The Rise of Leith Colts, 1970-71

Back row - Colin Middleton, Alex Wood, Graham Mould, Dougie Wood, Winton Fairbairn, Keith Willox.
Middle - Martin Stoggell, James Davis, Billy Lothian, Crawford McIntyre, Scott Fairbairn, Allan Sproul (coach).
Front - Frank Martin, Richard Gordon, Peter Welsh, captain, John Preston, David Hunter.

I’m proud to have been part of the first-ever Leith Accies Colts team back in season 1970-71.

Sensing that there would be a good influx, both in terms of numbers and - dare I say quality - from a better-then-average school 1st XV progressives on the club committee, including Corny Waugh, organised a fixture list that would include border age-group opponents Jed Thistle, Selkirk Youth Club and Langholm as well as lower order senior sides.

The idea was that familiarity and team-work would help us overcome the step up and go on to represent the full club.

First, though, indulge me while I go back to the genesis of this Colts side which was a school team that could hold its own and better with the likes of Boroughmuir High, Trinity Academy, Dunfermline High and Kirkcaldy High.

Season ‘1968-69 saw PE teacher Colin Maclean lay the ground work before he departed for a job at Craigmount High leaving the way clear for rugby visionary, Allan Sproul, soon to be well known to the FP club to come on to the staff.

Under Allan’s guidance training was stepped up and we developed an extensive repertoire of moves including one suspiciously like the disguised penalty move that saw Finn Russell set up a try for Huw Jones with a crossfield kick as Scotland humbled the Wallabies 53-24.

Allan’s mantras were based on the All Blacks of the day and frequently he would talk of legends such as Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Waka Nathan and Mac Herewini as role models for us.

On leaving school we were broken in with pre-season training which included bus trips to Aberlady where we decanted, ran across Luffness golf course and along Gullane beach, then scaled a sand-dune known as “murder hill” once Glasgow Rangers, under manager Jock Wallace, decided to follow the same regime.

The opening matches arrived and to provide a steadying influence the likes of prop Jimmy Ballantyne and back Les Scott were assigned to not just lift the average age against senior clubs but ensure we were kept streetwise.

Truth to tell many of those games are now a blur but one which stands out was the 28-0 away win over Jed Thistle who, admittedly, were shorn that day due to a representative call of one Roy Laidlaw.

If that was the highlight then a nadir occurred in the Borders a week or so before one of the biggest tragedies in Scottish sport.

I refer to the Ibrox disaster in which a collapsed stairway claimed the lives of 66 football supporters including one of our colts, Bobby Cairns.

Bobby was a Rangers fan and following our game at Langholm he declared in the dressing room he would not be available for our subsequent match as he was committed to going to Ibrox that fateful day. He never returned.

As for the rest of our Colts nobody soared higher than the captain, Peter Welsh, who, in 1979, toured with Edinburgh and debuted for the district in a 19-3 win over Roussillon in a back row that included British Lions Derek White and Jim Calder.

Others from that Colts including Charlie Galloway, Keith Willox, Winton Fairbairn and Crawford McIntyre continued to give the club particularly sterling service.

In Crawford’s case it was a close run thing, though, as during the build-up to a school game he had spotted me applying Vaseline to my, eyebrows, ears and private parts in the time honoured fashion to avoid friction burns.

Crawford hadn’t encountered this before and after I explained what I was doing I invited him to dig into my kit bag and similarly apply.

We got to him not a moment too soon before he started rubbing Deep Heat linament into to his lower orders!

Me? An opportunity to translate from general reporting to sports reporting arose and I quickly realised that this could lead into rugby journalism allowing me to reach parts I’d never, ever, aspire to either as a too slow No 8 or a too weak prop.

But not before contriving to play for each of the club’s then FIVE XV’s in a single season although the most vivid memory of life in a Leith jersey came on a midweek afternoon at the St Andrews University seven-a-sides when we were drawn to face a formidable President XV’s spearheaded by one Andy Irvine.

Sadly, we lost. But not before I managed to wrong foot these luminaries by selling a dummy which alas only served to leave a clear pathway to the President’s XV try-line some 70 yards upfield.

Horror of horrors what to do next? Well, of course, I did what any self respecting prop who found himself playing sevens would do. I kicked for touch…..

END

Many thanks to Bill for providing this recollection. For more from the archives, check out this photo album.

You can read more about the work being undertaken by Leith Rugby Youth Development in driving towards the next generation of rugby players at Leith, here.

We'd love to hear your memories of any period during Leith's history - comment below, or send your recollections (and photos!) to leithrfc@gmail.com, and we'll feature them soon.