A Northern Update: Victory At Northern 7s, AGM and a touch of history...

Greetings Northerners, 

The summer is officially upon us. International Workers Day - or simply May Day, for those of a Tory 2's persuasion - has been and gone. Out go the jumpers, chinos, and cosy whiskies; in are flip flops, board shorts and beer gardens. Well. Maybe the whiskies haven't gone away - we'll just add ice instead. 

It is a challenge to find any city in the world to look quite as glorious as Edinburgh in the sunshine. It is much to my personal chagrin - and not a representative view of Edinburgh Northern RFC or it's members - that the SRU continue to persist with a autumn-winter season and that no "official" rugby is played between now and late July. 

Imagine the quality of East Regional rugby were it to be played in 20c in blazing sunshine, rather than the storms and gales of November. would certainly bring beneficial environmental conditions that could improve Ed Russell’s handling...

A short insight into the goings on at Northern in the last few weeks is included below. 

Northern 7s

Our annual 7s tournament, the Edinburgh Northern Blyth & Blyth Sevens took place on the XX of April at Inverleith Park. As is customary, the weather was glorious and 20 teams took part in what remains Edinburgh’s premier social 7s. A good crowd was in attendance to watch some free-flowing rugby, and they were blessed with a rare treat - Northern taking silverware in her own competition.

The day started for the boys in navy and old gold with two heavy group stage defeats to Stewart Melville – eventual losing finalists - and Leith Rugby. Not deterred by these unfortunate losses, they progressed into the Pond Plate, defeating Penicuik RFC 15-12 in a tight semi-final. That victory saw them take on Corstorphine in the final, which in a frantic game saw Northern come back from the dead to snatch a 33-26 victory late on, Congratulations to Dom Harrison and all involved. 

The other two competitions, the Blyth + Blyth Northern Cup was won by Linlithgow, beating Stewart Melville 17-14 in the final. The Inverleith Bowl was won by the Edinburgh Fijians, decisively beating Leith 33-7. 

Thank you again to the volunteers who made the day possible. From Mike Horner, and his impeccable organising; Joe Smith for organising the referees, and the referees themselves of course; Jamie McCann, who didn’t leave the BBQ all day, ably assisted by young Henry Leatham; and the other countless club men who assist over the course of the day. 

Northern History 

A good day aside, my day was made significantly better by being bestowed - temporarily I may add - with a piece of Northerns History by Uncle Joe Smith. Please see below a picture of the bestower as a young man, with only marginally more hair, but as I am sure you’d all agree, barely changed a day. 

Included within the booklet, titled ENRFC 1920 -1995 is a short history of the club, featuring many individual legends of our club- Tom Henderson, Bernie Lodge, Ian Brechin etc etc - as well as numerous short stories about the club over that period. It is my intention to upload some of these short pieces to the blog, and to share some of the fantastic memories contained within its pages.

We hope that this is something that readers may enjoy and help them understand what it means to be part of this club, and importantly whom we have to thank that we are blessed to have the opportunity to play for this club. 

Gentlemen of the North – Cock Cup 

From the subject of history, to the act of making history! 

Contrary to popular belief, there is one more playing event in the domestic calendar to take place, with international rugby on our own patch returning to Northern after a number of years.  On Saturday 31 May, our veterans team (over 35s), or as Uncle Joe refers to them “The Youth of Today”, will be hosting and competing in the inaugural “Gentlemen of the North - Cock Cup” competition. 

Our international representation is made up by the Blue Brothers from Hungary, who will take on Norther in the glamour game, kicking off at 13:00 at Raeburn Place. A number of other domestic teams will also be taking part in the day, including the Puffin Gannets (North Berwick), the Mackie Mammoths, another to be confirmed and Dalkeith. 

Another great of rugby guaranteed, and we can only imagine the fun to be had apres matches, when a large group of “has-beens and never-weres” – UJs words, not mine - start to party. Get down to support the club, bring your boots if your old enough and enjoy what is hopefully the first of many such tournaments. 

Club AGM

As many of you will be aware, our AGM took place on Tuesday 29 April at the Bunker. As with all these meetings, minutes are available from the Secretariat on request. The big news of the evening was that Crebhan Hughes has been elected as club captain for the 2025/2026 season, and we wish him our warm congratulations. 

Additionally, the sad news was that it was confirmed that head coach Ben Black, who has served this club exceptionally well in that role – also as player and assistant coach - will be stepping down ahead of the coming season. All the players at the club are grateful for Ben's tutelage over the period, and would like to thank him for his time served as head coach. Not only a great rugby mind, he is also an excellent character off it, and I for one will miss his random stories over a beer – Troughman being a favourite - on a Thursday evening post-training. Best of luck in your next adventure Ben. 

Tour

From hosting touring teams, to being one ourselves - the small matter of Edinburgh Northerns own annual overseas tour. It is a heavy duty representing Scottish Rugby on the international stage, and this year’s venue is particularly auspicious - our destination, Brussels. 

There are many things going for the Belgian capital. It is the seat of the European Parliament. It is famous for frites, chocolate and beer. It is, importantly, the proud home to nine rugby clubs, one of whom we will face at some point that weekend. 

Tour is a fantastic bonding experience, and an opportunity/pilgrimage that every Northerner, if able, should take at some point. You’ll make memories for a lifetime, and on occasion, the psychological or in some cases actual physical scars to match. 

As the slightly less famous singing group, Simon et Garcon, put it - "Bonjour obscurité, mon vieil ami, je suis venu te parler à nouveau." 
Until next time, yours in rugby, 

Edinburgh Northern RFC

Michael Mawdsley