Melrose Super 6 rugby squad christened Southern Knights

Sir Walter Scott wrote a legend of King Arthur and his knights lying asleep by their horses in the hollow of the Eildon Hills, waiting to do battle once more.

The Greenyards, lying at the foot of the Eildon Hills, is where those legends will rise later this year.

The Southern Knights are a true Borders team, befitting of Sir Walter Scott’s legend.

While the home of the team will be in Melrose, at the foot of the Eildon Hills, the rugby talent and support will be drawn from other local clubs and towns too.

The Southern Knights will play in a new kit, specially designed to reflect this, made up of all the colours of the local Borders teams.

Melrose Rugby looks forward to warmly welcoming new supporters of its new Borders Super 6 team.

Since December 2018, the rugby management team and the Board of Directors have worked to recruit a strong squad of players from the existing Melrose squad, and from the whole of the Scottish Borders, to help rejuvenate rugby in the area.

It was imperative to chairman Gordon Brown that the team name reflected this broader Borders outlook.

Rob Chrystie, head coach of the Southern Knights, said: “The Southern Knights for 2019-20 is a really dynamic and well balanced squad with some local familiar faces.

The management team is determined to create an environment that will challenge all players while creating a platform for those with the ability and desire to progress into professional rugby.

He added: “This is an exciting time in Scottish rugby and I’m thrilled to be a part of it as we look forward to the inaugural Super 6 season. We can’t wait to get started.”

The Southern Knights will go into battle early in November against teams from Ayr, Boroughmuir, Heriots, Stirling and Watsonians, with cross-border matches against Welsh teams scheduled later in the season.

The Super 6 is a new and separate tournament within Scottish Rugby’s competition structure.

It will be played by part-time professional players and will become the top tier of domestic rugby in Scotland, with the aim of increasing playing standards, by better-developing Scottish players, coaches and match officials to feed talent into the full-time professional game.

It is designed to improve standards in the domestic game through a consistent quality of games and an environment where aspiring players, coaches and match officials are challenged.