Golden oldies have a ball, says Hastings
MURRAYFIELD'S bid for one of the world's leading rugby events has been successful, so the capital should gear up for the biggest, most sociable rugby party probably ever witnessed in the UK.
No, this is not the Heineken Cup final, but the 17th Golden Oldies World Rugby Festival, which is expected to bring more than 3,000 players aged 35 and over to Edinburgh for the first time from 1-8 September.
It promises to be an altogether different affair to the action-packed, brute-strength nature of the elite professional event and is far more global, with bizarrely-named teams from Argentina to Australia, the Bahamas to Russia, the USA to Japan, and a host of European countries taking part.
It is part of what Scott Hastings, the former Scotland and British and Irish Lions centre, believes is a new wave of popularity for veterans rugby.
At Melrose's 125th anniversary sevens recently a new veterans tournament drew crowds to the town's smaller pitches that were bigger than most Division 1 clubs attract on a normal league weekend, while Edinburgh Northern and Edinburgh Accies have launched vets events.
Hastings' firm Platinum One, which this week announced Barcelona's return to Scotland for a summer training camp, is involved in the organisation of the golden oldies festival, but he admitted that there was more than a touch of personal interest.
"I think it helps that myself and Gavin, my brother, have a real enthusiasm for it," he said. "We both played at Melrose in April and had a ball. When we played rugby there was more time to enjoy the camaraderie that is an intrinsic part of the game, whether it was at club level, with Scotland or the Lions, and I think we have lost a lot of that in modern rugby.
"But maybe that is why the 'oldies' circuit is beginning to take off, because people want to bring that ethos back. League titles, promotion, relegation etc is all part of the game, but we still need to share a drink in clubhouses after the game, and get the family environments back. Some clubs are still very hospitable, of course, but I don't think it's as widespread as it used to be.
"Rugby gave me the chance to play at a higher level and to travel the world. Ask any rugby player, whether he played club or international, and they will remember the tours as a highlight. I can still remember the old court sessions we had with Watsonians when I was a 17-year-old on my first tour in Cornwall, and when the whole Scotland squad of 1990, including Ian McGeechan and the management, had to jump into a local pool in New Zealand fully clothed.
"Things have changed a bit now with the guys being fully professional and in the media eye a lot more, so a lot of that kind of stuff which builds camaraderie among team-mates and with opponents is a no-no, but there has to be a place for the esprit de corps and fun element that goes with rugby. Maybe the veterans and oldies scene is the way to bring it back."
Around 12 Scottish teams are expected to take part in the 2008 festival, which boasts more than 100 teams from 18 countries, but the closing date for applications is not until next week, 31 May, so more are still expected.
There will be three days of competition sited around a 'rugby village' at Murrayfield Stadium, with the veterans playing on pitches at Roseburn and Saughton.
A variety of social events are also lined up, starting with the opening ceremony at Edinburgh Castle esplanade, a parade of nations down the Royal Mile and a party in George Square Gardens to a 'Highland Fling' at Musselburgh Racecourse that is said to include camel racing. The closing dinner will be held at Ingliston.
The festival was started in 1979 by Tom Johnson, the former All Blacks forward, and first held in Auckland. Underwritten by Air New Zealand, it quickly mushroomed and now has biennial football, cricket, netball and hockey tournaments.
Scotland had to bid for the event, Gavin Hastings having joined a delegation from the City of Edinburgh Council and EventScotland to the Wellington festival in 2006 to witness first-hand its success.
Scott Hastings added: "This 'oldies' approach really seems to have stimulated the veterans market.
It's more a social sport, as you can see just from the list of colourful names of teams. The Forth Valley Fossils are bringing together players from a number of Scottish clubs and they're even playing a practice game next month against the Baggy Pipers, a Boroughmuir-based side that has ex-Lion Iain Paxton involved.
"And we have the Old Vulgarians from England, South Australian Crippled Crows, Thunderbird Rum Ruckers, Olde Barking Dogs, Penrith Legless Emus and the Swiss Gnomes!
"Fun, friendship and fraternity is the golden oldies' motto and I think that's something we could do with getting back into rugby at all levels."