Fresh morale boost for Borders rugby as South lands new kit deal

THE revival of South of Scotland rugby gained impetus at a star-studded dinner last night when Borders clubs announced a new kitsponsor for the next three years.Rugbystore.co.uk have agreed athree-year deal to provide all training and playing kit for Southsquads, and will also donate GBP5 of every new jersey sold to theBill McLaren Foundation.The news was announced at a dinner attendedby more than 140 people, including 48 ex-South players, at CardronaHotel, near Peebles, last night as a fundraiser for theFoundation.The South will play the Barbarians in Hawick in October,in another fundraising event for the Foundation, and are finalisingfriendly matches and sevens appearances for the next twoseasons.Fraser Patterson, managing director of Rugbystore.co.uk,said: "The South of Scotland is an iconic team with a rich historyand when they approached us about sponsorship we saw it as a perfectopportunity for us."We are a worldwide business operating largely onthe internet now, but we are based in the Borders and we're excitedby the potential to be able to help local rugby and take the Southof Scotland name to a worldwide audience."Entitled "A Celebration ofSouth Rugby", last night's event was like a Who's Who of Scottishrugby stars, with Jim Aitken, John Rutherford, Bryan Redpath, CarlHogg, Roy Laidlaw and Keith Robertson a handful of the easilyrecognised faces.Ian Barnes, the former Hawick and Scotland lock,chaired the event and ex-England captain and Barbarians centre JohnSpencer proved a popular speaker.The audience also heard from JohnnyGray, the coach of the South team that defeated Australia in 1984,and Norman Suddon who captained the 1966 team that was the firstdistrict to beat a touring side, also Australia.John Thorburn, whois involved with the South administration and Bill McLarenFoundation, commented: "This was another great event for theFoundation and it's going from strength to strength, which justshows how highly regarded Bill was."There is also a lot of good workgoing on in the club game and enthusiasm still for the concept of adistrict side that local players and coaches can aspire to. TheBorders has been at the forefront of developing the game and therehas been a lot of talk tonight about looking forward and helping torevive the unique identity of Borders and South rugby to play a partagain in taking rugby forward."