Training Dates
Club and school senior training has already resumed.  New members are welcome on Tuesday or Thursday nights at 6-45pm.
S1, S2, S3 and Minis training will officially resume on Wednesday 3rd August.

Charity Football Tournament
Mains Park
Saturday 30th July 2011

Rugby Club Choir Charity Gigs

► Information on both

Pre-Season Friendlies

6th August  Morgan FP (H)
13th August  Preston Lodge (A)
20th August  Perthshire (H)

► Fixtures 2011-12

First Three League Matches

27th Aug  RHC Cougars (A)
3rd Sept  Dunfermline (H)
10th Sept  Musselburgh (H)

Last updated 29th July

Club Photocall

On Saturday, the official Club Photographer John Preece was on hand to take a number of team and group photographs for the record.  The photo above shows many of the club's 297 registered youth and senior players and was taken to mark the club's 40th anniversary year. A number of team photos were also taken - the 1st XV group is shown below and you can see the u15s , u16s and Club 2nd XV photos further down this page.

Euan Richardson and the 2010/11 Reds

► View the team photos in higher def

► Order your copy from JLP Photography

Annual General Meeting

Gavin Brown Steps Down;
Craig Young Confirmed as President

After serving for 9 years on the Club Executive, the last five as Club President, Gavin Brown stepped down from office at the AGM on Friday 13th May.  He received a tremendous reception for his contribution to Linlithgow RFC. 

Craig Young was elected as his successor as Club President for the coming season.

Also stepping down was club captain Euan Richardson and vice-captain Gordon White.  Matt Dixon was elected captain for next season, with Stuart Bell as vice-captain. 

There are three other 'new' faces on what will be a restructured Club Executive - Des Martin (Vice President), Nick Chadwick (Director of Youth Rugby) and Matt Dixon (Club Captain).

► Short report on AGM (to follow)

'Movember' Craig!

Executive Committee

President:                      Craig Young
Vice-President:               Des Martin
Director of Rugby:           Gordon Dixon
Director of Youth Rugby:  Nick Chadwick
Club Captain:                 Matt Dixon
Hon Treasurer:               Alison Timlin
Hon Secretary:                Ken Richardson

Other Office Bearers

Membership Secretary:      Angela Blundell
Fixture Secretary:              Scott Oliver
Match Secretary:                Scott Oliver
Referees' Secretary:          Ally Maclennan
Entertainments Convenor:  Andy McGown
PRO:                               Dave Thomas
Club vice-captain:              Stuart Bell

Andrew Blythe is tackled with the two captains looking on

Muzzy faced with 3rd XV Player of the Season, Steven Sim

Annual Cairns Match Closes out the Season

On Saturday 14th May, two strong teams assembled at Mains Park for the Jim Wallace Trophy, aka Cairns' match.  The Presidents' XV captained by Euan Richardson was the youngest on record, with the captain, at the grand old age of 25, the oldest player by some way! 

The Cairns XV, captained by Davie Cairns, did contain a number of older players, but they were liberally sprinkled with younger players, several younger than the Presidents' XV captain!

It was also great to see three ex Reds players, currently playing Premier league rugby, on show - Sandy Warnock (Aberdeen GSFP) and Duncan McLeod (Edinburgh Accies) graced the Cairns XV and Jack Walker (West of Scotland) featured for the Presidents XV.

►  Match report

► Photos courtesy of Graham Black

► Photos courtesy of John Preece

Dust flies as Sandy Warnock drags down flying wing Ross Plenderleith

Andy Blundell notched another 'brace' with some elusive running

Reds Win Another Match
Five Wins in a Row Closes Out Season

Linlithgow  16 - 15  RHC Cougars
The Reds brought the league season to a close with a narrow home win over RHC Cougars.  Ross Martin claimed the try and the subsequent conversion, with Matt Dixon kicking 3 penalties to complete the scoring.  The win carried the Reds to 7th place in the table with 49 points, just one point behind RHC Cougars and two behind Langholm.

► Match photos courtesy of Graham Black

► National 1 league table

Reds Season
League   P22   W10   D1  L11    Points 49
Shield     P4     W3    D0  L1
TOTAL    P26   W13   D1  L12

Above: AB has plenty of support on hand in this break

Ring the Bell!
By playing in Saturday's final league match, lock forward Stuart Bell (25) slipped ahead of his captain Euan 'Les' Richardson (24)and claimed the most appearances in matches this season. 

Four in a Row Secures NL1 Status

Garnock  6 - 29  Linlithgow
It's taken the Reds, 21 matches and 41 players to secure National 1 status for next season, but so competitive is the league, that the Reds could still end up in the top half of the table after their final match!  On the day it was tries from Ross Martin, David Goudie and a brace from Andy Birrell that secured the 5 points, making it 18 points from a possible 20 over the last 4 matches.

► Match photos courtesy of Graham Black

Ross Martin - one of the try scorers

Sun Shines on Peelers

In an impromptu 11-a-side match at Mains Park on Saturday, Toby Binsted's Reds overcame Dave Cairns' Blacks by a try tally of 11 to 8.  This bounce match was arranged at 2pm, following the extremely late call-off of Preston Lodge Seniors (3rds) who were due to play the Peelers.  Dunbar's finest Grant Hughes was man-of-the-match, not least for being the only East Lothian based player to manage the journey!

Young Reds Run in Tries

Big Win in Annual Pete Patterson Match

Linlithgow  38 - 3  Scottish Prison Service
With a side similar to the one that defeated Livingston 2nds 86-0 the previous week, featuring 6 of this year's Linlithgow Academy team, the Young Reds were too much for a plucky SPS team at Mains Park on Wednesday night (27th April).  It was a second hat-trick in a week for young Andy Blundell, but there were many promising performances from the other youngsters on show.

► Match report

► Match photos

U14s at Stirling County
7s Tournament

On Saturday 23rd April, the Linlithgow u14 team participated in the Annual Stirling County u14 Tournament. 

► Read John Aitchison's match reports
► Photos courtesy of Angus Smith

U14s Tour of North Wales

Just after the Youth Dinner, Linlithgow u14s set off on a short, but action packed, tour of North Wales.

► Match reports
► Tour Photos

Big Away Win for Reds

Edinburgh Uni  24 - 28  Linlithgow
The Reds secured a bonus point away win on Saturday 23rd April at Peffermill against Edinburgh University.  There were tries from Chippy, Charlie Gillanders, Matt Dixon and Ally Wood, with Matt Dixon landing 2 penalties and 1 conversion.  18 year old prop Scott Herdman and his fellow front-row player Marc Stirling both claimed their 20 game ties today in their first seasons with the Reds.  Well done!

► Match report
► Match photos

► Match photos courtesy of John Preece

Reds 2nds Crush Livingston

Club Awards at Dinner

Ian "Mighty Mouse" McLauchlan, the SRU President, was on hand on Friday night at the club dinner to present the 2010-11 season awards:

► Player of season - Matt Dixon
    (Photo on right)
► 2nd XV Player - Logan Black
► 3rd XV Player - Steven Sim
► Best Young Player - Dougie Robb
► Most Improved - Mathew Archer
► Clubman of Year - Anthony Timlin

► Photos from dinner

► More on dinner

Linlithgow  86 - 0  Livingston
This match played on Thursday night at Mains Park was dominated by the young Reds, who ran in 86 points without reply from local rivals Livingston.  Both Andy Blundell and 18 year old Ross Plenderleith scored hat-tricks in the match.

► Match photos courtesy of Graham Black

Reds 3s Lose Out by Millimetres

Linlithgow  17 - 19  Musselburgh
With just five minutes to go, Chunk's try brought the Reds within two points of Musselburgh, but Ronnie's attempted conversion struck the post and bounced back into play.  The Reds had earlier scored two tries, one from 3rd XV Player of the year - Steven Sim.

► Match photos courtesy of Graham Black

Photos from 2nds Win Over Livingston

LEFT:  "The Beast is Back"  (Euan Gunn cuts a frightening figure on the charge!)

RIGHT:  Ross Plenderleith ran in 3 tries

ABOVE RIGHT:  Andy Blundell also ran in 3

Reds Show Determination and
Commitment in Fine Home Win

Linlithgow  26 - 15  Greenock Wanderers
The Reds showed their true mettle in overcoming the league's 2nd placed team Greenock Wanderers on Saturday 16th April 2011 at Mains Park.  Tries from man-of-the-match Stuart Bell and living legend Matt Dixon secured the win, with Matt Dixon also contributing 4 penalties and two conversions.

There were performances of note from flanker Ross Martin and debutant centre Callum Townend.

► Match photos courtesy of Angus Laing

Jason Dawes Returns to Lasswade

It was great to see Jason Dawes helping the 2nds with their warm up Friday night at Lasswade, in what was a rescheduling of the match from earlier in the season in which he broke his leg.  The young 2nds team responded well, but came up just short in a 17-33 loss under the lights.

► Match photos courtesy of Graham Black

The Weekend's Scores

► Linlithgow  26 -15  Greenock Wanderers
► Lasswade 2nds  33 - 17  Linlithgow 2nds
► Linlithgow 3rds  17 - 37  RHC Cougars

Congratulations to Lasswade

On Saturday, Lasswade retained the National Shield in a close fought match at Murrayfield against Hawick YM, winning 22-17.  This was Hawick's first defeat this season, having won 23 out of 23 competitive league and cup matches.

Congratulations to Lasswade who achieve the 'double' of league champions and Shield winners for the second successive season.  Well done to Hawick YM, champions of National League 2 and runners-up in the National Shield.

Club Members Please Note:
Club AGM now Friday 13th May 2011

The Linlithgow RFC AGM has been brought forward a week to Friday 13th May, starting at 7-30pm.  A good turnout of members is requested.

USAP Back in Contention

USAP  23 - 16  Racing Metro 92
Heineken Cup semi-finalists USAP (Perpignan) dragged themselves back into contention in the French Top 14 league, with a home win over their Parisien visitors on Saturday 16th April.

Hawick YM Remain Undefeated

Hawick YM  39 - 21  Linlithgow
The Reds travelled down to Hawick for the National Shield semi-final.  Hawick YM are unbeaten in league and cup this season with 22 wins out of 22 matches - after Saturday, make that 23 out of 23!  Reds tries came from Gordon White, Mikey Walker and Stuart Bell.

► Match photos courtesy of Graham Black

U15s Sign Off with Another Fine Win

Linlithgow  41 - 26  Forrester
They shared the "youth team of the season" trophy at the annual youth awards and they signed off the season with another superb exhibition of attacking rugby - "chapeau" to the u15s!
► Match report

Reds Win Big Match in Irvine

Irvine 27 - 29 Linlithgow
Ahead for most of the match, the Reds fell behind with 5 minutes to go.  However a late penalty from his own half by Matt Dixon secured the fine away win.  This was a big game for both teams, given their respective lowly league positions.  The Young Reds team showed commendable spirit and dug deep for this win.  

► View match photos
   (courtesy of Graham Black)

Young Reds 2nds Fall Just Short
Linlithgow 2s  17 - 19  Heriots 3s
Match report to follow...

U15s Crown Great Season with Shield Win

► Photos courtesy of Graham Black

Cracking Match to Close Season

Reds  19 - 19  Blues
This was next season's school 1st XV (Reds) against this year's 6th year leavers (Blues) and what a cracking match it turned out to be!  The younger team had the edge going into the last quarter after some powerful play, but the old guys stuck in and dragged themselves back to tie the match with about 7 minutes to go.

► View match photos
    (courtesy of Graham Black)

Linlithgow u15  5 - 0  Heriots u15
Edinburgh & Borders District Shield final

Club President, Gavin Brown, was again on hand to see one of the Reds youth teams lift silverware.  In the second match of three finals held at Meggetland on Sunday 3rd April, the Linlithgow u15 team defeated their Heriots' counterparts in a tense and absorbing final, with the only score of the game coming from a try by Reds flanker Callum Mullen.

► Match report

Dobie touches down - photo by John Preece

Matt's kicking was imperious! (John Preece)

Main Stories (26/27 March)

Reds through to National SHIELD semi-final
The Reds finally blew off the cobwebs to rattle up 38 points against a strong Kilmarnock side in the SHIELD semi-final at Mains Park on Saturday 26th March.  With four tries, from Bell, Archer, Dobie and White, and 4 penalties and 3 conversions from Dixon, Linlithgow at last realised their potential after a couple of poor performances.  As a result, they go through to play Hawick YM, away, in the semi-final on Saturday 9th April.  Lasswade will meet the winners in the final at Murrayfield the week after.

U15s through to Edinburgh Plate final
This was not the commanding performance that the scoreline might have otherwise suggested, but it takes the very good u15 side through to the Edinburgh Plate final next Sunday at Meggetland.  Hawick Albion, with only 14 players, held the Reds to a 20-14 half-time lead, but were blown away in the second half with a further five tries from the home team.

Reds 2s Also Back to Winning Ways
The young guns of the 2s got back to winning ways on Saturday with a good away win over Livingston. Big thanks to Jon Blundell for stepping in at short notice to referee the match.

Academy Hold Discipline in Tough Match
Following a fine away win the previous week at Maybole, the school team were again on the road, albeit a bit closer to home.  Against a very physical team, they maintained their discipline and, although beaten, came away with great credit.

Results (26/27 March)

Linlithgow 38 - 24 Kilmarnock
► Report and photos

Livingston 2nd XV 17 - 34  Linlithgow2nd XV
► report to follow

Linlithgow u15 53 - 21 Hawick Albion u15
► Scoop Wilson's match report

Trinity Academy 24 - 7  Linlithgow Academy
► Match report and photos

s3/s4 Match:
Linlithgow Academy  5 - 5  Trinity Academy

Official End to School Season

Although Saturday 26th March represented the final set of school fixtures, with the S2 team away on tour in North Wales, there are still a few one-off matches to play over the coming weeks.  A big thank-you to all coaches and helpers, referees, Youth Support Group members and others who have helped over the course of this two-part season.  Let's hope for better weather next winter!

Next season, Kenny Ewing will take on the role of school match and fixtures secretary.  Kenny has already shown his mettle as Midi Coordinator and has two years' experience of Brewin Dolphin coordination for the current u16s. 

Main Stories (19/20 March)

Stunning Display by Reds u16s in final
In a cracking Edinburgh u16 Bowl final played at Mains Park on Sunday 20th March, Linlithgow and Musselburgh served up some highly skillfull and committed rugby.  The winning score of 42-0 belies the competitive nature of the match, but it does underline the stunning display by the young Reds. 

Reds Stutter at Home Against Livvy
Having taken an early lead against Livingston on Saturday 19th March, the Reds let it slip to a solid visiting side.

Youth Dinner and Awards
Edinburgh Rugby's Fraser Brown made a welcome return to Mains Park, a ground he visited several times as a Biggar Mini, to present the awards at this season's Youth Dinner held on Wednesday 23rd March.  Graham Black was again on hand to capture the occasion.

► Youth dinner awards and photos

Results (19/20 March)

Linlithgow 13 - 22 Livingston
► Photos courtesy of Angus Laing

Linlithgow 2nd XV 8 - 54 Watsonian 3rd XV

Carrick Acad 12 - 24 Linlithgow Academy
► Match report and photos

Linlithgow s3  31 - 0 Stewarts Melville s3B
► Match report from Scoop Wilson

Linlithgow u16  42 - 0  Musselburgh u16
(Edinburgh u16 Bowl final)
► Match report and photos

Click here for news from P3s and Minis

14 Man Reds Lose the Way in Tousy Match

Linlithgow  19 - 32  Murrayfield Wanderers
Without their captain Les, bleeding from a bad head wound and down to 14 men after a red card, the Reds lost their way on Saturday 5th March against a fired-up Murrayfield Wanderers side.

► Photos

► Match report

Young Guns Blast Porty

Linlithgow 2nd XV  78 - 0  Portobello 2nd XV
This was an excellent all-round display by a young 2nd XV side, which featured two hat-tricks - one from Chunk, the other from the Beast.  Captain John Brown was well pleased with his team's performance.

► Click here for photos

► Match report (scroll down page)

S3s Claim Another Big Scalp

Linlithgow Academy S3  22
North Berwick HS S3      12
Scoop Wilson was again on hand to pen a report from another fine S3 performance, as Linlithgow ran out winners against North Berwick High School at Mains Park on Saturday 5th March.

► Read Scoop's match report

U16s Lose Out by a Point
in Brewin Dolphin Plate Quarter-Final

Gordon Schools u16             20
Linlithgow Academy u16     19 

North Berwick HS Too Strong

North Berwick HS  34 - 5 Linlithgow Academy
Linlithgow Academy came up against a very strong North Berwick HS side on Saturday.

► View report and photos

U16s Through to
Edinburgh Bowl Final

Dominant Display at Haddington

Haddington u16  19 - 88  Linlithgow
The young Reds made up for their midweek disappointment in the Brewin Dolphin Plate QF with a resounding 88-19 away win at Haddington in the Edinburgh Bowl semi-final.  This takes them through to the Bowl final where they will play Musselburgh on 20th March - venue tbc.

U15 Update

This coming Sunday (13th March), the U15s play their final league match against Murrayfield Wanderers at home.

U15s Show the Way with 3 Wins!

It might have been a disappointing weekend for the Reds three senior teams, but the U15s made up for the three senior losses with three wins of their own! 

If you want to find out how they secured three wins over the course of two days then read Scoop Wilson's match reports!

Saturday
Merchiston Castle School S3  7
Linlithgow Academy S3        25

Sunday
Linlithgow U15  25 - 14  Currie U15

► Match reports

Reds Get Stuck in the Mud!
Langholm  21 - 9  Linlithgow
A last minute try from Langholm denied the Reds a losing bonus point in the mud at Milntown.  After the previous week's strong showing, the Reds were off the pace and made too many errors in a match that got away from them.

► Senior match reports

Other results from Saturday 26th February

Stewarts Melville 3rd XV  27
Linlithgow 2nd XV          22

Linlithgow 3rd XV   7 
Watsonian 4th XV  31
► Match photos

Well Done Ken!
We reported a few weeks ago that, following our nomination, Ken Richardson had been short-listed for an award in West Lothian’s Celebrating Sport Awards.  We are delighted to announce that, last Friday evening, his wife Moyra, Gavin Brown and Gordon Dixon were there to see him receive his Award.

► Read more

School Seniors Lose out in Free-Flowing Match

Linlithgow Academy 1st XV  13
Merchiston Castle 2nd XV   27

Another good performance, but another one that slipped through the net as Merchiston Castle School visited Mains Park on Saturday 26th February.

You can view match photos and read Graham Black's short report by clicking on the link below.

► Match report and photos

The poise, the balance, the skill - the photo opposite shows them all, but do I mean stand-off Andrew Wood or the referee John Petrie? 

What do you think? 

Answers on a postcard please to LRFC.

Powerful Performance Not Enough to Defeat Resolute Lasswade

Steven Dobie scores the Reds 3rd try from a superb rolling maul

Lasswade  30 - 19  Linlithgow
This was probably the best performance of the season from the Reds, when they visited league leaders Lasswade.  The home team are sitting pretty atop National League 1 and showed during the match what 15 wins does for your confidence.  The Reds, though, strung together a number of powerful phases of play, scoring three good tries - from Matt Dixon, Euan Richardson and Steven Dobie - and coming very close on a couple of other occasions. 

► Click here for match photos

► Match Reports for all senior games

Cracking Match for the Spectators
This was a match of seven cracking tries, some superb pieces of individual skill and a lot of commitment from both sides.  Lasswade were rocked when Linlithgow took the lead with their second try of the first half, but once they got ahead for good they were always in the driving seat.  Veteran Gavin Brown, Lasswade no. 8 who stepped in to the stand-off slot after Carl McWilliam was injured, had an excellent match and his line kicking in the second half was a major factor in deciding the outcome.

Weekend Scoreboard
Lasswade  30 - 19  Linlithgow
Linlithgow 2s  0 - 24  Lasswade 2s
Linlithgow 3s  34 - 18  Dalkeith 2s

► Photos from 1st XV match

► Photos from 2nd XV match

► Photos from 3rd XV match

Reds Win Again in Shield:
18 Year Olds Score the Tries

Photo courtesy of Helensburgh RFC

Helensburgh  6 -  23  Linlithgow
The Reds recorded a second successive away win in the Shield, when they beat Helensburgh in Round 2 on Saturday 12th February.  Both of the Reds tries on Saturday came from 18 year olds - Dougie Robb and Ally Wood.  With another 18 year old, Matthew Archer, scoring in last week's win at Livingston, it's been some season for the four regular 18 year olds in the Reds' pack.  Linlithgow's other points were scored by Matt Dixon - two conversions and three penalties.

This takes the Reds through to the Quarter-Finals, but with so many Round 1 and Round 2 matches still to be played, it may be sometime before it becomes clear who are opponents will be.

Linlithgow Welcome Welsh and English Visitors
(but the French called off!)

A late call-off by the French veterans from Dax, meant that Linlithgow's international weekend lost one of its four nations. 

On the Friday night a Linlithgow Select played biennial Welsh visitors Pontyates under the lights on Lower Mains Park.

The following morning, Kirkby Lonsdale u14s from England were the visitors. Photos to the left.

Linlithgow Select  17 - 7  Pontyates
► Match photos

Linlithgow U14s  10 - 26  Kirkby Lonsdale U14s
► Match photos

SHIELD Win at Livingston

Livingston  0 - 12  Linlithgow
Missing Mark Green (in France) and Graeme McCallum, the Reds travelled to Livingston on Saturday and, on the back of a very good performance, came away with a victory to take them into the 2nd Round of the Shield, where they will travel away to Helensburgh this weekend coming.

► Match report and photos

West Lothian Cup Retained

Reds win in France

AS Minorange  12 - 28  Linlithgow Select
This was a great all-round performance from the visitors against a strong AS Minorange team in Guyancourt on Saturday morning.  The Reds' tries all came from backs, with 2 from Lewis Barnes and one each from Andrew Blythe and Mark Green.  Green's was a typical powerful run from the centre, while the other three tries owed much to pace and verve with Barnes and Blythe serving up a master-class in how to run angles at pace to beat defenders.

Ewan Kelly was on hand to slot three of the conversions, with Donald Bennie slotting the other.

► Photos courtesy of Steph Shepherd

U16s Win Pool in Brewin Dolphin

A tremendous performance on Friday afternoon earned a 17-17 draw for the Linlithgow Academy u16 team against a strong Peebles HS team.  Both teams had won their two other pool matches, so this one went down to the wire!

As tournament organiser Davie Stibbles reported to the SRU: "On Friday the long awaited Peebles v Linlithgow Pool match was played (17-17) and in consequence Linlithgow win Pool 1 on points differential. The Gordon Schools therefore have a 'home tie' in the quarter-final against Linlithgow."

Please note that this match will take place on Wednesday 2nd March, with the bus leaving to travel up to Huntly at 8-30am.

► Match report

Reds Unbeaten Since October!

The Reds had to dig deep on Saturday to come away from East Kilbride with the win, although they were probably a bit better than the 7-6 scoreline would suggest.  East Kilbride away is always a tough match and Saturday's was no exception.  The Reds scored the only try of the match through Gordon White, with Matt Dixon kicking the conversion.

This was the Reds first match since their 20-17 home victory over Ellon on 20th November and the three league wins in a row have considerably improved their league position, moving up to eighth in National 1 with the 13 points gathered in that time.

► Short report and photos

Rugby Returns to Mains Park

At last!  It was 10 weeks ago (Sunday 21st November 2010) that the Reds celebrated their 40th Anniversary with a "leg-ends" veteran rugby tournament.  Since then, no rugby match has been played at Mains Park.  This all changed on Saturday 29th January, when a strong Reds 3rd XV overcame Biggar 3rds by a score of 36-0.

Meanwhile the 2nd XV put in a tremendous performance against Edinburgh Accies u20s in Edinburgh, being pipped 24-17 by what is a very talented group of youngsters.  The match referee was most impressed by the standard of play from both sides and was very complimentary of the Reds.

S1s Play First Match Since October

Three months is a long mid-season break, but that's exactly what the S1s have had to endure as a combination of bad weather and various other factors resulted in a long lay-off.  However they bounced back to action in a cracking match against Lomond School on Saturday 28th January.

Action above and below from Helensburgh

► Photos courtesy of Graham Black

Late Frost Reduces School to Two Matches

The late frost on Friday night resulted in two home matches (s2s and s3s) and one awy match (u16s at Peebles) being cancelled.  However, the school 1st XV, away against Lomond School in Helensburgh, and the S1s at home to Lomond on the school pitch, both managed to get their matches played.

Although both sides were defeated, they both played their parts in exciting and entertaining matches.  In particular, the young s1s showed real commitment and ability in their match, scoring two outstanding tries.

S1 action from Saturday

► Match photos from S1 match

Big Win at Porty for U15s

One of the last Linlithgow teams to get back into action since the 10 week lay-off, the Reds U15s took out their frustrations away at Portobello, rattling up tries in an emphatic 57-7 league win.

Scoop Wilson was on hand to record the action.

► Click here to read his report

Wee Reds - Normal Service Resumed

Linlithgow Minis welcomed Preston Lodge and Falkirk to Mains Park on Sunday on what was a cold but dry day.

► Read Derek Marsh's P5 Match Reports

Fine Away Win for U16s!

The only Linlithgow team that managed a game at the weekend was the U16s who played on Sunday 23rd January.

Playing their first match in nearly two months, the u16s came away from Musselburgh with a fine 17-10 win in a very entertaining and competitive match.

► Read match report

► View u16 league

The u16s are hoping that the weather will relent again next weekend to let them play their Brewin Dolphin Plate match at Peebles High School.

Changes in the Clubhouse

This week the club will finally terminate its SKY TV contract, after failing to secure any concession against steeply rising costs.  However, other facilities will be put in place over the coming week to provide members with access to sport, especially rugby, on TV.

The club will be reviewing other options, following help and support from members.

► Read more

News Update (on field)

Training: 
Youth training (Minis, s1, s2, s3) resumes this Wednesday (19th January).

Rugby: 
It's 'touch and go' for weekend with low overnight temperatures - we will keep you updated on fixtures.

News Update (off field)

Bar Prices Held
► more info

Pick up your international tickets
► more info

Club latest
► click here

Scotland v Wales Tickets

The French veterans' team from Dax have cancelled their visit to Linlithgow.  We now have extra tickets available for the Scotland v Wales match which they were to have used.

► Click here for more information

Rugby Resumes - but only one match is played!

The thaw came too late to bring rugby back to Linlithgow at the weekend and the two senior matches away at Peffermill in Edinburgh were both off, but the school team's match at Meggetland was very much on and provided some excellent rugby despite the long lay-off.

Linlithgow pitches were declared unplayable before Saturday's rain came, as ice still lingered with solid ground underneath and water on top.  However, the situation in Edinburgh was considerably better, with most pitches thawed out and considerably less rain than further west.  As a result, most scheduled matches went ahead.  Unfortunately, though, Peffermill was declared unplayable and so both the 1st XV and 2nd XV matches were called off.

Saturday's rain effectively washed out any chance of Sunday youth rugby.

Brewin Dolphin U18 Plate Match

Boroughmuir HS 16 - 8 Linlithgow Academy

This match, originally scheduled as a home match for Linlithgow, was switched on Friday to Meggetland, as Mains Park and Kettilstoun were unplayable.  Earlier in the season, these two sides met at Mains Park and a draw resulted, so it was no surprise that this turned out to be an equally close contest. 

All three pitches at Meggetland were in good nick, despite the recent weather, and this allowed for a good open match.  Linlithgow, playing with the wind in the first half turned round with an 8-7 lead, courtesy of a Calum Stevenson try and a Gary Ballantyne penalty.  In an even second half, Boroughmuir were able to kick three fairly long range penalties to run out 16-8 winners.

Well done to both teams for an excellent and fair match.

► Click here to view Graham Black's photos

40th Anniversary Memories

Davie Bennie and his team did a fine job in organising the Ruby Dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of the club, in its current form.  Iain Morrison was the host for the evening, with Ian 'Barney' Barnes, as guest speaker, also providing a link back to the 25th anniversary.  Gerry Keating spoke about the 70s, from the club's first match against newly formed Currie RFC.  He was followed at length by Ronnie Hastie who chronicled the Reds during the 80s!  Bobby Bennie then ran through the 90s, before Jon Blundell wrapped up the review looking back on the last 10 years. 

All in all - a real trip down memory lane and, for the 160 attendees, a great chance to renew old aquaintences.

"To the next 40 years"!

300 Club Nets £50,000 Over Years

In 1976, the 200 Club, later extended to the 300 Club, was established.  This year's contribution of £1,500 brought the total contribution to Club funds to over £50,000 - a tremendous achievement! 

Thanks to all who participate in the 300 Club and a special thanks to Gerry Keating, in particular, and all who have helped him over the years.

Next year's top prize will be £900, with this year's prize fund rolling over as the winner was not present on the night to claim the prize.

Training Information

Club training nights are Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 7pm prompt.  New players welcome - contact Gordon Dixon (07763 813871) or just come along to training.

► Information for players

► 1st XV Fixtures for 2010/11

► 2nd XV and 3rd XV Fixtures

School training for the school senior squad (U16, U17, U18) is also on Tuesday and Thursday nights, while S1, S2 and S3 training takes place on Wednesday nights.  Any new players most welcome - please contact Jon Blundell (07738 180200) or just come along to training!

Minis training is on Wednesday nights at 6-30pm.

2011 Revised Fixture List for Reds

Here is the revised fixture list for the Reds, taking account of all matches rescheduled from 2010 and 2011 postponements:

5th February    AWAY  Livingston (SHIELD) 
12th February  HOME  Greenock W (NL1) *
19th February  AWAY  Lasswade (NL1)
26th February  AWAY  Langholm (NL1) *
5th March        HOME  Murrayfield W (NL1)
12th March      AWAY  Garnock (NL1)
19th March      HOME  Livingston (NL1)
26th March      HOME  RHC Cougars (NL1)
2nd April         AWAY  Irvine (NL1)
9th  April         AWAY  Edinburgh Uni (NL1)

* SHIELD will take priority if required

► National 1 league table

Social Dates 2011

Friday 18th March
40th Anniversary Quiz

Wednesday 23rd March
Youth Dinner

Friday 22nd April
Club dinner

14th and 15th May
40th Anniversary Rugby Festival

Friday 20th May
Club AGM

Linlithgow
Rugby Club Choir

Official photographer of the Linlithgow Reds
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