THE HERALD REVEALS

Fossils are fuelled by a burning desireKEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer April 16 2008
Buried for some 30 years, the Forth Valley Fossils have been unearthed and will be on public display in Grangemouth on Saturday.

The match for the quaintly named rugby outfit, against their fellow veterans Aberdeen Strollers, will double as the start of a summer long selection process for the Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival that is taking place in Edinburgh in September.

Some 60 players have already indicated an interest in being involved, including Malky Norval, the former Scotland A internationalist, John Gibson, his team-mate in the Stirling County side that took the national title out of the south east for the first time in 1995, and Stuart Simmers, one-time Glasgow internationalist.

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"This has been driven by a demand from retired' players from clubs across the whole of Forth Valley who would like to play the occasional game of rugby with no strings or pressure to play regularly," said Donnie McNicol, secretary and treasurer of the Fossils. "As a result, the Forth Valley Fossils have been re-established and are joining the Scottish Rugby Union as a stand-alone club, which will ensure that no pressure will be exerted on players to play by other clubs."

The team was the 100th to enter the Golden Oldies Festival, at which stage the Strollers were the only other Scottish team, whereas an astonishing 38 had entered from Australia, 19 from New Zealand and 18 from the US.

The spread of countries involved is remarkable and includes Argentina, Bahamas, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland.

"When I spoke about entering the team with Scott Hastings, who is one of the Scottish organisers, I referred to the tournament' and he pointed out that it should properly be described as a festival. In which case I told him we want to win the festival," laughed McNicol.

The reality is that target may be pretty difficult to achieve, since several former All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks are expected to take part.

McNicol added: "What an opportunity, if there are some former international players involved, to pit ourselves against them in our own country."

That said, the real purpose behind getting the Fossils and similar teams together - a number of other Scottish sides have now signed up, including Edinburgh Elephants, Kirkcaldy Zingari and the Baggie Pipers, who are believed to have recruited the former Scotland captain, Rob Wainwright, and his fellow international Cammy Glasgow - is to reinstil some of rugby's traditional values that many feel have been neglected since the game went open.

"Our aim is unashamedly mercenary and that is to raise money for charity while providing an avenue for former players to rediscover the fun, friendship and fraternity of rugby," explained McNicol.

For those who like the idea but have fears about how the body may stand up, rules for the festival, as well as for other matches the Fossils intend to play, are that players be over 35 with a team of 15, squad of 25 and rolling substitutions.

They do not intend to play any more than four matches per year, but realise that getting some of the dafter veterans involved in playing again could be good news for local clubs that are trying to put out third and fourth XVs.

Saturday's match kicks off at 3pm with everyone welcome, whether potential players or otherwise.

This article was posted on 16-Apr-2008, 07:18 by Hugh Barrow.