The club was formed at a time of change in Galashiels, and the Borders in general, with the increasingly industrial textile industry. Cricket was played by the new influx of workers (particularly Yorkshire) and a winter alternate was needed, so a 'Football club' was formed in 1876. Although named a 'football' club they only ever played rugby union football and never association football. Rugby Union Football is now generally referred to as rugby, but at the time it was still commonly regarded as a code of football, as it technically still is.[1]
In 1883, the club took part in the first ever Sevens tournament in Melrose and competed in the final with the hosts. Within a year they (and many other Border clubs) had started their own Sevens, also known as 'Sports'. In 1994, these separate tournaments were organized into the Borders Sevens Circuit league structure, the winners are crowned as the "Kings of the Sevens". Gala has been 'the Kings' on two occasions, in 2004 and the first ever winners in 1994.[1]
In 1912 the club moved from Mossilee to a new ground at Netherdale, the new pavilion and grandstand built at a cost of 1150. 1931–32 saw Gala's first and only success in the Scottish Unofficial Championship under the Captaincy of Jimmy Ferguson.
From 1979, with Scottish internationalists Derek White and Peter Dods in the team, Gala won the Division 1 title three years in a row.
1995–present
In 1995, Gala was one of eight teams to play in the new Scottish Premier League. In 1999, inspired by a young Chris Patterson at Stand-off, Gala won a treble of medals, the Division 2 title, the Scottish Cup, and Melrose Sevens. The lowest point in modern history came in 2007, when Gala was relegated to Division 3 for the first time in its history. Worse was the fact that it was only points difference of 2 over the whole season. This gave the club the chance to clear out the dead wood and the team bounced back into Division 2 at the first time of asking.
The 2010–11 season saw promotion back into the top flight, its first full season back. 2011–12, saw a 3rd-place finish and the Scottish cup for the second time. Gala finished 2012–13 as both Premier Division and Scottish cup runners-up. 2013–14 saw Gala finish runners-up in the Premiership again. This was a painful result as they were leading for much of the season only to lose out on the final match of the season to local rivals Melrose. They also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish cup and won the Border League.[2]
In February 2017 the club launched a rugby academy, despite the realisation that they would be relegated from the premiership at the end of the season.[3]
^"The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search".
Sources
Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ISBN1-86200-013-1)
Godwin, Terry Complete Who's Who of International Rugby (Cassell, 1987, ISBN0-7137-1838-2)
Jones, J.R. Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football (Robert Hale, London, 1976 ISBN0-7091-5394-5)
January 07, 2023
gala, gala, rugby, football, club, rugby, union, team, based, galashiels, scottish, borders, founded, 1875, plays, home, games, netherdale, team, currently, competes, scottish, national, league, division, second, tier, scottish, club, rugby, border, league, ol. Gala Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders Founded in 1875 it plays its home games at Netherdale The team currently competes in Scottish National League Division One the second tier of Scottish club rugby and the Border League the oldest established rugby union league in the world Gala RugbyFull nameGala Rugby Football ClubUnionScottish Rugby UnionNickname s The MaroonsFounded1875 148 years ago 1875 Ground s Netherdale Capacity 4 000 PresidentIan DalgleishDirector of RugbyBill NobleCoach es Fraser Thomson Euan DodsCaptain s Rex JeffreyTop scorerTBCLeague s Scottish National League Division One2021 22Scottish National League Division One 2nd of 12Team kitChange kitOfficial websitewww wbr galarfc wbr com Contents 1 Early history 2 1995 present 3 Honours 4 Notable players 4 1 British and Irish Lions 4 2 Scotland internationalists 4 3 Notable non Scottish players 4 4 South players 4 5 Notable also outside rugby 5 See also 6 External links 7 ReferencesEarly history EditThe club was formed at a time of change in Galashiels and the Borders in general with the increasingly industrial textile industry Cricket was played by the new influx of workers particularly Yorkshire and a winter alternate was needed so a Football club was formed in 1876 Although named a football club they only ever played rugby union football and never association football Rugby Union Football is now generally referred to as rugby but at the time it was still commonly regarded as a code of football as it technically still is 1 In 1883 the club took part in the first ever Sevens tournament in Melrose and competed in the final with the hosts Within a year they and many other Border clubs had started their own Sevens also known as Sports In 1994 these separate tournaments were organized into the Borders Sevens Circuit league structure the winners are crowned as the Kings of the Sevens Gala has been the Kings on two occasions in 2004 and the first ever winners in 1994 1 In 1912 the club moved from Mossilee to a new ground at Netherdale the new pavilion and grandstand built at a cost of 1150 1931 32 saw Gala s first and only success in the Scottish Unofficial Championship under the Captaincy of Jimmy Ferguson From 1979 with Scottish internationalists Derek White and Peter Dods in the team Gala won the Division 1 title three years in a row 1995 present EditIn 1995 Gala was one of eight teams to play in the new Scottish Premier League In 1999 inspired by a young Chris Patterson at Stand off Gala won a treble of medals the Division 2 title the Scottish Cup and Melrose Sevens The lowest point in modern history came in 2007 when Gala was relegated to Division 3 for the first time in its history Worse was the fact that it was only points difference of 2 over the whole season This gave the club the chance to clear out the dead wood and the team bounced back into Division 2 at the first time of asking The 2010 11 season saw promotion back into the top flight its first full season back 2011 12 saw a 3rd place finish and the Scottish cup for the second time Gala finished 2012 13 as both Premier Division and Scottish cup runners up 2013 14 saw Gala finish runners up in the Premiership again This was a painful result as they were leading for much of the season only to lose out on the final match of the season to local rivals Melrose They also reached the semi finals of the Scottish cup and won the Border League 2 In February 2017 the club launched a rugby academy despite the realisation that they would be relegated from the premiership at the end of the season 3 Honours EditScottish Premiership Champions 3 1979 80 1980 81 1982 83 Runners up 2 2012 13 2013 14 Scottish League Championship second tier Champions 2 1998 99 2003 04 Scottish League Championship third tier Champions 1 2007 08 Scottish Cup Winners 2 1998 99 2011 12 Gala Sevens Champions 27 1884 1887 1888 1890 1891 1907 1908 1913 1914 1920 1922 1929 1930 1934 1954 1963 1969 1970 1971 1972 1977 1982 1993 1994 1995 2013 2015 Langholm Sevens Champions 10 1908 1910 1924 1964 1967 1969 1970 1972 1993 1998 Melrose Sevens Champions 15 1884 1890 1891 1903 1932 1937 1959 1964 1970 1971 1972 1977 1981 1994 1999 Hawick Sevens Champions 16 1891 1893 1901 1907 1919 1923 1931 1940 1949 1956 1967 1972 1982 1995 1996 2017 Berwick Sevens Champions 3 2004 2014 2015 Peebles Sevens Champions 5 1924 1954 1957 1961 2015 Kelso Sevens Champions 15 1920 1922 1924 1931 1934 1938 1956 1961 1964 1970 1971 1972 1975 1976 2003 Earlston Sevens Champions 18 1923 1927 1928 1930 1938 1952 1959 1960 1964 1968 1971 1988 1989 1991 1993 2000 2004 2017 Selkirk Sevens Champions 11 1921 1925 1950 1952 1962 1963 1964 1968 1970 1971 1992 Kings of the Sevens Champions 4 1994 1995 2004 2015 Walkerburn Sevens Champions 3 1924 1926 1938 Portobello Sevens 4 Champions 2 1981 1985 Gala Thistle Sevens 5 Champions 1 1888 St Boswells Sevens 6 Champions 1 1978 Ardrossan Sevens 7 Champions 1 1970 Edinburgh Borderers Sevens 8 Champions 1 1923 Preston Lodge Sevens 9 Champions 1 1985 Penicuik Sevens 10 Champions 3 1975 1977 1983 South of Scotland District Sevens 11 Champions 1 1974 Stirling Sevens 12 Champions 2 1992 1996 Currie Sevens 13 Champions 2 1994 1997Notable players EditBritish and Irish Lions Edit Gregor Townsend 14 Derek White Nathan Hines Tom Smith Peter DodsScotland internationalists Edit The following former Gala players have represented Scotland at full international level Geoff Cross Peter Brown 14 15 David Leslie 14 Jim Aitken 14 Jock Turner 14 Duncan Paterson 14 Ian Corcoran Jimmy Ferguson Gregor Townsend 14 Derek White Nathan Hines Chris Paterson Drew Gill Tom Smith Bob Cunningham Borth Todd John Frame 15 Jock Turner Arthur Brown Nairn McEwan John Fox Tom Elliot Duncan Shaw Ken Lawrie Gordon Dickson Peter Dods Michael Dods Bob Wilson Stevie Scott George Dod Gray Brian ShillinglawNotable non Scottish players Edit The following is a list of notable non Scottish international representative former Gala players South players Edit The following former Gala players have represented South at provincial level John Fox 16 Gary IsaacNotable also outside rugby Edit The following is a list of notable former Gala players who have achieved notability in fields outwith rugby See also EditGalashiels Scottish Premiership Border League Borders Sevens Circuit Rugby union in the BordersExternal links EditGalashiels Rugby Football Club Official website of the Galashiels Rugby Football ClubReferences Edit a b Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 2015 07 19 Retrieved 2015 08 14 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Fixtures amp Results Scottish Rugby Union Knox David 13 February 2017 Relegated Gala launch new Academy Border Telegraph Retrieved 26 September 2017 Portobello Sevens 10 June 2019 Gala Thistle Sevens 13 July 2019 St Boswells Sevens 18 June 2019 Ardrossan Sevens 11 June 2019 Edinburgh Borderers Sevens 9 June 2019 Preston Lodge Sevens 9 June 2019 Penicuik Sevens 7 June 2019 South of Scotland District Sevens 7 June 2019 Stirling Sevens 7 June 2019 Currie Sevens 7 June 2019 a b c d e f g Bath p87 a b Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football p41 The Glasgow Herald Google News Archive Search SourcesBath Richard ed The Complete Book of Rugby Seven Oaks Ltd 1997 ISBN 1 86200 013 1 Godwin Terry Complete Who s Who of International Rugby Cassell 1987 ISBN 0 7137 1838 2 Jones J R Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football Robert Hale London 1976 ISBN 0 7091 5394 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gala RFC amp oldid 1102703579, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
