Wanderers gain promotion

The completed Fort Matilda club house is the envy of clubs across Scotland

With just one loss in 19 games, the convincing victory put the Inverclyde club 29 points clear of Accies, who have two games in hand, mathematically guaranteeing their return to Scottish Hydro National 1, having spent two seasons in National 2.

Greenock Wanderers President, Dougie Sloan, said: "At the beginning of the season we set out our goals for the season and, having finished the construction of our new clubhouse, we put the focus right back on the rugby and targeted promotion.

"We're all local boys with no imports and have focussed fully on developing rugby at the club (which included the recruitment of club development officer Ian Forster) and it all clicked."

In July Scottish Rugby teamed up with the club, Inverclyde Council, Birkmyre rugby club and St Columbus School in Kilmacolm to demonstrate their collective commitment to the game by funding the new post and bringing close to £30,000 of investment into rugby in the area.

Forster said: "The Wanderer's increased success has brought much more attention to the club which has been reflected in the club atmosphere. Much more people are coming down to watch some really entertaining rugby. This has created a surge of parents volunteering and kids playing which has been fantastic.

"Importantly, a lot of senior players help coach the younger teams, so they're seen as positive role models and provide a fresh outlook in training. The general atmosphere has been very positive and this has helped motivate and drive the younger teams to do better and perform.

"We have a lot of young players who have come through and have gone on to play representative or age-grade rugby - there's an increasing amount of home grown talent.

"I believe the success has also inspired another Inverclyde club, Birkmyre, who are pushing for promotion. There's now good, strong links between the two clubs which has been key to developing rugby in the area as a whole."

Greenock have amassed an impressive 661 points so far while conceding just 174, winning each game 35-9 on average.

A repeat of that form 300 miles north against Caithness this Saturday will see the club promoted as champions by putting them clear of the maximum potential tally of third-placed Lasswade, who have four games in hand.

"We're taking nothing for granted," added Sloan. "Every game requires hard work and concentration; we have to keep our feet on the ground.

"We're holding a big function on Saturday 6 March for our match against Highland to celebrate our promotion, I'd be delighted if we'd be able to celebrate being champions as well.

"Over a hundred corporate guests have already booked up for hospitality that afternoon with representatives from our twinned club Etampes coming across from France to share in the celebrations.

"It's going to be a real red-letter day for the club so hopefully we'll get a big crowd down to Fort Matilda to support the boys and their success during and after the match."

Douglas Flowers, Sponsorship Manager for Scottish Hydro, said: "Greenock Wanderers are a fantastic example of how clubs can make a huge difference to rugby in their community.

"Greenock's performance on the pitch has been matched by their commitment off it, and Scottish Hydro is delighted to have helped the club further through our Kit for Development scheme and Club Facilities Fund, which have helped the club to provide facilities to be proud of."

The network of development officers across Scotland is fundamental to Scottish Rugby ensuring that rugby is open and available to all, while providing the foundations for our strategic targets of a 38% increase in young people playing rugby, and a total playing population of 38,000 by 2012.