THE HERALD REPORTS

Falkirk aiming for place at club rugby’s top table

Neil Drysdale

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Published on 12 Oct 2009
Life is sweet on the Sunnyside of the street for Falkirk RFC at the moment.

Even as the long-awaited refurbishment of their ground commences with the creation of two new pitches, a 200-seat stand and floodlit training facilities, the Premier 3 pacesetters are already pursuing promotion with the single-minded resolve which has characterised their meteoric rise up the Scottish ladder in the last decade.

It’s there in the beetle-browed ambition of their chairman, Alex McQuade, who has been campaigning for the redevelopment of Sunnyside for heaven knows how long; it’s there in the redoubtable philosophy of the head coach, Bob Wyllie, who used to terrorise rival back rows during his career at Stirling County and continues to strike you as a fellow it would be unwise to cross; and it’s there in the endless industry shown by Dave Millard, who recently joined the Camelon-based band of brothers, following stints with the Glasgow pro team, Aberdeen GSFP and a spell at the Te Aroha Cobras club in New Zealand.

Thus far, Falkirk boast a 100% record from seven fixtures, and have amassed 275 points, while conceding just 49, in the prelude to this weekend’s away tussle against Hamilton. Yet for Wyllie, there is no mention of his team winning the championship, nor assumption that their fortunes will continue to run smoothly as autumnal murk turns to winter chill. Instead, his approach is that if his charges are to progress towards their goal of the Premiership’s top tier, the squad will have to appreciate they are no longer involved in social rugby.

“When I arrived here four years ago, I was conscious it was a National League club and if I had attempted to change the culture immediately, it might have worked against me,” says Wyllie, with a reference to the old-fashioned “play-hard, drink-hard” ethos which used to permeate the Scottish grassroots.

When you see him shaking with nerves before kick-off, it proves how much people care about club rugby
“Since then, we’ve tried to make players more accountable for their actions and our guys have knuckled down to the fact that they have to concentrate on rugby every single day, whether it’s building up their fitness, improving their passing skills, or pumping weights in the gym.

“Their attitude has been fantastic and I think it started from the time when we were playing Jed-Forest in the cup and winning after 50 minutes, only to run out of steam at the end. We looked at ourselves after the match and realised we could be gallant losers and head to the bar or sit down and decide what we needed to do to get better. And we haven’t really looked back ever since.”

That pragmatism hasn’t blunted Falkirk’s down-to-earth camaraderie, nor transformed them into a bunch of mineral water-sipping automatons. On the contrary, they remain as refreshingly candid as ever – McQuade admits “for a long time, our facilities let us down”, a statement with which it would be impossible to demur – and although they have built up a four-point lead over Hillhead-Jordanhill and a 10-point gap over third-placed Howe of Fife, the message is simple from Wyllie: take nothing for granted, keep striving for self-improvement, and turn up for every training session – or else.

“I was aware last season that the average age of the side was pretty high – and I include myself in that – but we have brought in some youngsters, we have a good blend of new talent and old heads and we have scores of kids coming along to the mini and midi sections, so there is no reason why Falkirk can’t aim high,” says Wyllie. When Dave [Millard] contacted us and asked whether we were interested in his services, I thought he would do a good job, but he has been better than that, he has been terrific.

“This club has rekindled his love affair with rugby and when you see him shaking with nerves before the kick-off, 100% determined to do his utmost, week in, week out, it proves how much people care about the club game in this country.”

As a former County stalwart, Wyllie maintains his ties with his ex-Bridgehaugh confreres and is honest enough to confess his hope that Falkirk and Stirling don’t end up in the same division next year.

“I would love it if we were up against Hawick, Kelso and Gala 12 months from now, but I want to see the County lads gaining promotion this winter,” he said. “I’m not sure how I would cope if we came up against Stirling, given the links between us.”

It isn’t an immediate problem. But one suspects that, if it happens, this Wyllie campaigner will do what a man has got to do.

This article was originally posted on 13-Oct-2009, 07:20 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 13-Oct-2009, 07:26.