Selkirk Rugby Club getting shirty to support mental health charity

Selkirk skipper Ewan MacDougall, left, presenting Neil Hutchison with a first XV jersey (Photo: Grant Kinghorn)

That’s especially true for the Souters this season as they’ve got the Tiny Changes charity’s logo on the right sleeve of their first XV’s new playing strip.

Tiny Changes was set up in memory of Selkirk singer-songwriter Scott Hutchison in 2020 by his parents Marion and Ron and brothers Neil and Grant with the aim of improving mental health services and support for young people nationwide.

Scott, best known as lead singer and songwriter for the alternative rock band Frightened Rabbit, took his own life in May 2018 at the age of 36.

The charity set up as a tribute to him takes its name from a line in one of his songs.

To mark Selkirk’s support for that worthy cause, club captain Ewan MacDougall presented one of his team’s new jerseys to Neil Hutchison, chairman of Tiny Changes.

“We’re a children and young people’s mental health charity and we support projects in Scotland that are doing positive things for these groups’ mental health and wellbeing,” Hutchison told the Tennent’s Premiership club’s website.

“The response from the public has been overwhelming, initially from Frightened Rabbit fans who knew and loved Scott, but it’s now gone beyond that and the wider public in Scotland have really taken to it.

“I think mental health in Scotland is such an important subject, before the pandemic also but of course even more so now. At Tiny Changes, we believe it’s the right of every child to have good mental health and the opportunity to lead happy and fulfilled lives as adults.”

Hutchison, born and raised in Selkirk, added: “I played for Selkirk Youth Club many years ago, and I was very proud when the rugby club got in touch with us and said they’d like to raise awareness of these mental health issues.

“Having our logo on the sleeve of Selkirk’s playing jerseys has made everyone at Tiny Changes super-proud.”

Club vice-president David Anderson said: “We were one of the first rugby clubs in Scotland to appoint a mental health officer and since his appointment, Ruaraidh MacKessack-Leitch, a Selkirk player and a qualified doctor, has been doing a tremendous job for us.

“We are also working closely with the Harris Trust, a charity set up in memory of former Selkirk rugby player Harris Macdonell, who tragically died in August 2020.”