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Gordonians

Full name	Gordonians Rugby Football Club
Union	Scottish Rugby Union
Founded	1904; 120 years ago (1904)
Location	Aberdeen, Scotland
Ground(s)	Countesswells
League(s)	Scottish National League Division Three
2021–22	Scottish National League Division Two, 11th of 12 (relegated)
Team kit
Official website
www.pitchero.com/clubs/gordonians

Gordonians RFC is a rugby union team based in Aberdeen, Scotland, founded in 1904. They take their name from the fact that they were originally the former pupils' club for Robert Gordon's College in the city. The team currently fields two squads. 1st XV currently compete in the Scottish National League Division 2, the third tier of Scottish rugby. The 2nd XV is nicknamed the "Jolly Boys" and compete in the Caledonia North 2 league. The club also runs a youth division known as the Gordonian Pelicans.

History

Formation (1904-1960s)

Founded in 1904–05, Gordonians RFC was originally a club exclusively for the former pupils of Robert Gordon's College. Despite this, the club was able to establish itself with several of its players appearing on the international stage. Bert Bruce was the first, representing Scotland against Australia at Murrayfield in 1947. Later caps were won by Donald MacDonald, Ron Glasgow and Ian McCrae, further growing the reputation of the club.

Throughout the late 1950s and the 1960s, Gordonians saw improvement in its fixture list and played an active role in the development of the game in the North East of Scotland, with many players representing the district. Gordon Hill (1961) and Ian Spence (1963–64) also enjoyed the honour of playing for the Barbarians in 1965. The player base and management structure of the 1960s took the club into the 1970s in a strong position.

Success in the National Leagues (1970s-1990s)

Having established themselves as a force in the 1960s, Gordonians were to see many changes in the 1970s with the introduction of the Scottish National Leagues in 1973. Gordonians' reputation secured them a spot in the third tier of the new 6 Division system for the inaugural 1973-74 season. Their time in Division III was brief, as they gained immediate promotion to Division II. This was followed by the club going "open" for the 1974-75 season, allowing anyone to join for the first time. The club then began to introduce a more professional and committed approach to training and retained a consistent pool of players. This allowed them to begin fielding 2nd and 3rd XVs, which established themselves at the head of the Midland League and Aberdeen District League respectively. In the season of 1978–79, seven Gordonians played for the North Midlands side against a touring New Zealand side, proving the club had the player base necessary to compete at the highest level. This would culminate in the 1st XV achieving promotion to the Division I Scottish Premiership in the 1979-80 season, after spending only 5 years spent playing in Division II.

The season of 1980–81 was to prove one of the club's most successful and enjoyable. The long-awaited arrival of Hawick at Seafield for the club's first ever Division I match was greeted by a crowd of approximately 1500 spectators. The Gordonians reached an early lead, however, and finished the match, winning with a score of 26–13. After the first eight matches in Division I, they stood third in the table, finishing the season in sixth place. The success was celebrated by a touring party of 38 players to Whitely Bay for a three match tour for 1st and 3rd XV's.

The season 1981–82 by contrast, saw the club unable to continue its earlier success. Injuries to key players and an overall increase in the players' age all contributed to a poor season with the side ending at the second to last place of the league. Season 1982–83 was a challenging season for the club, with many young and inexperienced players being fielded to fill the gaps. The increased distance between matches also had an impact. In the top division they had to play a number of matches against Borders sides, a round trip of about 300 miles. ^[1] This distance appears to have taken its toll. For example, in that season, they were defeated by Hawick RFC, 102–4, and a week later, by Gala RFC, some 112–4. ^[1] After a second poor season, Gordonians were relegated back to Division II.

1983–84 was mainly a season of consolidation, finishing 6th in Division II. The 3rd XV also won the Aberdeen and District League. Consolidation was short lived with the club finishing bottom of Div II in 1984–85. The club would see several stagnant seasons in Division III where it appeared that a further relegation may have been threatening, but in the 1988-89 season, Colin Manders’ side was promoted to Division II, after a great run of victories in the second half of the season. The reverse in fortunes was only temporary, however, and the club was relegated the following season and finished 9th in Division III, the season after. The 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons saw narrow escapes from relegation in the last games of each season, before another reversal in fortunes saw the club promoted back to Div II, though several poor seasons and a restructuring of the league system would see Gordonians drop down to Premier Division 4 for the 1995-96 season. This season saw Rugby Union turn professional, a controversial move which was resisted by Gordonians, who retain their amateur status to this day.

Resignation and Return to the National League (1990s-present)

The 1996-97 season would see all three squads win their respective leagues, again placing the 1st XV in the third division. They would miss out on promotion for the following season which, combined with the changing landscape of Scottish Rugby, left them struggling to attract players. A successful cup run would see Gordonians appear at Murrayfield for the final of the Scottish Rugby Shield in 1999, in which they would lose to Jed-Forest. After this the club would enter a freefall and slip down the leagues. Unfortuntely, a lack of sustained success, the decision not to turn professional and a dwindling number of players coming through from Robert Gordon's College lead to the club struggling to maintain an identity and reliable team. The decision was therefore made to resign from the Scottish League Championship and to play within the North District Leagues starting in 2003. This would allow the team to consolidate and ensured its survival in the short term. Over the next decade, the squad would progress through regional leagues, being briefly promoted to the National Leagues in 2008 before yet more restructuring relegated them back to regional status in 2012. Key to the changing fortunes in this time was a renewed partnership with Robert Gordon's College. As more students remained in Aberdeen and were available for the club, so too did former students return to play. The slow rebuild of the club culminated in the 2016-17 season, in which the 1st XV won the Caledonia Regional Shield over Strathmore and then won the Caledonia Regional League 1 title to return to the National Leagues, ^[2] where they remain, currently competing in the National League Division 2.

Honours

• Aberdeenshire Sevens ^[3]
  • Champions (1): 1994
• Aberdeen Sevens ^[4]
  • Champions (1): 1960
• Deeside Sevens ^[5]
  • Champions (1): 2016
• North of Scotland District Sevens ^[6]
  • Champions (2): 1938, 1960
• Aberdeen and District League Sevens ^[7]
  • Champions (1): 1998
• Mackie Academy F.P. Sevens ^[8]
  • Champions (1): 1978
• Highland Sevens ^[9]
  • Champions (4): 1961, 1962, 1965, 1992
• Dundee HSFP Sevens ^[10]
  • Champions (5): 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973
• Ross Sutherland Sevens ^[11]
  • Champions (4): 1958, 1960, 1964, 1959
• Garioch Sevens ^[12]
  • Champions (1): 1987
• Moray Sevens ^[13]
  • Champions (11): 1936, 1938, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1970, 1978, 1979, 1998
• Caledonia Sevens ^[14]
  • Champions: 2022

Notable players

• Robert M Bruce
• JF McCrae
• Andrew McInnes
• Ron Glasgow ^[15]
• Andrew "Keg" O'Neill
• Murray Kenneth Fraser
• Scott Kennedy
• Gordon Skinner

References

Sources