Borders can rise again says Rutherford

JOHN RUTHERFORD is sitting in a Melrose café, sipping coffee when a group of youths shuffle in. His face lights up as he recognises them, and they recognise him. "Wonderful," he says. "See these guys – they're our under-18s, and they've come here to support the under-16s. Isn't that fantastic?"

How much the Selkirk under-18s know about Rutherford, their town's finest player, is open to question, even though his youngest son, Stuart, is among their number. "I don't think they know about my career," says Rutherford dismissively. "They probably know I played, but it's so long ago.

"Scott!" he says, raising his voice to catch the attention of one of them. "When were you born?"

"1990," he replies.

"See?" laughs Rutherford. "I played my last game in 1987."

But surely the under-18s know that the man in their midst is a legend? "I've seen him play on video, I think," says Scott. "Did he play for the seconds?"

Rutherford erupts. "Ha ha ha ha! See? I get no respect."

The easy rapport 52-year-old Rutherford enjoys with the young players is obvious, and indicative of where his priorities now lie. Having played at the highest level, helping Scotland win the Grand Slam in 1984 and touring with the Lions, he progressed through the ranks as a coach.

He worked with Selkirk and was involved for four years with the national side under Jim Telfer and Ian McGeechan. He now admits to being "burnt out" as far as senior coaching goes.

Yet his enthusiasm for rugby still burns bright – it is just that his efforts are directed elsewhere. On Friday, he was in charge of the Selkirk under-16s team entered in the Crawford's Third Generation Youth Tournament in Melrose, a curtain-raiser to the 125th Melrose Sevens.

Although the 42-capped Scotland fly-half, widely reckoned to be one of the best players of his generation, wasn't the only Borders luminary to be seen marshalling the touchline, he seemed be deriving more enjoyment than many.

As he walks from the pitch, he is smiling – but not because his team has just enjoyed a thumping victory.

"For me," he says, "I just love to see them playing with a smile. I say to the boys before they go out, you've got to enjoy this. The other thing I say is, don't think about losing.

"Go out there, perform, enjoy what you're doing; if you're good enough, you'll win. If you're not, you'll lose. It doesn't matter. For me it's about giving these players the confidence to express themselves. If you don't do that, you'll never see how good they are."

Rutherford claims to be witnessing a resurgence in rugby in the Borders. With back-to-back victories against West of Scotland and Biggar, his own club recently won promotion to the Scottish Hydro Electric Premier Division One, but the renaissance extends beyond Selkirk's Philiphaugh ground.

What makes this particularly noteworthy is that, exactly a year ago, the death of the Borders professional team was felt to be a harbinger of doom for an area that still calls itself Scotland's rugby heartland.

"I agree there's been a resurgence," says Rutherford.

"I've watched a lot of club sides and I think a lot of them are really well coached. Jed are excellent – they play great rugby. Melrose have really got it going. Hawick are amazing – if they had all their players they'd have a hell of a team. You seen that boy Rory Hutton play? Absolutely sensational. There's talent in the clubs, and talent in the coaches. To me some are well worth professional contracts."

But with the local professional team gone, there is a vacuum. And into that vacuum, apparently, have flooded scouts from English clubs, league and union. Gala coach Richie Gray says he has witnessed an influx of scouts, from both codes, to the Borders.

"I wouldn't know," says Rutherford, "but it wouldn't surprise me. It certainly went on in the old days. I was asked by several rugby league clubs. Was I tempted? Not really. I was ingrained in the union game and I had a career outside rugby.

"And money's never really meant much to me. I also had a sense of loyalty to my club – and that's the thing about the Borders. There's amazing club loyalty."

It is loyalty that has kept Selkirk alive following recent crises. In May 2003 Philiphaugh was virtually destroyed by flooding, but the community rallied and raised the £400,000 needed to repair, re-build and re-open. A year later, however, there was a second devastating flood, causing another £60,000 worth of damage.

"The first flood was traumatic," says Rutherford, "but the second flood could have put us under; it could have finished us.

"I remember I got a phone call from (club president] Dennis Henderson at five that morning. He said, 'You're never going to believe this.' I went down and it was a swimming pool. I just stood there, thinking how can we recover from this?

"I had to go down to London that day and I went off to the airport feeling very down. But when I came back, in the evening, there must have been 300 people working. All the local farmers, anyone with machinery who could help – it was just such a fantastic community effort.

"John Smail (the club secretary] was the perfect guy at that time – everyone respected him, so they couldn't say no to him. But honestly, it was an emotional moment. That a small community can do something like that…

"Getting promotion this season was great," he continues, "but this is the honest truth: we weren't that bothered. It's about finding your level and it really doesn't matter what division you're in, as long as local boys are getting opportunities to play.

"We could go and buy eight players and we'd probably stay up next season. But then eight local lads wouldn't get a game, they'd get disenchanted, and feel, what's the point? John Beattie (coach of West of Scotland] has the same philosophy: he wants to bring through young Scottish players.

"I wouldn't go as far as banning overseas players; we've got a South African at the moment and he's an outstanding bloke. But I think we need to be really careful about how many we bring in.

"I know there are regulations and employment laws, but maybe we should have a maximum of two, and really work on the Scottish lads."

The appointment last month of Ciaran Beattie, the 21-year-old former Edinburgh player, as a full-time development officer, employed by Selkirk RFC, is another positive step – and backs up Rutherford's assertion that Selkirk is "two or three years ahead of other towns in the Borders" in establishing the kind of infrastructure that can nurture the talent in the town.

"I'd have loved to play professional rugby," says Rutherford, "but Ciaran is someone who's done it; he has that knowledge, that experience, and he can pass it on. He's got the under-14s, under-16s and under-18s on weight programmes. It's great. And because he's been a professional, they respect him."

Joking in Melrose cafés aside, they must respect Rutherford, too, even if he appears refreshingly oblivious to that.

It is perhaps paradoxical that someone so closely associated with a former era is so enthusiastic about the current one – and even more so about the future.

While lamenting the fact that Scotland now has two rather than three pro teams, he says he is "not discouraged" by the prospects of the national team, and optimistic that rugby in the Borders is in a healthy state – but it is blindingly clear that what most fires his enthusiasm is his club.

"I've got a little project on the go for next year," says Rutherford, "to help with the seconds.

"But I go down there all the time anyway, just to watch a lot of the sessions. It's quite good fun, you know? The committee will have a pot of tea on. You just go down for a blether."