r/ScotlandRugby

Having briefly lived and played rugby in Aberdeen, I never quite got the calls for a third pro team there. The population and economic arguments made sense, but the rugby culture always felt much thinner than in the Borders where interest and youth ability is noticeably stronger.

Seeing Grammar mid-table in the fourth tier and Gordonians mid-table in the third division got me wondering: what’s happened to rugby up there? Our 3rd biggest city’s top team is currently 35th in the national leagues, while border towns with populations of under 4000 are still competing in the top divisions.

Grammar used to be a solid Prem/National side, with plenty of good student players. Why has that faded, and should we be more concerned about where club rugby stands in the north?