New Season - New Captain

When Boroughmuir announced a new first team captain on the recent tour to Prague, there was only one candidate for this month’s interview. Ben Fisher’s reign as captain has come to an end to allow him to focus on his game and stepping into his boots in South African born flanker Angus Martyn. Gus, now in his second spell at the club, has been a popular figure both on and off the field since his return to Meggetland at the beginning of the 2003/04 season, and there hasn’t been a dissenting voice heard over his appointment.

Born and bred in Durban, South Africa, Angus first arrived at Boroughmuir in the 1998/99 season but it wasn’t particularly his choice that saw him join Edinburgh’s premier club side. “John Allan, an ex-Scotland international and Springbok arranged a sort of package deal. There was a group of guys who came over at the same time and we were just allocated to clubs and I was put into Boroughmuir. I’m certainly happy that it turned out that way.”

However, that first stint at the club was blighted by a persistent shoulder injury first picked up at the beginning of ’99. “I suppose, at the time, I didn’t deal with the injury very well. I tried to rush my recovery and come back into the game too quickly, I didn’t give myself enough time off and it just kept reoccurring. And because of that, until last season I hadn’t played a full season of rugby since I first picked up the injury.” And as with any player who suffers serious injury, Gus flirted with the idea of packing the game in. “Well, I did actually stop playing for nearly a year and had effectively packed it in but after a while I found that I missed it too much and wanted to keep on playing, so I gave it another try. And the shoulder’s still not perfect. Once I get into the game I forget about it, but after a match and when it gets into the colder weather in the winter months it gets sore. I’ve still got staples in there and I can feel them but getting through last season without any time out was a big plus for me.”

Some might think that, seeing as his time with ’Muir had ended in such a way, returning to Meggetland might have been the last thing on his mind. “I thought it would be a great place to start playing again because I had really enjoyed my first time at the club and got on really well with all the people here, so it seemed like the sensible decision to make. But I didn’t just come over for the rugby either. I wanted to use my ancestral visa and possibly get my residency for having been here four years because it’s really important that I enjoy it off the field as well. I had opportunities to go to London and various other places but I have grown roots here.”

And his on field impact on his return to the club at the beginning of last season no doubt endeared him towards the coaching staff and brought about his opportunity to take over the captaincy. “I found out about it a few days before the Prague tour and it’s a big honour for me. I’m really happy to be given the chance to lead the team out. It wasn’t something I had ever expected or planned for and there are a number of guys in the side who could do the job, I just happened to be the lucky guy chosen. It’s also not a particularly difficult job because we have a bunch of really mature guys who all have leadership qualities and all put in the hard work and know what they’re doing. They all bring their own ideas so that takes a lot of pressure of the guy given the job of actually being captain.”

Figuring out how to approach his captaincy shouldn’t be too difficult for Gus though as he has done the job before. “I was captain of Glenwood Old Boys back in South Africa. I guess I try and lead more by example than being a captain who talks all the time on the pitch. I mean all these guys are adults so you don’t really have to tell them what to do on the field, it’s maybe just more trying to keep them all focused on the target, steering the ship as it were.”

And with victories in his two tournaments so far this season, the Ricany Tournament in Prague and the Mansell Cup at Goldenacre last weekend, the signs are looking good for when the season proper starts. “I hope I can be lifting two more trophies at the end of the season. We’re definitely setting out with the ambition of winning both the League and the Cup. It’s something I’m desperate to do seeing as the club has had recent success but before I returned so I really want to get my hands on those trophies. We know it’s going to be hard, at this level of rugby anyone is capable of beating anyone else on their day. And we proved last season that you can’t take anything for granted, if you beat a team easily one week you can lose to them the next. There’s a lot of sides have done some very good recruiting so the league will be very strong, but I suppose you’d have to say the likes of Hawks, Watsonians and Heriot’s stick out as real contenders a little bit more than the others.”

With the set-up of the game in Scotland though, fans must be worried that before long one of the pro teams may well cast their eye over Gus for too long and prise him from the club game. “Well, it’s not something I particularly think about at the moment. I just started a new job at Lloyd’s TSB on Monday and now with the captaincy of Boroughmuir I’m pretty busy and very happy with the way things are going. Obviously you’d have to look seriously at any offer to move to the next level of the game, but it’s not something I’m chasing at the moment. I’m happy at Boroughmuir.”

And happy players are going to be a must if the club is to stay strong through the time it takes for the development of Meggetland to be completed. “I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem really because we’ve got such a good bunch of guys, both on and off the field. The whole club is so close and there’s such a great atmosphere throughout all the teams from 1sts to U-18s and the youth set-up and the supporters. I don’t think there’s any other club in the league can match that and I think it’s that which means we will definitely be able to come through the development as strong as we are now.”

For a new captain, Angus certainly says all the right things. A positive, optimistic attitude and praise of members both playing and non is a good way to start. Now all that’s left is for him to prove that he can be just as successful as the man whose role he has filled. Ben Fisher won both the league and the cup in his time leading the side out and we’re hoping that Gus’ attempt to emulate those triumphs gets off to a good start with victory over Aberdeen this weekend.

Simon Furnivall