Only two Borders derbies on offer in rugby’s Scottish National League Division 1 next season

Gala and Melrose contesting 2022's Waverley Cup in December (Pic: Alwyn Johnston)

Their second-tier league having been slimmed down from a dozen teams to ten to create a new National League Division 4 as part of a restructuring of Scottish club rugby means they’ll play 18 fixtures each instead of 22 and Kelso’s promotion to Scotland’s top flight leaves them as the region’s only representatives in the division.

That cuts the number of derbies the Borderers – both with new head coaches in charge, Iain Chisholm at Melrose and Craig Dods at Gala – will play in National 1 from four each to two, though the Border League will add more to the equation, also involving Peebles, and the festive period will bring the two National 1 sides’ 15th Waverley Cup meeting.

Their first league derby, at the Greenyards in Melrose, will be on Saturday, September 30, and the reverse fixture at Netherdale in Galashiels follows on Saturday, December 2.

Honours were even between the two teams last time out in the league, Gala winning 43-35 at home in March after losing 63-15 away at the end of November, but they also won Boxing Day’s Waverley Cup fixture at Netherdale, making a comeback after two years off, by 43-15.

Melrose ended the season one league place and 14 points better off than their Borders rivals, in third place with 86 points, Gala being fourth with 72.

Both Melrose and Gala start next season on the road on Saturday, September 2 the former at Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians and the latter at Edinburgh’s Watsonians.

Next season’s fixture list was revealed yesterday and can be seen at …

https://fixtures.scottishrugby.org/club-rugby/2023-2024/3222