Duns Rugby Football Club is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

side based in

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308 ...

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. They are known as 'The Dingers' from the town motto, "Duns Dings A" (Duns Beats All). For the 2015–16 season they will play in East Regional League Division One. It is unclear if they will return to the

Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901. Currently known as the Booker Border League, after its sponsors, teams from all over the Scottish Borders as well as Berwick RFC from Nor ...

(the oldest established rugby union league in the world), having lost their place in 2007–08. They will also enter the BT Border Shield and its various offshoots, along with various local Rugby Sevens tournaments. Duns is the only Border League side not to have their own Sevens tournament. Recent seasons have seen a decline in the fortunes of a club who were only a few years ago almost promoted to the Premiership, and appeared in the final of the BT Scotland National Bowl at

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

in Edinburgh. 2014–15 the club finished seventh in the league with five league victory. The club attracts a small home support of between 25 and 50, and usually takes a handful of supporters to away league games. They recently replaced their traditional strip of red and black horizontal hoops, with a more modern black shoulder and sides merging into light red chest. The club logo is currently under review. The club does not operate a regular 2nd XV (a few fixtures were played in 2014–15) or Women's XV, but does have a number of youth teams.

Membership of Governing Body

Duns are a full member club of the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

and are in the SRU's East region, section 1 (Scottish Borders).

Home Venue

They play at Castle Park, located at Berwickshire's old High School, There are two grass pitches both with floodlights, their new club house ( currently under construction 2015) is also located here. The club trains on Tuesday and Thursday nights. The club works in close co-operation with Duns Minis and Colts, who organise rugby at primary school and early secondary school level and are officially associated with the club, and the Berwickshire High School, which has squads for various age groups and play friendly matches.

Youth Rugby

Duns RFC operates various teams at youth level, within the Borders region.

2006–07

S1 AGE GROUP No team was entered in the Border S1 Championship S2 AGE GROUP ''Border S2 Championship'' (Duns finished sixth out of six) *Sunday 22 Oct 2006 (All matches at Wilton Park, Hawick) - Pool A Duns 3–8 Jed-Forest and Peebles 22–0 Duns - 5th/6th Place Play-off Duns 3–11 Gala Red Triangle UNDER 15 AGE GROUP No team was entered in the Border U-15 Championship UNDER 16 AGE GROUP No team was entered in the Borders U-16 Championship or Crawford Club 7s Cup or Shield UNDER 17 AGE GROUP Does not operate in the Borders region UNDER 18 AGE GROUP No team was entered in the Locharron of Scotland Semi-Junior League; but a team was entered in the ''Locharron of Scotland East U-18 Cup'' with results as follows: *Saturday 27 Jan 2007 Haddington Colts v Duns Colts (Section 1 of Cup, Matchday 1) postponed (declared void) *Saturday 3 Feb 2007 Duns Colts 0–50 Hawick PSA (Section 1 of Cup, Matchday 2) *Saturday 10 Feb 2007 Edinburgh BATs 10–26 Duns Colts (Section 1 of Cup, Matchday 3) *Saturday 17 Feb 2007 Duns Colts 3–64 Tynedale Colts (Section 1 of Cup, Matchday 4) *Saturday 24 Feb 2007 Biggar Colts 60–0 Duns Colts (Section 1 of Cup, Matchday 5) ''Please note: a different points system is being used in this tournament. 2 points are awarded for a win, and 1 point is awarded for a draw. In addition, 1 point is awarded for every game played (thus penalising sides who don't fulfil fixtures)'' TRI-DISTRICT DIVISIONS 1/2/3 Duns did not enter UNDER 18 AGE GROUP

The future

The club is currently experiencing a poor run of form, which reflects a recent downturn in the standard of players available. Working from a small pool of talent to begin with, the club has in the past year or so struggled to attract enough adult players — less local men want to play rugby, the best talent is attracted to larger Border clubs, and poor results discourage players from wanting to turn out for the club. Changes in coaching staff and two recent relegations have also damaged the club's appeal. Of course, poor results encourage players to leave the club, which in turn causes a weaker team to be fielded, and poor results continue. The financial difficulties of playing 11 away league matches plus cup matches a season, generally against clubs based in the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Great ...

and the northeast, and the (admittedly shorter) journeys in the Border League, also places a strain on the club, which attracts only a few dozen fans to home games, and charge only a minimal admittance fee. Fundraising, sponsorship and local community donations sustain the club (although from next season, a small amount of money from league sponsors Scottish Hydro Electric may be provided). On the positive side, the young players being forced into regular first team action are gaining valuable experience. However, Duns lie 14 points adrift of Kilmarnock (who have four games in hand, which could gain then up to 20 points) who are the only team they can now match. The most Duns can manage, by winning all their remaining games with bonuses, is 15 points, and so relegation if now really only a matter of time. Failure to win their next league match without a bonus point, or Kilmarnock winning a game, would officially relegate Duns to National League 3. In the longer term, the survival of the club will be dependent on a strong youth setup, and the ability to keep players who progress to adult level; best use of those adult players the club does possess; and a continuing policy of financial security. However, being relegated will most likely discourage players who feel they are of a higher standard — particularly if Duns struggle in National Division 3. That said, facing easier opposition may mean more wins and attract players back. Duns beat Helensburgh of National 3 in the National Cup, and therefore should be seen as at least a middling National 3 side if not promotion contenders. They face Newton Stewart, currently (17 February) second-top in National 3, at home in the first round of the National Shield, and this may give an insight into where Duns can hope to perform next season if the squad remains similar. Other possible measures, such as a merger with Eyemouth White Horses RFC (also struggling to attract players) and

Earlston RFC Earlston RFC is a rugby union club, based at Earlston in the Scottish Borders (formerly Berwickshire). Earlston is in the of the East Regional League. It is the largest Scottish Borders club not to participate in the Border League. It takes ...

to form 'Berwickshire Rugby' may have to be considered if the player pool continues to shrink unsustainably. Additionally, Duns' right to compete in the Border League may also be questioned further, through a combination of failure to play matches and joining/dropping below sides like Hawick YM, Earlston, Eyemouth etc. in the leagues. Hawick YM are currently only outside the promotion places in National 3 on points difference, with four games still to play, and so may bypass Duns, possibly leading calls for Duns to be replaced by Hawick YM in the Border League for next season.

References