Perthshire Gather Online to Look Back over 2019-20 Season

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(The evening condensed into only 12 minutes!)

Congratulations to the awards winners and thank you to all who took part!

The evening Friday 29th May saw the Perthshire family dress up smartly and come together online via Zoom for the Annual Awards Night. The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the Club meeting up as normal but all assembled were determined to enjoy the celebration of the past season.

Before the event kicked-off, Jeremy Wares had led the online Cook Along Live where many of the Perthshire members, following his instructions, cooked a 3 course meal to enjoy prior to the main event. The award for best Tarte Tatin went to Dave Lewis, wooden spoon winner Andy Cummins was not impressed.

At 7:30pm Club Captain Ewan “MacKer” MacKessack-Leitch, who compered the evening, welcomed the over 80 households who had signed in to the Zoom call. After a quick reminder of the nominations and a game of “heads & tails,” that sort of worked, the Club Captain’s Toast to Perthshire was played out.

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Then it was time to start the awards. First up Arran Whittle won Colt’s Player of the Year for this ever-improving form which also saw him debut in the 2XV this season. Following that James Mair retained the Young Player of the Year award which he won last year, as he again improved stepping up to make the No. 8 shirt his own. Another person retaining their title from last year was Alasdair Nisbet who collected the Men’s Most Improved Player as he becomes a real force to be reckoned with in the front row.

After a year of phenomenal efforts and encouragements on & off the pitch Chris Wallace was rewarded with the 2XV Player of the Year trophy. James Mair was then back in the spotlight, as he saw off the competition to win the vote to be Men’s Players’ Player of the Year.

New awards this year were presented to the Women’s Section and Lynn Robertson picked up the Women’s Most Improved Player in her debut season where she has gained in confidence & ability on the pitch. The Women’s Players’ Player of the Year was a tightly contested affair, but the votes fell in favour of Lynne Stewart who has been an inspiration to many of her fellow teammates.

The moment for the big awards of the night arrived. The P6s won Mini Team of the Year in recognition of the amazing effort to win the Land Rover Rugby Tour 2020 Festival at Cardiff Arms Park. Sarah Hogwood was crowned Women’s Player of the Year and Mathew “Biebs” Rae won 1XV Player of the Year; both played on the front foot all season and led by example to their teammates and justly deserved the awards. Team of the Year went to the U16s for their big achievement finishing 2nd in the Shogun Conference and the representative honours for Caledonia, Glasgow Warriors & Scotland some of their players achieved.

Finally, following a difficult year for the Club both on & off the pitch, the Club Person of the Year was awarded to John McLaughlin. As Club President he has been there throughout: supporting the 1XV on match days when results have been poor, working behind the scenes and entertaining sponsors in the Clubhouse, as well as ably helping the Club following the sad losses of both Granny G and Adam Pattinson.

A Boat Race time trial was held and you’ll have to watch the highlights video (top of the page) to find out who won!
Throughout the evening reports of the activities from each section were given either as videos or speeches from that section. The Mini & Midi season review videos can be seen at the bottom of the page.

Full List of Award Winners:

Senior Section
Colts’ Player of the Year: Arran Whittle
Young Player of the Year: James Mair
Most Improved Player: Alasdair Nisbet
2XV Player of the Year: Chris Wallace
Players’ Player of the Year: James Mair
Player of the Year: Mat Rae

Women’s Section
Most Improved Player: Lynn Robertson
Players’ Player of the Year: Lynne Stewart
Player of the Year: Sarah Hogwood

Whole Club
Mini Team of the Year: P6
Team of the Year: U16
Club Person of the Year: John McLaughlin