As teams return to their training paddocks to prepare for the upcoming season, we are bringing you everything you need to know about rugby at Hills for season 2022-23. Hillhead Jordanhill RFC boasts teams for everyone: 3 men’s teams, 2 women’s, both a girls and boys section as well as a thriving mini’s set up. With things slowly returning to normal in the rugby world, Hills look to continue growing numbers and are always welcoming new players. President Gary Kitchener looks forward to the upcoming season but recognises the challenges ahead: “It’s going to be a big season for the club this coming year. The Ladies have set the bar high aiming to achieve a league and cup double whilst the Men’s 1XV must finish in the top four to ensure they stay in the National Leagues following a reconstruction at the end of this season. Overall, the big issue this year is the escalating costs with our budget going up 25%, we’ll be looking to out balance that with lots of fundraising so stay tuned”.
Women’s Rugby
Hill’s Women finished the 2021-22 season off in style by winning the Sarah Beaney Cup at BT Murrayfield in May. A lot of hard work and determination by the ladies saw them bounce back from the league final defeat to beat Edinburgh rivals Watsonians 10-5 to reclaim the cup for the first time since 2018. A perfect send off for Head Coach Aird Jardine and long standing HillJill Louise McMillan who both moved on from the club at the end of last season. The ladies now look to build on this high and start the new season well as they face Stirling County in the first round of the BT Women’s Premiership.
This season, Assistant Coach Ryan Howie has been joined by new Head Coach Stephen Gillies. Stephen, who has recently returned home to Glasgow following a stint coaching in Canada is excited to enter the world of Women’s rugby and looks forward to bringing his skills and rugby knowledge to Hills, he said “I’m really excited to be on board and enjoying getting to know everyone as we gradually move through preseason and into the season ahead. The squad is obviously very talented with a really good attitude so I’m looking forward to seeing some exciting rugby as we progress. With Hills being a club I’ve not had much experience with to date it’s exciting to come in and see all the ongoings, especially within the woman’s section of the club. The opportunity to come in as Head Coach to a club positively helping lead the way is one I’m proud of and I’m looking forward to settling in”. Ryan shares this excitement, as he enters his 3rd season with Hills and added “I’m buzzing to get the new season underway and continue on our progress from last year. We’ve got a talented bunch of players with a great attitude who are willing to put in the hard yards”.
Debbie Lee continues her captaincy along with Vice Captain Hannah Telling. Lifting the cup in front of friends and family at BT Murrayfield was a highlight for Debbie and she’s excited to see where this season takes Hills, “We’re still buzzing from winning the cup and we really grew as a squad throughout last season. This season will be a clean slate with our new coach who has some great ideas and I’m excited to see how we go”.
At the tail end of last season, our women’s committee took a positive step in our commitment to growing women’s rugby and hired their first Development Coach, Ross Newman. This season, Ross will look to work with our new and developing players as we create the first HJRFC Women’s 2XV. This team will compete in the new Women’s West Aspiring League with a number of fixtures planned for throughout the season. It’s an exciting time to be at Hills and we are excited to be able to offer a team for everyone, from Scotland internationals to complete newcomers and we encourage anyone who’s looking to play rugby to get in touch. Here’s what Ross had to say, “I’m really looking forward to the season starting and coaching our 2XV. It’ll be a really exciting season for our club with 2 women’s teams competing for the first time and providing a team for everyone and I’m particularly looking forward to our come and try day. I’ve been made to feel very welcome by a great group of players and they’ll make you feel the same”.
Training: Monday’s and Wednesdays 18:45 – 20:30, Saturdays 12:00 – 13:30
Email: womens-rugby@HJRFC.com
Men’s Rugby
Our Men’s 1XV finished 4th in Tennent’s National League Division 3 last season and look to better that this season with Assistant Coach, Craig Colvin’s sights set on promotion: “For this season we are definitely aiming for promotion and to stay in the national leagues for the 1XV. For the 2XV and 3XV teams, we’d like to fulfil all fixtures and hopefully come closer to the top of those tables”. This follows a bottom of the table finish for the 2XV and the 3XV finishing in the middle of the pack.
Tonci Buzov remains as Head Coach alongside Craig who are now into their second season in charge and prove to be a popular pairing amongst the players. Both ex-players for Hills, they clearly have the commitment and drive to get the best out of the quarters. This season, the club has hired S&C coach Milan Marinković who has been working hard with players this summer to help give them the edge on the pitch. The club recognised improvements could be made to the strength and conditioning of players, both men and women, and so started the process early in the off season to hopefully see results as soon as the season kicks off.
The club are still on the search for a 2XV coach following the exit of coach Stuart Irvine at the end of last season. Stuart has given many years of service to Hills after retirement from the game and we can’t thank him enough for his commitment. With the 2XV and 3XV looking to impress in the Tennent’s West Reserve League Divisions 2 and 3 respectively, the club actively encourage anyone who is interested to get in touch with club secretary Andy Scott, arf.scott@icloud.com.
Our men’s section is proud to provide a team for everyone whether that be players looking to play at a high level out of university or school to complete newcomers and players who haven’t played for a while.
Training: Tuesday’s and Thursday’s 18:45 – 20:30
Email: mens-rugby@HJRFC.com
Girl’s Rugby
Our Girl’s rugby is also growing after numbers falling during Covid and coach George Gallacher is looking forward to training returning on Sunday 31st July. Girl’s rugby at Hills is open to anyone in the area and is a great way to meet youngsters with similar interests in the area. Looking to be able to compete at all age grades this season, George looks to have his hands full with a number of girls moving up from our mini’s section as well as new girls arriving all the time. After a summer off, we look forward to kick starting training again and hope to have high numbers at the first session on Sunday 31st July. Training is open to all girls aged 12 to 18 and all abilities are welcome.
Training: Wednesday’s 17:30 – 18:45, Sunday’s 11:30 – 12:45
Email: girls-rugby@HJRFC.com
Boy’s Rugby
Tonci Buzov will add another string to his bow this season as he takes over the coaching of our Junior Boy’s when they return to training on Monday 22nd August. Ryan Howie will hand over the reigns as he looks to concentrate on other areas of his coaching. Tonci, our current Men’s Head Coach will act as the perfect stepping stone to ensure youngsters graduating from junior rugby will transition well into the senior set up. Training is open to all boys in the area with all abilities welcome and newcomers are encouraged to come along and give rugby a try.
Training: Monday’s 16:30 – 18:00 (S1 & S2), Thursday’s 16:30 – 18:00 (S3, U16 & U18)
Email: boys-rugby@admin
S1 Transition Sessions
To follow on from sessions completed with primary 7s throughout May and June, the club will also be hosting S1 Transition Sessions for both boys and girls from all local secondary schools. These sessions will aid children looking to move on from mini rugby and into juniors or take up rugby as a newcomer, without the pressures or expectations that may sometime come with training with older players. Our dedicated coaches will teach them everything they need to know to be able to confidently move up in the age grades. These sessions will kick off on Wednesday 24th August at 17.15 down at the club and are open to all abilities within in S1 bracket.
Mini Rugby
One of the club’s greatest success stories, mini rugby, returns to Hughenden Sunday 21st August. With high numbers at all age levels, the mini’s section of the club is booming. An inclusive and exciting environment makes it the only place to be at 10am on a Sunday morning in Glasgow. Absolutely no experience needed and newcomers always welcome, it is a great introduction for your child into the world of rugby. With numbers growing, parent volunteers are also more than welcome to get involved and encouraged to contact the mini’s email address for details.
Training: Sunday’s 10:00 – 11:00
Email: minis-rugby@HJRFC.com
The Club
The sports club continues to go from strength to strength as it makes a return from the depth of lockdown. The gym is back open, with spaces bookable through a new online system to ensure there is enough space for everyone. Café Source Too has returned to regular opening hours with a new breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. They have also added a cocktail menu and Sunday Roast to the bill and boast one of the largest beer gardens in the west end with endless evening sun in the summer. The Yill Hoose Bar has also reopened its doors, playing all the big sports games on 3 large TV screens and the function room is available for bookings once again. The rugby club is also excited to announce the opening of a new weight’s gym for the use of rugby members. It’s an exciting time to be at Hillhead Sports Club, whether you want to play sport, watch sport or enjoy the hospitality of Café Source Too, come on down and see what we have to offer.
www.HJRFC.com
www.hillheadsportsclub.com
www.cafesourcetoo.co.uk
