Bill Macdonald coached Hawks alongside the likes of Iain Russell and Shade Munro 1997-2000
He had previously coached at Glasgow Accies

Neil DRYSDALE writes in the Herald

Club scene: Helensburgh celebrate their 50th with hope of many happy returns

On the contrary, survival and growth are dependent on long-term vision, tenacity, commitment to forging partnerships with schools and local authorities and, in many cases, making precious little go a long way.

Helensburgh's officials recently celebrated their club's 50th birthday with a slap-up dinner, which attracted more than 400 guests from across the globe. Yet Jon Simmons, the club's president, and coach, Bill MacDonald, know only too well that it doesn't mean they can rely on these same people turning up to watch every weekend.

Fortunately, for the Ardencaple-based club, who compete in the top tier of the RBS West League, the duo have rugby ingrained in their psyches and have become accustomed to thriving on limited rations and scant resources.

It was not so long ago that MacDonald was involved with Glasgow Hawks, helping to steer them to Scottish Cup glory at Murrayfield and now, since taking over at Helensburgh, he has guided his new side to unprecedented glory - in the Bowl competition - at Scotland's national stadium. He is also continuing to nurture his small squad towards a battle for promotion.

"We are punching massively above our weight because we are a completely amateur side, but there are a lot of people who are working hard here and we have started the new campaign pretty well," said MacDonald, whose side has picked up 11 points from their opening three fixtures, including bonus-point wins over East Kilbride and Annan.

"The plan is to get the whole community involved and create a sports hub around the club, combining cricket, hockey and tennis, and there seems to be a decent amount of enthusiasm for that idea. It's going to be a dogfight as the season moves on, but the way things are going, we would hope to have a chance of challenging in the top half of the table."

Simmons knows that Helensburgh cannot splash the cash on foreign imports, even if there are afternoons where such a player would be invaluable. He also appreciates that his club has to generate its own momentum and that losing teenage talent to the city universities and elsewhere is inevitable. But, as he added, befitting a man with a grand design, that does not mean they should always be resigned to languishing among the little leaguers.

"We have relaunched the Ardencaple Club, which basically asks supporters to buy Helensburgh the equivalent of a pint of beer a month," he said. "We do sometimes think that, if we had a big prop from South Africa or a hulking lock from New Zealand, it might help our cause but we have made a commitment to developing our own players and it is the only sensible way to move forward for a club in our position.

"We face Glasgow Accies next weekend and that promises to be a tough contest but, if we can keep the squad we have together, we are confident we can do well. The anniversary has sparked a lot of memories and got people talking about how we first came into being [in 1963]. But, while it was terrific to see so many former players at the dinner [in the Lomond School gym], we are all aware we have to concentrate on the future."

As Simmons concluded, he might not be around when Helenburgh celebrate their next half-century. But he is doing his utmost to ensure that his beloved club will stay afloat, whatever the obstacles.

This article was originally posted on 17-Sep-2013, 06:30 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 17-Sep-2013, 06:32.