Fresh lease of life at West of Scotland for Scottish veteran Gordon Bulloch
At 33, Gordon Bulloch might seem a little old to be adding a new chapter to what has already been a long and varied rugby life, but the former Scotland hooker and captain will do just that when he leads West of Scotland out against Glasgow Hawks at Burnbrae.

By Alasdair Reid

The match will mark his side's return to the top flight of Scottish club rugby after an absence of eight years and it is a fitting fixture to honour West's restoration to Premier Division One, as it was the emergence of the Hawks in the late Nineties that probably did more than anything to weaken the Milngavie club's power base in the first place.

The pre-eminent side in Glasgow for many years, West failed to appreciate that their status was under threat when the Hawks first came into existence � through the amalgamation of the first teams of Glasgow Accies and Glasgow High-Kelvinside � in 1997. As a result of that complacency, the most ambitious players in the city started heading for the Hawks' Anniesland home and West went into sharp decline.

If the arrival of Bulloch two seasons ago � only 14 months after he had made an appearance as a substitute for the British Lions against the All Blacks in Auckland � was one step on the road back to the top for the club, another was the decision of John Beattie, the former Scotland and Lions No 8, to accept an invitation to coach the side. Bulloch and Beattie have engineered a renaissance at Burnbrae, dragging the club back from the depths of Division Three with back-to-back promotions.

This season may be an exercise in survival, but the presence of Bulloch and such other former professionals as Guy Perrett and Rory Kerr should give them a core of hard-nosed experience to help them in that aim. Indeed, Kerr could be as much an emblem of the club as Bulloch, for it was with the Hawks that he first launched the career that saw him make three appearances for Scotland.

West's former professionals might have the company of some old friends from the paid ranks at various times this season following the agreement that will allow players from Edinburgh and Glasgow to turn out for club sides when not required by their employers. West's quota of pros includes Andy Henderson, Johnnie Beattie and Fergus Thompson, but club officials have also expressed a determination to stay loyal to the players who formed the core of their promotion-winning sides, so there have been no significant recruits from elsewhere.

That pattern has been maintained at other Premiership sides, with only a handful of players making moves between clubs during the close season.

Boroughmuir, who won last season's title, are favourites to repeat that success, but they may face stiffer tests this time. Hawick and Melrose, for instance, are both rumoured to have a clutch of promising young players on the threshold of breakthroughs into the senior game.

This article was posted on 30-Aug-2008, 07:34 by Hugh Barrow.