COME rain, hail or shine, for the past 15 years five friends have religiously gathered by the railings at Selkirk RFC’s ‘Club Shop Corner’ to watch the Philiphaugh side’s home fixtures.

However, it’s not just the bonds of friendship and a love of rugby that have kept them close.

Each of the group has at least one rugby-playing son, having watched him move up through the rugby ranks – from Selkirk Rhinos’ mini-rugby section, to Selkirk Youth Club and then into Philiphaugh’s senior teams.

What has made the 2023-2024 season extra special is that, for the first time ever, all five of the friends’ sons have been selected in the same Selkirk 1st XV line-up.

“It has definitely been a proud moment for all of us,” said Alison Cullen, who for the past 10 years has served as Selkirk’s club shop manager.

“The boys [Ross Nixon, Andrew McColm, Andrew Cochrane, Liam Cassidy and Blake Cullen] also get on really well, so to see them finally playing together in the same Selkirk team has been brilliant.”

Two of the group – Alison Cullen and Maureen Nixon – are sisters, while Alison, Sheila Cochrane and Diane Cassidy used to play in the same Selkirk Ladies' hockey team.

The fifth member of the group, Christine McColm, is married to ex-Selkirk player Mick McColm, who happened to be on gate duty for Saturday’s fixture against Marr, while his brother Scott is a former Selkirk captain.

All-in-all, it’s perhaps no surprise ‘high fives’ are now the order of the day among this quintet of proud Selkirk mums.