Kelso co-head coach Bruce McNeil looking forward to reunion with ex-Hawick gaffer Nikki Walker

Player-coach Bruce McNeil on the attack for Kelso against Heriot's Blues at home at Poynder Park last season (Photo: Brian Sutherland)

New Kelso co-head coach Nikki Walker’s Fosroc Super Series experience will prove invaluable as the club prepare for what’ll only be their second season in rugby’s Scottish Premiership this century, according to former Hawick team-mate Bruce McNeil.

McNeil, set to share that role with the former Scotland and Edinburgh winger, is expecting the top flight’s next campaign to be a different animal to the one just ended because of the scrapping of the former Super6 franchises this summer and believes Walker’s knowledge of that semi-professional competition, as a former head coach and current assistant at Watsonians, will come in handy as the Poynder Park outfit both field and go up against players from those six clubs.

Kelso finished fourth on their return to the premiership after 23 years away, on 53 points from 18 fixtures, earning a play-off semi-final place, but McNeil is well aware that matching or improving on that performance will be a big ask, given the division’s expansion to 12 teams, due to the return of Melrose and Watsonians, and the likelihood of those new boys and their four Super6 rivals adding players from their semi-pro operations to their club squads.

“It’s going to be slightly different, so we’re maybe a wee bit apprehensive about what’s around the corner, but we’re into the mindset of just controlling the controllables and trying the best we can to ensure we’re in the best shape possible to face whoever it is that we get for our first league game,” said the 40-year-old, a player and forwards coach at Kelso since 2020.

Nikki Walker in 2016 during his time as Hawick's head coach (Photo: SNS Group/SRU/Graham Stuart)

“They’ll be different times but we’re really looking forward to what’s ahead.

“We’ll make sure we’re fit. We don’t know who we’re going to be playing in our first league game but as soon as the fixtures come out and we do know, we’ll be looking to try and win that game and look no further than that.

“We won’t set any targets because it’s very easy to say ‘listen, we want to win the league’ but it’s more about how you try to get there. You get there by having a really good pre-season, boys knowing their roles, being structured, being in good condition and enjoying themselves. That’s how you get there.

“It’s my job and Nikki’s to make sure we get in as good a shape as possible to achieve the same as we did last year or maybe go a step further, knowing well that it’s going to be an even tougher task.

“We’re not a club that are going to rest on our laurels. What we did last year was good but we want to aim higher and try to progress because if you sit on your hands, you’re not going to go far.

“We know there’ll be challenges ahead and we just need to make sure we leave no stone unturned as we get ready for them.

“There’ll be three very good teams going down out of this league, there’s no two ways about that, and that’s always at the back of our minds. It’s already an uphill struggle and everybody knows that, so we’ll need to stay strong this season to consolidate ourselves in the new league structure.”

Kelso have already added Super6 experience to their ranks by signing up ex-Southern Knights flanker Harry Borthwick and the extra insight that Walker will bring will be a further boost, reckons McNeil.

“The prospect of facing clubs fielding lots of ex-Super6 players is one of reasons we’ve had to go and get someone of his calibre,” he said.

“Potentially this league could be of Super6 standard, we just don’t know, so to have a coach who’s played for Scotland and at a high level professionally for so many years and coached in the Super6 for five years is a big plus.

“His knowledge of what’s around the corner will be vital for us in preparing for what’s coming next season, just his experience of working at Watsonians.

He’ll bring a few add-ons to Kelso hopefully, and I think he’ll be a perfect fit for the young laddies looking to progress in the game.

“He’s really enthusiastic in terms of bringing on young lads and building the right culture at clubs.”

McNeil is relishing the prospect of working with ex-team-mate and gaffer Walker, 42, again once he takes over half of former head coach Kevin Utterson’s duties, saying: “I’m absolutely looking forward to it.

“I’ve played with him and he was my coach at Hawick and his knowledge of the game is second to none.

“It’s nice that he wants to come to a club that have built up a reputation for being a good community and bringing on home-grown talent.

“Don’t get me wrong, though – Kev will be a big miss for me personally. He’s been phenomenal. I worked with him for four years and never a bad word was said between us.”

McNeil says he’s glad to be able to call on Borthwick’s skills next season and is expecting a further recruitment drive to follow to add to the talent already at his disposal.

“We got Harry in mainly because Cammy Brown, who was phenomenal for us last season, injured one of his knees in our last Border League game against Melrose and we felt we had to replace him with a lineout operator and all-round athlete and that’s what Harry is,” he said.

“There are a few areas we’ll be looking to strengthen because we understand what’s coming. There’s going to be more physicality and we’re going to get injuries and knocks and guys are not going to be able to play 80 minutes every Saturday week in and week out. We found that even last year.”

McNeil, a farmer at Kelso’s Roxburgh Mains Farm away from the rugby pitch, intends carrying on playing next term despite turning 41 next month, saying: “Coming to Kelso’s given me a new lease of life, to be fair.

“The drive that’s there and playing alongside these boys just pushes you on, that Borders mentality. It’s like a drug – you’d miss it if you weren’t in about it.

“The Friday night butterflies before you play a game and the fear of letting your team-mates down are big driving factors for me, knowing that I’ve got to perform and knowing that I’m getting older.

“I’m kind of at that stage now that I genuinely play every game like it’s my last and that’s quite a good place to be because I know, if I had to retire now or injuries stopped me playing, that I’ve had a decent crack at it.

“I just try and enjoy it as best I can and make sure that I’m in as good a shape possible to ensure I don’t let my team-mates down.

“I’d imagine next season we’ll be playing at a higher level so it could be a different story but war wounds on a Sunday are part and parcel of what rugby’s all about.

“If I wasn’t enjoying it so much, it’d be easier to stop, but the fact is that I am enjoying it so it’s difficult to put a stop to that.”

Kelso co-head coach Bruce McNeil looking forward to reunion with ex-Hawick gaffer Nikki Walker

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