SCOTT ROBESON has become one of Boroughmuir Bears most consistent players and he is enjoying the challenge of co-captaincy currently. The centre, 23, co-leads the Meggetland men on the pitch alongside the more experienced Craig Keddie and the duo along with head coach Graham Shiel must have had some words of wisdom for their men at half-time last Saturday.
They were 20-15 down to Southern Knights at Meggetland after 40 minutes, but came flying out of the traps after the interval to secure a comfortable 44-20 bonus point triumph.
That means they are fourth in the table after four rounds of Super Series Championship action and are now building up to another home match tonight [Friday at 7.35pm], this time Sprint champions and current table toppers Ayrshire Bulls being the visitors.
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“We know what the Bulls will bring, they are a good side, but we beat them in April in the Sprint and we have to take confidence from that as well as taking confidence from our more recent second half showing against the Knights,” Robeson, who was in the TOL Round Four Dream Team this week and was in the TOL Sprint Team of the Campaign earlier in 2023, said.
“Through the Sprint earlier in the year and now in the Championship we have shown in patches what a dangerous team we can be when we get things right and now it is up to us all to become more consistent and really challenge teams regularly
“We have a lot of young players in the squad, guys like Euan Muirhead and the guys coming back from under-20s duty, and there is a nice balance to our group with a really good atmosphere around the place.
“Now we are keen to kick on and see where it takes us during the rest of this tournament.
“As for taking on the co-captaincy for the Championship, well it was an honour to be asked and an opportunity I was keen to take up,” he continued.
“I have really enjoyed my rugby at the Bears since I joined ahead of the Sprint in 2022, so to be part of the leadership group is good and it is great to lead alongside Craig because he has held such roles a number of times over the years.”
Bears assistant coach David Wilson was the catalyst to Robeson signing-up with Bears, and he has not looked back since, but what was the rugby journey that he went on in the years before that which took him to Meggetland?
Well, his father Dougie was a very good player in his day, turning out for Kelso regularly and also scoring a try for the South of Scotland in a in a 29-4 defeat to Australia at Mansfield Park in 1988. So, it was perhaps inevitable that young Robeson would give the game a go and he took it up aged 10 when he moved to George Heriot’s School, going on to captain the school 1st XV, representing Edinburgh at under-16 and under-18 level, and eventually gaining international recognition with Scotland under-18s.
The Scotland under-18s squad that Robeson was a part of put in some great performances in the Six Nations Festival in Wales in April 2018, beating England, France and Ireland with the likes of Rory Darge, Jamie Dobie and Cameron Henderson involved.
Soon after, while still at school, Robeson was part of the Heriot’s squad which finished runners-up at the Kelso Sevens, which was an especially sweet moment given his family ties to Poynder Park.
As he headed off to Glasgow to study at university in 2018-19, Robeson was all set to kick on with his rugby, but a broken foot picked up early that season required surgery and put him out for six months.
“It was tough to take at the time because I had just moved to uni and was really focused on my rugby too, I was going to be travelling back to play for Heriot’s,” he explained. “However, it was just one of those things and I managed to get fit enough to play the sevens season with Heriot’s including playing at the Melrose Sevens [in April 2019] which was a big buzz.
“I got a good run of games for Heriot’s at the start of the 2019-20 season and by the December-time I was training with Scotland under-20s in preparation for the Six Nations.
“Sadly, in a training session around Christmas, I broke my other foot and it ruled me out of competing for a place in that tournament.
After transferring to the University of Edinburgh in 2021, Robeson decided to play a season of BUCS rugby “just to get my enjoyment of the game back after my injuries”. Getting regular game time was the boost he needed and promoted his decision to join the Bears early last year.
“Since then I haven’t looked back and I think it is great that so many of the Bears squad have stuck around for multiple tournaments as it is helping us build something good at the club,” he concluded. “The wider Boroughmuir club is focused on helping young talent come through, so I think there are good times ahead at Meggetland.”