BACK IN THE 1960s, there was one year when my elder brother William and I both found ourselves studying in Glasgow. We were four years apart in age and, apart from when playing club rugby, we lived separate lives. That year, however, we spent some time together and William, never having been to a senior football match, wanted to go and see the first game of the new season: Third Lanark v Rangers, at Cathkin.
So. off we went, to what turned out to be a memorable day, as some 50,000 fans invaded Cathkin, breaking down the gates in their excitement at the start of a new season. The big kick-off was a big thing back in those simpler times. These days, football, and rugby, seem to sort of creep into each new season, in dribs and drabs, perhaps unsure of their true position in the sporting calendar.
For instance this new 2024-25 season had a staggered kick-off, the West Regionbal Leagues got underway on 24 August, with the women's fixtures kicking off the next day, Sunday. This weekend, The Premiership, the League Cup and the Caledonia Regional competitions got going, while the East Region will not start until this weekend.
I somehow long for the familiar old days of th seaon starting on the first Saturday in September and finishing on the last one of April.
Any way, it was far from a perfect beginniing, with five fixtures remaining unplayed in Caledonia, because clubs didn't have sufficient players, with a further three unplayed games in West Division 3 for the same reason. Already, this early in a new campaign, some clubs are clearly struggling to get teams out – this is not a good sign.
In CALEDONIA 1 Aberdeenshire were hoping to kick-off their 150th season, for which they have a string of special events organised (check-out the club's Facebook page for more details) with a game against North Police Scotland. Unfortunately, operational needs intervened and the Polis had to cry-off.
Of the games which did get played in the Midlands Conference, where Falkirk's second XV opened with a local derby win over Grangemouth Stags, 38-19. I hope that airt's version of Statler and Waldorf – Bill Faulds and Dom Ward were still speaking at the end. Biggest win in the Midlands was Perthshire's 62-7 defeat of Dundee 2, while the greatest aggregate of points came in Blairgowrie's 46-31 win over Panmure.
In the North Conference there were a couple of high-scoring encounters, Caithness beating Mackie FP 45-41 and Ross Sutherland thumping Ellon 57-19.
The four games in Midlands 2 all produced bonus-point wins for the victors, who were: Alloa, 52-12 conquerors of Bannockburn, Hillfoots, who beat Aberfeldy, Crieff and Strathearn, who defeated Strathmore 2 by 46-17 and Glenrothes, who posted a 46-24 win over Madras, who had the consolation of scoring four tries to salvage one losing bonus point.
Only one game was played in North 2's Grampian Conference, Caithness beating Banff 31-5. Here the rumoured troubled state of rugby in the Granite City was underlined by Aberdeen Grammar being unable to field a second team for their scheduled league opener.
In the far-flung Highlands and Islands Conference of North Division 2 there was a somewhat one-sided local derby, in which Highland 3 beat Inverness Craig Donain 72-0. Arguably the most ligistically-challenged fixture in Scottish Rugby: Stornoway v Orkney, finished in a 39-14 win for the Gaelic speakers over the Norsemen and in the final game in this conference, RAF Lossiemouth beat Moray 2, 24-19.
In Midlands 3, there were two huge wins, and another game where the teams were scoring at a point a minute. To elaborate, Kirkcaldy 2 beat Perthshire 2 by 69-0, Dunfermline 2 beat Dundee University Medics 61-0 and Grangemouth Stags 2 edged out Waid Academy 46-36.
EAST REGION fixtures don't get going until this coming weekend, well, you've got to get all those troublesome Festival-going tourists out of the Capital first, but in the Wild West we had the second round of regional league fixtures.
Kilmarnock's high-scoring start to the new season continued with a 60-16 win over Cambuslang at Bellsland – just what is Bill Barnaby putting in the pre-match teas? Killie now top the league, from Dalziel, who beat Annan 47-7.
Third place is held by East Kilbride, who beat Bishopton 32-7 in the clash of EK Coach Franklin Clark's current and former clubs. Acquaintances of Wee Grumpy will no doubt be delighted to know, he wasn't happy, reckoning his men left several tries out there.
Oban Lorne are fourth, following a narrow 27-26 home win over Cumnock. At least that's a losing bonus point on the board for my old club – onwards and upwards. In the final game, Lenzie secured fifth spot in the table via a 46-19 win over Strathaven.
West 2 is led by Carrick, after the Minnieboolers posted a 57-21 home win over Birkmyre. Strathendrick are leading the chase, following their 17-7 win over Cumbernauld, with Lomond and Helensburgh, who drew 22-22 with Irvine, lie third.
Perhaps the man with the hardest job in Scottish coaching is Glasgow Warriors' Head of Commercial Glen Tippet. The man from Taranaki had been missing hands-on coaching, so has taken the reins at Clydebank. He is still putting names to faces among the playing squad, and is dealing with a horrendous injury crisis, but, as-ever, Glen remains cheerful, in spite of a second straight 80-points defeat, this time 17-83 at Uddingston.
Finally, in West 3, Glasgow University Medics opened their campaign and went straight to the top of the table via a 90-0 home win over Isle of Mull. In the only other game played, Hyndland, who had to call-off their season's opener at Lochaber due to a shortage of players, got going at the second time of asking, fielding a full team in beating newcomers Glasgow Raptors 52-13.
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