Boroughmuir Put Faith in Auld Reekie

For any successful rugby club in Scotland, the summer has to be spent recruiting new players to replace those stepping up to the professional ranks. It is less common to have to replace one of the coaches but that is the situation that faced Boroughmuir immediately after winning the BT Premier Division 1 Championship in the Spring. Many thought the club might look externally for a big name coach to work alongside Iain Paxton but those in the know at Meggetland realised we had the right man serving his apprenticeship with the 2^nd XV.

Not only has Bruce Reekie been part of the coaching team which has helped the Magic Twos to consecutive 2^nd XV league titles but he has also coached the Edinburgh Under 19 side. Add to that over twenty years playing experience with Boroughmuir and Currie and it was obvious the man to step up to the mark was no novice.

Bruce was a late starter at rugby, being a skilful footballer until he was 16. He found the skills learned with the round ball allowed him to quickly adapt to rugby and he has not looked back since. He started out as a Full Back but soon moved to the No. 10 jersey and, apart from brief appearances in the centres he has played most of his career at stand-off.

Although most of Bruce’s career has been with ‘Muir the 39 year old did spend 18 months with Currie. When asked why he moved away from ‘Muir he replied “Opportunity, I was playing all over the place, and I thought Graham Hogg was a very good coach”.

He continued “I was only the 2^nd non-Currie player to go there and it was quite difficult because the same team had taken them up through the leagues. I learned a lot from Greco about motivation and organisation and it stood me in good stead coming back to play my older rugby at Boroughmuir”. Reekie’s obvious commitment to Boroughmuir was shown when he told me he returned to Meggetland before Currie were promoted to the top division “Because I couldn’t face playing for anyone else in the Premier League”.

Bruce had never really intended to become a coach at the end of his playing days but he drifted into it through the youth section at Boroughmuir. He started working with his son’s team at P5 level and he has stayed with the team all the way through. He even intends to see them through this year at Under 16 before handing them on to George Watson for their first season at Under18. “I think it will be good just to see the job through myself” he commented. It was whilst he was still playing and coaching on a Sunday that he decided to get his coaching certificates.

We went on to discuss his current role with the Boroughmuir 1^st XV and I asked if he had expected to take over from Sean Lineen.

“No, not at all” he said, the went on to explain “Sean is a great loss to Boroughmuir, he’s a very innovative coach who knows an awful lot about rugby and has a lot of original thought”. Bruce acknowledged that his initial reaction to Sean’s departure was disappointment for Boroughmuir for the loss of such a good coach.

He confessed to being “Very surprised” when he got a call from Iain Paxton inviting him to step up to the 1^st XV position and admitted that he was hesitant at fist because, “It’s a very, very important position and Boroughmuir means an awful lot to me. I wasn’t sure if I had the right credibility to be honest”.

Being such a good club man through and through, Bruce wanted to make sure he was making the right decision, not just for himself but for the club as well. And if the early days are any indication it seems that he certainly has.

“I think it’s working out fine so far” he told me, “Pre-season has gone well. We did well at Hamilton and at Ballymena then we did exceptionally well in the Mansell Cup, so in terms of preparation its been fairly ideal but the proof of the pudding will be in the game at Melrose on Saturday”. As this interview was recorded the Thursday before the 54 – 18 thrashing of Melrose at the Greenyards I think it’s fair to say the good start has continued.

‘Muir’s usual summer recruitment campaign has also gone well with young players like Dougie Brown coming in and three former favourites: Graeme Kiddie, Chris Capaldi and Angus Martyn all returning to Meggetland. But Bruce was quick to point out that “People coming through like young Snedden is equally as important as the new guys joining us”.

I asked Reekie what he felt he could achieve as a coach at Boroughmuir “I don’t look at it as an individual thing. We’re more interested in team results, but obviously you’re in everything to win it so as far as I’m concerned success is us winning the cup and the league. We’re contenders for  all these things but we’ll see how we go and I’d like the  players have a good season. I’m not really worried about comparisons between myself and Sean it’s more a comparison of how Boroughmuir do this year compared to last year, as it is every year”.

Bruce will bring many qualities to his duties at Boroughmuir not least his man management skills which he carries over form his job with The Royal Bank of Scotland. He also offers calmness and an ability to deal with players at all levels.

Bruce was full of praise for the way ‘Muir have been coached in recent history, “Packy and Sean have done a great job” he said “even when we went down to Division 2” and he is confident he can help build on that legacy.

He’s got the balance right himself between family, career and rugby and he wants the players to get their rewards as well.

“I’d like the players to be satisfied with their performances throughout the year. If they feel they’ve really come on and done themselves justice then I think the results will take care of themselves. I’d hate them to leave this season feeling disappointed in themselves and in the way they’ve fought”.

With Paxton and Reekie at the helm it seems highly unlikely that Boroughmuir will be disappointed.