Perthshire celebrate 150 years as community club

Perthshire Rugby Football Club celebrated their 150th anniversary in style.

A black tie gala dinner, sponsored by local company Carbon Financial Partners, attracted 400 guests to the Dewars Centre.

Players and coaches, past and present, were among the sell-out crowd entertained by former Scotland and South Africa captains Rory Lawson and Bob Skinstad, who lifted the World Cup with the Springboks in 2007, along with renowned speaker Willie Allan.

Thousands of pounds were raised with an auction for the “My Name’5 Doddie” fund established by former Scotland international Doddie Weir to raise awareness and fund research into motor neurone disease.

Club president John McLaughlin reflected on how times had changed since the club was formed in the Victorian era.

But he emphasised that the Eagles, whose home has always been on the city’s North Inch, have remained a community club at heart.

“This is an historic year for the club,” said Mr McLaughlin. “We span a period which has gone from horse-drawn transport to space exploration.

“Perthshire RFC has touched hundreds of thousands of lives over those 150 years, nurturing the talent of successive generations and maintaining the ethos which we hold so dear.

“Hopefully if we do our job properly then they will think well of us in 150 years’ time.”

In more recent times Perthshire has emerged as a pioneering centre of excellence, attracting support from the Bill McLaren Foundation.

Hundreds of youngsters from primary school age and upwards enjoy regular coaching, with backing from a range of local businesses.

“Perthshire is a fine example of what the sport of rugby can bring to a community, nurturing a pathway for young talent at under age at mini and midi level as well as supporting the first XV, girls and ladies teams, sevens and seniors – and fostering close ties with the local schools,” said Gordon Wilson, managing director of the sponsors.

Lawson, grandson of the late commentator Bill McLaren, said the spirit of the club was reflected in a Scottish Rugby Tennents volunteer of the month presentation to long-time servant and youth coach Jeremy Wares.

He played an integral part by providing corporate hospitality for the club on the day of the preseason Glasgow Warriors clash with Harlequins in Perth.

The Michelin-starred chef, who operates his restaurant at Macdonald Houston House Hotel, Uphall, has continued to dedicate himself to the club despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s nearly a decade ago.