Gala

Gala Rugby Football Club was founded in 1875. Its home games are played at Netherdale. The team currently competes in Scottish National, the second tier of Scottish club rugby).

In 1883, the club took part in the first ever Sevens tournament in Melrose and competed in the final with the hosts. In 1912 the club moved from Mossilee to a new ground at Netherdale. 1931–32 saw Gala’s first and only success in the Scottish Unofficial Championship under the captaincy of Jimmy Ferguson.

From 1979, with Scottish internationalists Derek White and Peter Dods in the team, Gala won the Division 1 title three years in a row.

In 1995, Gala was one of eight teams to play in the new Scottish Premier League. In 1999, inspired by a young Chris Paterson at Stand-off, Gala won the Division 2 title, the Scottish Cup, and Melrose Sevens. The lowest point in modern history came in 2007 when Gala was relegated to Division 3 for the first time in its history. The team bounced back into Division 2 at the first time of asking.

The 2010–11 season saw promotion back into the top flight, its first full season back. 2011–12, saw a 3rd-place finish and the Scottish cup for the second time. Gala finished 2012–13 as both Premier Division and Scottish cup runners-up. 2013–14 saw Gala finish runners-up in the Premiership again. They also reached the semi-finals of the Scottish cup and won the Border League.

Among the many Scottish internationalists to be capped from the club are Gregor Townsend (currently Scotland’s Head Coach), Chris Paterson (over 100 caps for his country), Tom Smith, Peter Dods, Derek White, Nathan Hines, Duncan Paterson and Peter Brown.