant coach with Scotland’s under-20s, this week posted a message of support on the boy’s’ Facebook page, saying: “I wish you all the very best and hope you enjoy it and hope you have fun.
“I believe you’ve got a GoFundMe page as well to help you raise some cash, so I wish you all the very best with that.”
Westlake admits he had to think twice about accepting the Austrians’ invitation as he estimates that the bill to send over a full squad could be as much as £30,000 and raising that sort of sum is a tall order but says he was persuaded to give it a go by the enthusiasm and encouragement he’s been greeted with so far.
“It is a massive project and we’re not putting an exact number on what we’re trying to raise,” he said.
“The children and their families are contributing, of course, but we said when we decided to go for it that we would only do it if we could guarantee that no player will be unable to go because of money, so that means we all have to work really hard to raise the funds to ensure everyone can go.
“We’ve been reaching out to see what’s possible, but people are beginning to realise that when a group of people in a small community really get behind each other and come to the table with ideas, it’s almost like anything can be achieved.
“We’ve had lots of great support so far and, for me, it’s a wonderful opportunity to put Selkirk on the world map again.
“We are certainly working hard and I think it’s unbelievable what can be achieved when everybody puts their minds to it.”