London Scottish Football Club was founded on
Wednesday 10th April 1878 by three men who formed a breakaway from St Andrew’s
Rovers FC as a club for Scottish nationals. They were the first of the ‘Exiles’
rugby clubs to be founded, and also the last of the main three (Irish and
Welsh) to go ‘open’ in 1996. Scottish are great exponents of the rugby sevens, winning
the Melrose sevens (twice), the Middlesex sevens, (seven times) and the Rosslyn
Park London Floodlit sevens (seven times).
London Scottish have not won any major national
honours in the fifteens game, despite a strong presence in the second tier. They
did make the John Player Cup Final in 1974 where they lost 26-6 against
defending champions Coventry. Despite this they have always had a strong side.
Scottish have produced more than 220 international players for the Scottish
national team, which is more than any other club, and the same number of Lions
captains as Leicester Tigers with four.
One of those players is Andrew Gavin Hastings, OBE (born 3rd January
1962). A former Scottish International, he is frequently considered one of the
best, if not the best, rugby player
to come out of Scotland. ‘Big Gav’, born in Edinburgh, has also played for
Watsonians, Cambridge University and the British and Irish Lions. He was one of
the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 caps for Scotland, 20 of
which as captain. Playing at fullback he captained the Lions on the tour to New
Zealand in 1993 (after playing in all three tests in the 1989 tour to
Australia).
In 1987 the national league structure was
formed, and in 1996 the game, along with Scottish, turned professional. During
this period Tony Tiarks bought the club for £500,000 in 1996. In the summer of
1998, Scottish, co-tenants of Richmond at the Athletic Ground, were promoted to
the top division via a play-off, and Tiarks forced through an ill-fated ground
share with Harlequins and London Broncos at The Stoop.
The club had a successful start to this brave
new era, despite only playing in the Premiership for just the one season. In
1998/1999 under coach John Steele, and with limited resources they managed to
finish in a creditable 12th place out of the 14 teams which should have saved
them from relegation. Unfortunately at the end of the season,
the professional club, in which London Scottish was a shareholder, was forced
into administration. By the halfway point of that season, a
disillusioned Tiarks discussed selling Scottish's place in the Premiership to second-division
Bristol. He bailed out in the summer of 1999, leaving the original amateur club
to rejoin the RFU leagues at the bottom of the pyramid after effectively being relegated
nine divisions because of the administration process. The club has since
progressed back up through seven divisions in ten seasons to the Championship
from 2002-2012 in a supremely successful run, unbeaten in 2008/09, and topping National
One in 2010/11. The club’s ‘home’ is still the Athletic Ground it shares with
Richmond.
Two years ago Scottish made a return to the
second tier of English rugby in dramatic fashion. Having started the 2010/2011
season with three straight losses, (very similar to Jersey’s own start to
National One), promotion looked unlikely. However, a run of 26 straight
victories following that inauspicious start; meant that the promotion battle
all came down to the final day of the season: a straight fight between local
rivals Scottish and Barking with the winner heading to the Championship.
With seconds remaining, the score was locked at
13-10 to Barking, who looked odds on to gain promotion. The East Londoners
expertly recycled possession close to the Scottish try line, winding down the
clock. Just as Scottish supporters were resigning themselves to another season
in National League One, the Barking number 10 threw a pass to London Scottish
wing David Howells who plucked the ball from the air, before sprinting the
length of the field to score an extraordinary interception try, and with it
promotion.
Last year the club secured a second season in the Championship,
finishing fourth from bottom in the regular season but contesting the now
defunct ‘relegation pool’ having won six of their 22 league matches. Two out of
six play-off wins were enough to survive by the skin of their teeth at the
expense of Esher. Six wins is a stat that seems some way off for Jersey right
now, but with successive home matches against sides predicted to be in the
bottom half of the table, and with growing confidence after the recent home performances
against Bedford and Pontypridd, along with a fantastic win away to Leeds last
week, surely the table will look healthier very soon.
This season the Exiles are again led by Head coach
Simon Amor, formerly the England rugby seven’s captain, and managed by Colin
McIntyre. Amor who once played at scrum half or fly half for
Scottish, is regarded as one of the greatest rugby sevens players in the
history of the game having represented England from 2001-06. Having secured
links with Premiership champions Harlequins, four youth players have already
made the short trip to bolster an already strong looking squad; Agustin
Gosio, Alfredo Lalanne and Adam Kleeberger all played at Rugby World Cup 2011
and eight others have had international rugby experience for
Scotland.
Results this season have been mixed, fantastic
at home, three league wins, with only Championship favourites Newcastle
lowering the Scottish colours in the league by a narrow margin 32-49, (certainly
the Falcons have posted much bigger scores elsewhere). Away from home it’s a
different story with no wins, (two championship and one cup defeat), including
proverbial spankings from both Bedford and Nottingham who put over 50 points on
the Exiles. With the leakiest defence in the division, and if Jersey’s once
famed defence can fire again, tries are on the cards today. With Jersey now on
an unbeaten run of two, and with ‘The Booj’ back in the groove against Leeds, a
continuation of this form and a solid forwards display, the first league ‘W’ is
there for the taking and a return to ‘fortress St Peter’ is surely just around
the corner.
Who
to watch out for:
Fullback/Wing.
Love, 24, was an integral part of Plymouth’s
successful battle against relegation last term, notching up 247 points over the
course of the 2011/12 season. This achievement is made all the more remarkable
as this was his first season in the Championship after making the jump up from
Hartpury College in National Three South West, having been born and raised in
Bahrain. Director of Rugby Simon Amor was excited to see Love further his
development at The Athletic Ground this season, saying, ‘James scored nearly
250 points for Plymouth last season which is obviously a fantastic kicking
record. However, he is also a great attacking threat as well with ball in hand.
I’m really excited to see how he develops in London Scottish colours.’ Exiles
top scorer with 69 league points so far, and fifth in the division overall, ill
discipline by the Jersey ranks will be punished.
Chevvy Pennycook.
Back Row.
New signing this term, 25-year-old Bristolian
back row Pennycook made 16 appearances for Moseley last season after recovering
from an early season injury. He arrives at The Athletic Ground with not only
Premiership experience with Bristol, but also with England U20 experience in
2007. Another that brings proven Championship quality to the Exiles. He is an
outstanding ball carrier and has an immense physical presence on the field.
Currently joint top league try scorer with four.
Mark
Bright.
Back
Row.
6’4” and 16 ½ stone, formerly of Redruth,
Bright has been a talismatic figure everywhere he has played. He made the Rugby
Times National One dream team a record five times and scored 79 tries in 119
appearances before his move to Scottish last season. A decent sevens player,
the lure of working with Simon Amor was a big factor in his move to London. New
Zealander Bright has an eye for a big game try with nine in 23 matches so far for
Scottish, including five already this term against the likes of Bedford,
Newcastle and Cornish Pirates. Inspirational Captain, leads by example and a
tough competitor (only missing two games in five seasons for Redruth), and
heads a strong physical presence in the Scottish pack.
Tyler
Hotson.
Lock.
The 27-year-old forward joined London Scottish
in the summer after several years with Plymouth Albion, having also played for
Northern Suburbs in Australia. Hotson has 27 international caps for Canada to
his name, having been a fixture in the squad since his debut in the 2008
Churchill cup. Hoping to feature in Canada’s summer internationals after
playing in the 2011 World Cup. A player with proven Championship experience, as
well as international experience, and a second Canadian international in the
Scottish squad. A proven top quality performer, Hotson brings plenty of
experience into the forwards and a great deal of physicality to their pack,
topping 6’4” and nearly 17 stone.
Andy Reay.
Centre.
Reay joined London Scottish from Moseley in
the close season. Educated at Brunel University, Reay has won nine caps for
England U21, which included winning the U21 Six Nations Grand Slam in 2004.
After spells with Harlequins and Bristol, Reay then spent four years at
Billesley Common. A good leader, having been Moseley’s captain during the relegation
playoffs. He’s a very solid defender, a powerful runner and has very good
handling skills. In a league where experience really matters, Reay is a player
who knows the division inside-out.
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