​South of Scotland to kick off new inter-district championship rugby campaign away to Edinburgh at weekend

That loss, by 32-30 to Caledonia Reds in Glasgow in 2023’s final last May, ended a winning streak stretching back over 20 years.

Prior to that game, the South hadn’t been beaten at XVs rugby since two defeats during 2001’s championship, having won all four of their games in 2002’s, the last until the competition’s revival in 2023, and four one-off fixtures in between – in 2009, 2011, 2016 and 2017 – as well as their only other match last year, by 50-17 against Edinburgh in Galashiels earlier in May.

Head coach Matty Douglas wasn’t happy about overseeing the end of that two-decade-plus unbeaten run – one of only three defeats altogether for the Hawick gaffer since March 2022 – and he’s out to make amends this time round, he says.

“We know how close we were last year but probably how far away we were as well with our performance in Glasgow,” said the 28-year-old.

“I feel we have got a little bit of unfinished business, but every district this year are taking it really seriously, so we’re not sitting here thinking we just have to turn up and win.

“It’s going to be really tough. We’ve got two tough away trips.

“There’s definitely a hunger to try to win what will be the first full inter-district championship for a long time.”

Edinburgh head coach Bob McKillop is thinking much the same way, however, saying: “Whilst all the coaches and players loved the inter-district championship experience last season, we walked away feeling Edinburgh’s performance had been well below potential.

“We’ve had some good review sessions with key players and within the coaching team and will aim to put that right this year.”

His squad is captained by Currie Chieftains full-back Charlie Brett and includes Musselburgh’s Michael Badenhorst, with the South last time round, and Hawick’s Rory Kirkpatrick.

Douglas’s squad will be skippered by Hawick loosehead prop Shawn Muir again and he and his Scottish Premiership table-topping team-mates account for more than a third of their 32-strong line-up, with ten of his fellow Greens joining him.

Kirk Ford, Andrew Mitchell and Lee Armstrong are among the South’s 14 backs and Calum and Fraser Renwick, Jae Linton, Connor Sutherland, Dalton Redpath, Ross Graham and Nicky Little are among 18 forwards.

Hawick’s premiership play-off semi-final opponents at the start of this month, Kelso, make up the next-biggest contingent in the squad, contributing four backs and four forwards, the former being Archie Barbour, Dwain Patterson, Frankie Robson and Andy Tait and the latter Bruce McNeil, Keith Melbourne, Terry Logan and Grant Shiells.

Fellow premiership outfit Selkirk aren’t far behind with six representatives – backs Callum Anderson, Josh Welsh and Aaron McColm and forwards Andrew McColm, James Bett and Luke Pettie.

Making up the rest of the squad are Gala’s Ben Gill, Angus Dun and Liam Scott; Melrose’s Donald and Douglas Crawford and Struan Hutchison; and Jed-Forest’s Clark Skeldon.

A change of format this time round will see all four teams play each other, giving the Borderers one extra run-out as they set their sights on winning their first title for 22 years and 18th overall.

After taking on the capital’s team at Stoneyhill in Musselburgh this weekend, the red-and-white-hooped regional representatives play last year’s winners, Reds, at Highland’s Canal Park ground in Inverness on Saturday, April 6, and Glasgow and the West at Kelso’s Poynder Park on Saturday, March 30, with all three of those fixtures kicking off at 3pm.