Kieran heads for balmy shores
Kieran Reid pictured at his last training session at Philiphaugh before flying out to Toronto. Photograph: John Smail.
AS THE 2012/13 season draws ever closer, Selkirk coaches have made a special plea to players to make every effort to attend pre-season training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday nights.
“The most we’ve had down is about 30 players,” said 1st XV head coach Brian Cassidy. “But I’m keen for more boys to come down to Philiphaugh.
“Our ‘A’ XV and the Stormers will both be playing in higher divisions this season, so it’s absolutely vital that everyone hits the ground running.
“We’re trying to vary the routines and make them as interesting as possible, but at the end of the day it’s all about a player’s own commitment and application.
“In actual fact, I’ve been really pleased with the way everybody has stuck in so far, especially as most of the sessions have taken place in heavy rain and in unusually cold conditions.
“Work put in by players at this stage of the season build-up will definitely pay dividends further down the line, so I’d like to appeal to all players to come down to Philiphaugh and help us get where we want to be in the new season.”
One player that won’t be taking Brian up on his offer is back row forward Kieran Reid, pictured right, who will spend the next year working in Toronto, where he will play rugby for the Balmy Beach Club.
Before he left, the 21-year-old said that he was keen to try something different, and would be meeting up in Toronto with Selkirk team-mate Callum Marshall, 22, who had also decided to take a year’s sabbatical in the city.
He told us: “Last summer I went to Toronto on holiday and really enjoyed my time there,I was keen to go back, but wanted to keep playing rugby.
“The warmer weather over there was also a factor – it was never less than 28 degrees C when I was there last year, and you’re never going to get those kind of temperatures in Selkirk!”
Selkirk has a long association with the Balmy Beach Club in Toronto, having made no fewer than four trips to Canada – the first in 1979, and three more in the 1990s. On each occasion they have played Balmy Beach, and as a result a great relationship between the two clubs has developed, with many strong friendships formed.
Both Kieran and Callum intend to return to Selkirk for the 2013/14 season.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Selkirk will begin their build-up to this season’s RBS National League campaign with a warm-up game against Peebles on Saturday, August 4.
The next match for Gavin Craig’s team will be a Border League fixture against Jed-Forest at Riverside Park on the evening of Friday, August 17.
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Weather for Selkirk
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 7 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 11 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
