When you’ve been stand-off for the first XV at one of Scotland’s better rugby playing Under18s it must be difficult to move on to senior rugby and drop down the pecking order. Last season Graeme Blackhall was regularly playing for the senior side at Stewart’s Melville college and doing so successfully. This year, having left Under18 to study Physical Education at University, he is settling in to Boroughmuir 3^rd XV, the Steam Team.

Playing for Boroughmuir is certainly no novelty for Graeme “I was involved at Boroughmuir from P5 to S2 then I quit when the coaches at Under18 said I was playing too much rugby” he said. “And now I’m back”.

Graeme explained how he first became involved at ‘Muir “The first time I picked up a rugby ball was at Boroughmuir” he told me. “I joined with a friend who’s now left and plays for another club. I started off playing with him so we both came down together. After the end of P5 I started to really enjoy rugby and take it up.”

He was fortunate to be so well supported by his parents “I went to a few summer rugby camps and I really enjoyed it, playing with other people from different clubs” he said.

As he progressed from Primary level into S1 and S2 Graeme took on the role of stand-off and kicker with Boroughmuir. At Under18 he started out at full-back but was switched to the pivotal role at 10 when his coach realised he was playing there for the club. It was his Under18 coaches that provided a big influence for Graeme “My first real influence was probably Graham Ellis” he said, “He was my Under18 coach in second year and he was the first real international, top class coach that I worked under. The Under18 coaches before had just been teachers and he was the first real rugby coach who had some pedigree”. Graeme went on to acknowledge “He was straight talking and he made us work.”

As he progressed through the Under18 sides he came under the influence of another rugby man. “My Under18 2^nd XV coach, who’s now coaching the firsts at Stewarts, Grant McKenzie, was a great influence. He was there when I was making the transition up to senior rugby at Under18. He was a great thinker about the game. He gave me an understanding of going through the phases. He made me think a bit more about what was in front of me rather than just going through the motions. He gave me idea of looking for territory and looking for where the opposition is rather than just where your own men are”.

There was never any doubt in Graeme’s mind where he would play his rugby as soon as he left Under18. “Boroughmuir. It’s where the heart is” he told me. “I’ve enjoyed coming back” he went on. “I knew quite a lot of the senior players and I knew quite a lot of the coaching staff already. I knew some of the 1st team players because I’ve watched quite a lot of the games and it’s been good getting to know the players from the other teams.”

As an ambitious young player who hopes to go on and represent his club at 1^st XV level, I asked Graeme what he feels he brings to the game and to his role as a stand-off. “Hopefully I can use my passing skills, my distribution, to put people into gaps. And also my kicking skills”. I asked him how much he practices his goal kicking and he confessed, “Well at the beginning of the season things weren’t quite as good as they had been at Under18, so I’ve been doing a wee bit extra session on Tuesdays and Thursdays, trying to get back into my routine and find my rhythm again. The last couple of weeks I‘m beginning to find it again”.

“I enjoy the kicking part of the game” he told me. “The kicker always gets the blame when he misses the kick but I enjoy the good side as well. If you do get the kick in the last minute then you get the glory so there’s that side to it”. He also said “I enjoy the pressure as well – it’s a different side of rugby. It’s separate but it’s still part of the game”.

So it’s obvious what Graeme brings to his rugby, but what does he get out of the game “I’ve always enjoyed sport” he said, in a statement of the obvious, “But there’s the social side as well. Mixing with team mates and new people, playing the opposition and meeting them at the end of the game. I just enjoy it – it’s a way I can test myself” he summed up.

I ended up by asking Graeme to tell me the differences he’s seen between Under18 rugby and Meggetlandrugby, “3^rd XV rugby is totally different to what it was at Under18” he said. “I’ve only played about 4 league games so far so I’m just trying to work to build some cohesion with the team get used to the style of rugby – but it’s different than it was at Under18”.

Graeme went on to explain the differences, “ It’s more physical but it hasn’t been quite as bad as I thought it would be. The step up from Under18 hasn’t been quite as big as I thought it would be. I’ve done quite a lot of weights and that has helped and I kept up with it over the summer which helped me adjust to the physical side of senior rugby”. 

Then Graeme conceded, “It’s a lot slower compared to Under18 last year. Obviously it’s quicker in the 1sts but the 3rds are a lot slower than the 1^st XV at Under18 which has made it hard to adjust. There are more patterns to the phases of play – in Under18 it was more about hitting the gaps and getting forward quickly – but in senior rugby it’s more looking for position – getting territory and building from that so it’s been different, but I’m enjoying it”.

Long may he continue to do so as yet another promising youngster starts his career with ‘Muir.