It's That Time of Year Again

I'm a day late but better late than never.  The 6 Nations kicked off yesterday with England just winning against Wales.  Well done England.

Today Ireland are playing Italy in Rome and Scotland will shortly be playing France in Paris.

To show just how impartial I am I wish every team good luck and I'm looking forward to some quality entertainment.  Scotland has as good a chance as any of winning of course.

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The Six Nations

Scotland v France at Murrayfield, kick off 3pm BBC 1. Enjoy.

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Bill McLaren of Hawick - 1923 to 2010

I was fortunate to meet Bill McLaren a couple of times in my youth due to my interest in rugby. His knowledge of rugby was truly extraordinary and his unbiased commentary, executed with his distinct Borders dialect, held thousands of Scots in thrall to the wonders of the game for many, many years.

He had a love of teaching the young the game and once he left teaching to work for the BBC he continually refused to move south of the border to commentate on other sports.

He was a Borderer first and foremost. A Scotsman Scotland and Scottish rugby will never forget. RIP

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Melrose Sevens 2010 Charity

Have I ever told you I'm a rugby fan? I confess to having enjoyed rugby since a teenager. Can't quite remember why I converted from supporting Dundee United FC to supporting Melrose RFC but maybe it was something to do with leaving Dundee and moving to live in the borders, plus a pal of mine fancied the boots off one of the Melrose players and dragged me along for company. Well it would have looked a bit odd a teenage lassie standing alone on the sidelines. In fact, if I remember, there were people from all age groups who attended the matches so we were never particularly conspicuous.

Cheering news for me today. Melrose are to turn their annual sevens tournament into a celebration of the Armed Forces next year in tribute to the efforts of Scottish soldiers around the world.

After talks with army representatives in Scotland they have reached agreement that the 2010 event will have a strong Forces theme. The British Army sevens team, which competes in the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham and features a host of Fijians based in Edinburgh, will be a guest side, along with Italians Milano and the Hamilton club from Cape Town in South Africa, which continues the borders club's links with the Republic alongside the returning 2009 winners, Johannesburg University.

Launching 2010 ticket sales Mike Dalgetty, Melrose RFC President said, "There has obviously been a lot of media attention given to what is going on in Afghanistan and a realisation for more and more people I think of just how much these soldiers are putting on the line in the name of serving this country."

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History Is Made

9-8

After 27 years, Scotland's rugby team beat the Australians by 9-8 in a dramatic, nail-biting match at Murrayfield yesterday. I have to admit it was a defence inspired performance from Scotland although the Wallabies dominated throughout.

That apart, I expect there was some dancing in the streets of Edinburgh last night.

Scotland's prize was the Hopetoun Cup.

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