On behalf of everyone at GHA, a warm welcome to Melrose President Rob Moffat, and to the committee, coaches, players and travelling supporters who join him at Braidholm for our first Arnold Clark Scottish Premiership home fixture of the season. This is my first programme note as GHA President, and it is a genuine honour to take up the role as a former player at Hutchesons’ / Aloysians RFC over 30 years ago. There was no TMO back in those days I can assure you! I want to place on record my thanks to my predecessor, Gordon Adams, for his leadership and tireless service to the club – he leaves GHA in fine health, and I am proud to follow in his footsteps.

We could not have been presented with a stiffer test to open our 26/27 Premiership campaign than welcoming Melrose to Giffnock, a team from the Scottish Borders proudly steeped in the history of the Scottish rugby club game. It is the start of a new chapter on the training paddock too, with Jamie McCarthy taking the reins as Head Coach and his predecessor Calum Forrester ‘moving upstairs’ to the GHA Board as Director of Rugby Operations. When these sides last met here we narrowly edged a titanic contest 13–10, a last-gasp win that summed up the spirit of this group of players. Braidholm has been a happy hunting ground against the Borderers – we are unbeaten at home to Melrose in our last four meetings, but we know they will arrive determined to put that right, so expect a proper contest with no quarter asked or given from both teams.

Off the field, the club is looking firmly to the future, and at the heart of that is 3G500, our ambitious two-year campaign to raise £500,000 for a new all-weather 3G pitch here at Braidholm. As Campaign Director (and Past President) Gordon Adams put it, “Every generation of GHA members has inherited something special. Now it’s our turn.” An additional 3G surface at Braidholm will let us train and play whatever the weather throws at us, open the ground up to far more of our teams, and secure Braidholm as one of Scotland’s leading community rugby facilities for generations to come.

That investment underpins where we want to take the club. We are determined to bring the women’s and girls’ game back to the heart of GHA, and work is already well under way to build a thriving section from our minis through to senior level, with training and taster sessions running throughout the 2026/27 season. If you know a girl or woman who would like to pick up a ball, whatever their experience, we would love to hear from you. We pride ourselves on being an extremely progressive rugby club at GHA with a strong focus on equality, diversity and inclusivity.

Our junior section remains the lifeblood of this club, and we are delighted that our U16s and U18s step up to participate in the elite Scottish Rugby Union Open Competition League for the first time this season. This is a significant move that will test our young players against the very best age-group players across Scotland and strengthen the pathway that runs from the minis all the way up to our 1XV. It is a pathway that keeps delivering, with several products of our own age-grade rugby involved in the senior squad today. We are extremely proud of our U16s and U18s, we wish them and their coaches all the very best, and we are sure that they will rise to the challenge in the season ahead.

There is plenty to enjoy away from the rugby today, too. Braidholm is also home to the annual Giffnock Beer Festival this afternoon, so a warm welcome to everyone joining us for that: Scottish beers, ales and ciders, our gin and prosecco tent, great food and fun-fair rides for all the family, with every penny going back into community sport on the Southside. Whether you are here for the rugby, the festival or both, we are absolutely delighted to have you at Braidholm and hope to see you back down for many more matches at Braidholm throughout the season ahead.

None of this happens without our valued sponsors, our committed army of club volunteers and loyal supporters, whose generosity and time make GHA the special club it is. Thank you, each and every one of you. For now, though, there is a game to enjoy. Please get right behind the GHA boys, make some noise, and let’s get our season off to the perfect start.

Enjoy the match.

Best wishes,

Jonathan Kelly

President, GHA Rugby Club