A chapter closes and another opens for Rory McKay

This week sees Rory McKay take his leave of Glasgow Hawks to take up a new challenge in a coaching position with Perthshire Rugby Club
Rory has travelled a long journey with Hawks having been associated with the Club since it opened for business in the summer of 1997
The arrival of Hawks on the Glasgow scene broke the mould and with it arrived a young player from the North East fresh out of Robert Gordons College

That first year it was heady stuff with Hawks winning a League and Cup double and Rory along with the likes of Ricky Munday started to develop as players in the shadow of the likes of Tommy Hayes, Glenn Metcalfe and our president Chas Afaukwah

In the succeeding seasons Rory steadily developed as a player and who better than his team mate at the time Ricky Munday to take up the story

" A few moments stick out:
- Cup semi-final against Gala at Netherdale in 1999/2000 - I remember Bambi and myself were the younger squad members and clearly remember the feeling at full-time after beating Gala by 50-odd points - when we realised we were heading to Murrayfield. We were both totally overcome with emotion and had tears streaming down our faces. Awesome feeling.
- Cup semi-final against Heriots at Old Anniesland in 2001/2 - Bambi scoring a fantastic support try that ran almost the length of the field. I'd gone off with a medial ligament injury early on and was watching from sidelines (missed the final that year). I think Leights was also heavily involved in that try but can't remember exact details.
- Not as significant but I do recall a game against Striling at Bridgehaugh back in the day against a big, tough Stirling pack where Bambi excelled with his link and support play from the back row and even physically outmatched the much bigger Stirling forwards. His ability to link with back row and backline and keep ball alive in contact was probably about as good as any Hawks backrow that I played with.

It was always a pleasure to play with Rory because of his skillset - great hands, good pace, and never a backwards step. Off the pitch, always a gentlemen and genuinely never heard him say a bad word about anyone."

In 2002 Rory took his leave of Hawks and signed a professional contract with Warriors .
This chapter in Rory's career took him to many clubs and many places
Including Manly RFC (Aus), Aberdeen Grammar , Veneziamestre RFC (Italy), Waterloo FC (Eng), and Bedford RFC (Eng)

During this period Rory was badly affected by the tragic death of his friend and fellow Hawk Craig Hodgkinson in November 2006 and in the spring of 2007 he took part in the Memorial Match against the Royal Navy at Old Anniesland

Rory rejoined Hawks in 2009 from Bedford Blues and he cites one of most satisfying moments was to win the National League title in 2013 his first major title in 16 years of senior rugby

At representative level Rory has played for Scotland Sevens ,Scottish Students and was also capped for The Scotland Club XV

It is now time for Rory to take his leave of Old Anniesland so everybody at Hawks wishes him every success with his new challenge of steering Perthshire up the leagues
It was great to see on Saturday night Rory in the Clubhouse to welcome back the Cup Final team
On a personal level we wish Rory , Nina ,Kalle and Elsa very best of luck
You will always be welcome at Anniesland

This article was posted on 20-Apr-2014, 07:53 by Hugh Barrow.