As Kelso were going through their undefeated run to win Arnold Clark Women’s Caledonia Midlands East Two Eilidh Walker was never far from their minds.
Walker was the Kelso head coach when she passed away in May aged 31 from Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) after holding a coaching session.
As a result, when the triumph was confirmed in the eight-team league and 34 points out of a possible 35 were accrued, there were happy tears and sad tears thinking of her and what she would have made of it all having been a driving force at the club.
“Eilidh is always there with us,” coach Nicola Halfpenny said.
“There have been times where we have had emotional moments during the season and we just put our arm around each other, we all have everyone’s back.
“Eilidh will never be forgotten for what she did at Kelso for ladies and girls rugby.
“There were a number of players that played one more year here to get us this title as we knew we had to win for Eilidh. We celebrated, as she always said, with ‘one for the road’.
The season was always going to be a tough one for and it could have gone either way, but we all supported each other on and off the pitch.
“At the start of the season, as coaches, our aim was to get the girls back together, get smiles on faces and enjoy being on the rugby pitch again.
“It took a lot to get the girls back on the pitch due to obvious reasons, but we knew we had to bring the enjoyment and the buzz came back and we started to work hard and before we knew we were heading to Hillfoots for the first game of the season with 15 players and we ground out a result [33-5].
“The team started to gel from there, numbers grew, new faces came in and the style of play began flowing and as coaches it was great to see.
And what was one of the keys to success?
“We got results at times when we felt we weren’t playing our best,” former Scotland cap Halfpenny said.
Lismore away [24-17] was a battle from start to finish and we had to work to get those points, then Leith at home surprised us with their physicality and we had another battle on our hands [17-12].
“To win the league is a great achievement, but to win it unbeaten is even sweeter, not many teams can do that.
“It’s our first as a coaching team and this gives you the fire in your belly to keep going. The work and commitment the girls have put in over the last six months have been great to see.
“The players are more than just a team, they have been through a lot and they have bounced back and they are like family.”
- Of the 10 women’s senior leagues in Scotland currently, eight of the champions have been confirmed in the shape of Corstorphine Cougars, Shetland, Biggar, Kelso, Bishopton, Lochaber, Marr and Dalkeith and they have all recently lifted silverware.
In the new year the Caledonia Midlands East One champions and the Caledonia North Two champions will be confirmed.
Thanks to Kelso RFC for the image of Kelso celebrating
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