This weekend represents an important milestone for Gordonians RFC and its head coach Jim Greenwood.
For the first time in 17 months they will take the field for a game of rugby, with their first pre-season friendly against Dundee today.
It will mark the first chance Greenwood will have had to coach a game for Gordonians, having been appointed ahead of the abandoned 2020-21 season.
While the easing of restrictions have permitted a return to what could be classed as “normal” training, the majority of the last year has been spent using rugby as a way to keep individuals engaged with the sport and active in general.
“I put it to the boys if they wanted to keep training (under restrictions) and they all said training is the only time they get to see their mates,” said Greenwood.
It’s been a while but we are back! We are alway looking for new players and people to get involved with the club #rugby #northeastrugby #aberdeen pic.twitter.com/cIZsrvnwLd
— Gordonian RFC (@GordoniansRFC) July 19, 2021
“It benefitted socially and emotionally. You’re potentially seeing a pay off now as they’re a really tight-knit group of lads.
“We kept it fun and light. It was more for emotional support than anything. We had players from other clubs asking if they could come and train.
“We had to follow a lot of guidance, but the boys were able to keep their levels of fitness up. They kept their hand in and got exercise when parts of the country were having long periods of inactivity.”
Greenwood concedes he has no idea what Saturday’s game will look like, whether it will resemble anything close to a rugby game pre-pandemic.
“It will be a big milestone,” he added. “With all the knowledge I have got in the game, I have never seen a team playing a game for the first time in 18 months.
“We have put a lot of things in place. We’ve tried to change our rugby culture and set the club up for success.
“But it’s all planning and paperwork until we play. The teams we’ll put out this year will be vastly different to what we’ve had the last two years.”
Greenwood hopes Gordonians’ second team, which will play in Caledonia North Three this season, can improve too, aiding the development of players for the first string.
Recruitment has gone well, with a number of players from Edinburgh and Glasgow – coming to the north-east for university – joining training during pre-season.
“It’s nice to see word of mouth spreading for what we’re trying to achieve,” said Greenwood. “We’ve had a few lads come along who had hung their boots up.
“When it comes to the depths of winter, you need guys who have 10 or 12 years rugby behind them.”
All preparation is geared towards the start of the competitive season, which will resume again on September 4.
For Gordonians, that means a trip to face GHK, the last team they played before rugby was shut down in Scotland in March last year.
“All I can do with the coaches is support the boys with their goals and set the team up for success,” added Greenwood
“We speak about what success means to us, not only with regards to details within a game, but overall. The boys have said putting into action what we work on in training; none of the goals are outcome-based, they are process-led.
“For me it’s about making sure the club is in a better position than when I started.”