FRASER Thomson celebrated winning a senior sevens medal on Saturday and declared himself delighted to have made the summer switch from Gala to Melrose.
The 20-year-old was recognised as a promising talent in his mid-teens and won Scotland caps at under-17 and under-18 level before being swept into the SRU's national academy system. However, the strong winger's love of the game was lost as he tried t
o balance university studies with the daily demands of pro rugby. So he opted out.
He explained: "I grew up wanting to be a professional rugby player, and loved it coming up through the ranks with the age-grade teams and getting into the national academy, but I was at Napier University, trying to juggle things, and I found I wasn't enjoying my rugby any more.
"I was still a teenager and just playing rugby was what I wanted to do. So I left the academy at that stage and got back to Gala, trained myself there, and got back to enjoying my rugby. It worked, but now I'm keen to push on again and look at how far I can go.
"It was a really difficult move because obviously I was born in Gala, raised in Gala, went to school in Gala, played for Gala Wanderers and the Gala 1st XV; I love the town and the club just the same, but I needed a change to try and better myself as a rugby player. So, when the opportunity to go to Melrose came I didn't have to think that much about it. I've really enjoyed pre-season, the training is good and very competitive, and it was great to start the season by winning a sevens tournament."
Thomson's pace puts him in a class of his own at times and he was a key threat in a strong Melrose team. Craig Chalmers' team was one of the precious few that fielded anything like their strongest line-up in the Croall Bryson Kelso Sevens, with some sides declining an invitation and others, like Hawick, sending a team along but playing a 15-a-side friendly on the same day.
It is a difficult time for clubs for whom the sevens rakes in close to a quarter of their annual income, but the early morning rain actually helped Kelso as it persuaded the large following of farmers to abandon combining and boost the crowd numbers. There was also the presence of a number of Kelso internationalists and John Jeffrey insisted that the tournament remained a big part of the calendar.
"It's a great social event and is perfect for pulling people together at the start of the rugby season," he said. "We've had some great reminiscing going on about the days we had guys like Troy Coker, the All Black Stu Wilson, JJ Williams and Ian McGeechan playing here, and the cracking teams and ties we have seen in the tournament. It's also great for players to start to get their match fitness up before the leagues start."
On the day, there was no competing with Melrose, Thomson being well supported by Calum Anderson in the scoring stakes, with John Dalziel, Graeme Dodds and Jamie Murray forming a talented forward unit and half-backs Scott McCormick and Craig Jackson blending well with the new trio of Tim Miskelly, Gary Elder and Ben Allen also making their presence felt.
After powering past Langholm 46-0 in the opening round, Melrose saw off Thomson's old club Gala 34-7 in the last eight before being made to work for their 33-19 semi-final win over Peebles. In the final Jed-Forest, who took a 7-0 lead, were overcome 38-7.
Thomson was not surprised to receive some flak from supporters disappointed he left Gala, but he shrugged it off. He said: "It was typical that we got Gala in the second round. I heard a few boos and there were a few cheap shots on the field, but Border rugby's pretty intense and that's what I enjoy about it."
Melrose: J Dalziel, J Murray, G Dodds, S McCormick, C Jackson, F Thomson, B Allen, G Elder, T Miskelly.
Jed-Forest: G Young, D Grieve, S Laidlaw, R Goodfellow, E Scott, J Hogg, R Hogg, R Ferguson, M Hastie, L Young.
