Sport is full of highs and lows and this season with GHK has been no exception. Lows are the inescapable fact that we did not get promoted after leading the league for most of the season. A bad run of losses gave our close rivals Irvine and East Kilbride the opportunity to go past us. Results were mainly close indeed two crucial games were lost by one try. Small margins can make a huge difference. We played 18 and won 12 coming third in the league. Losing hurt. In particular coming second last season there was a feeling that this would be our year . An immense amount of work has been put in this season by the players on and off the pitch and they cannot be faulted for effort and commitment. However sport is about winning and lessons have been learnt for next year. The 2 nd xv played 13 and won 5 . As the winter break hit and numbers decreased it was hard to put a team out and full credit to Barrie Grey, Charlie Dunlop and Mike Gribben for managing this in a league where three teams dropped out as they could not raise a team.
There were however many highs. The coming through of a nucleus of young talented players gives the coaching team real hope for next season. The dedication of a group of players who have been in the gym now for months at 7am shows the hunger to do better next year. The continued work behind the scenes of our support team like Gill Watt , our Physio, Jake Love our Team Manager, Eric Hugh running touch, Dave McNair filming games and Fiona Chalmers feeding the players post match . A special thanks to Jake who is stepping down this year from his post as Team Manager after many years of supporting the team. Thanks also to the GHK committee who put in time and effort to drive the club forward in difficult financial times to support the rugby club that they all love.
The coaches who put in the hours in all weathers and who had to deal with a 9 week gap when no pitches were available mid season. All the preceding points are highs and positives. To add to that high we are delighted to announce the revamping of the coaching structure with Cammy Little joining Liam as joint head coach. They will be assisted by Drew Waddell and Scott Inglis while John Hodgkinson and Charlie Dunlop will concentrate on one to one work with players raising individual skill levels and Mike Gribben will join Charlie in working with the twos. Our thanks to Henry Gray who leaves the coaching team this year after a huge amount of work over the last few years coaching.
Our pitches will be improved for next year with work having already taken place on pitch three and the 1st xv pitch being relaid over the summer. Our thanks to Barrie Gray, Keith Hodgson and Davie Miller who have worked hard on this and are planning to significantly improve our playing facilities. We are also looking at using astro pitches at Scotsoun or Lochinch where we can play games/ take contact even when the weather is bad.
Looking ahead preseason will commence in July at Balgray and we thank Kelvinside academy for the use of their ground. A full list of preseason and league fixtures will be placed on the website.


At our annual awards Dinner held jointly with the GHK Hockey Ladies section the following awards were made.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Colin Neilson

GHKRFC 1ST XV
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Sewell

GHKRFC 1ST XV
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Hurn

GHKRFC 2ND XV
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Callum Pender

GHKRFC
CLUB MAN OF THE YEAR
Charlie Dunlop

A rugby club is more than 15 players on a pitch. Its culture comes from supporters, parents, players and coaches. GHK aspire to being a rugby club on and off the pitch and ask for your support in achieving this in any way you can manage.
This article was posted on 10-Jun-2014, 22:22 by Scott Inglis.

Click here to return to the previous page

This article was posted on 14-Jun-2014, 20:53 by Hugh Barrow.