Melrose's John Dalziel eager to showcase merits of club game

FEW appreciate the value of club rugby in Scotland better than Melrose's player-coach John Dalziel, and the lynch-pin of the Borderers' pack this afternoon says the leading names in the club scene deserve greater recognition.

Dalziel's first taste of the Murrayfield cup final was 11 years ago when he played for Gala, his hometown club, in the win over Borders neighbours Kelso in what was a surprising all-Division Two clash. The win, sealed by a deft try by Chris Paterson, capped a season in which Gala returned to the top flight.

However, as they fell back down again, Dalziel moved on to their bitter rivals four miles along the road. The flanker's abrasive, powerful style then attracted the attention of the Borders pro team and he enjoyed a period as a professional before the Reivers were disbanded by the SRU in 2007. Dalziel then turned down the opportunity to play professionally in England, albeit with a heavy heart, but as he prepares for his fifth cup final he says that he has no regrets.

"I've had a lot of highlights in the last few years," he said, "particularly reaching three cup finals with Melrose, and I honestly feel just as excited about this one as I did when I first went to Murrayfield with Gala 11 years ago.

"When the Borders went I already had a pre-contract offer from Exeter and so thought I'd be heading down there anyway, because I felt I wasn't getting the recognition higher up. The idea was to play down south and be part of Exeter climbing up to the Premiership, but when it came to it I had a lot to think about.

"My wife was pregnant, I was offered a very good job with my brother-in-law which provided some security for the future for our young family and Melrose also came along and offered me the chance to play for them and also start working my way up the coaching ladder. I eventually decided to stay here and I've been very lucky with the way it has all turned out."

What he means by that is as well as being part of a burgeoning Melrose side, that has shown its quality in reaching successive cup finals if not yet the consistency required to win the league, Dalziel has also played four times for the Barbarians and captained the Scotland club international team in the last two years. He also represented Scotland in Hong Kong on the IRB Sevens circuit.

Much of that has come in the space of the last two months and has made for a very trying period, but it has also convinced the 32-year-old that he is too young to retire from the game. The battle for supremacy in the forwards holds the key to the outcome in today's final and whichever of the veteran bulls – Dalziel and Damien Kelly, the Ayr skipper – we see rampaging across Murrayfield more often is likely to finish on the winning side. Dalziel could not be more enthusiastic.

"Ayr are a very good side with excellent players, but so are we and I can't be bothered with people who write off club rugby," he said. "Most of them don't see it week in week out, or are not watching many teams. The internationalists have not been playing club rugby since 1996-97, which is about when I started, and over the last decade the club game has only got better and better in my opinion.

"It has been helped by guys coming in from abroad to raise standards, but the quality there, the improving skills, the gym work the guys do now, the fitness and desire to do well at club level is all better I think that it was ten years ago."

He added: "I've not looked back since I finished as a pro, but that's because I've really enjoyed it at Melrose. I enjoy watching young guys coming through, which helps keep you fresh, and I enjoy seeing guys like Richie Higgins, who's about 38 now, going down to the 2nds at the club, showing the youngsters there the attitude you have to have, and coming back up and showing the form of five or six years ago. Having things like the Scotland club international side – captaining them was the proudest moment of my rugby career – and the South that we had in the Borders this season, is a great motivation for club boys, and so are cup finals.

"Scottish rugby, the pro teams and international side, needs a strong club game and, for me, there is no better occasion than two of the best sides around having a crack at each other at Murrayfield to show off what we have."

Melrose: F Thomson; C Anderson, J Murray, J King, B Allen; S Wight (capt), R Chrystie; N Beavon, W Mitchell, R Higgins, G Dodds, S Johnson, G Elder, J Dalziel, R Miller. Subs: L Gibson, K Cooney, G Runciman, N Mactaggart, S McCormick, C Jackson, A Dodds.

Ayr: G Anderson; C Taylor, R Curle, M Stewart, A Wilson; F Climo, J Hunter; G Reid, S Fenwick, G Sykes, S Sutherland, D Kelly (capt), J Crossan, A Dunlop, G Tippet. Subs: S Nimmo, S Adair, B Macpherson, P Burke, J McClung, AJ Macfarlane, S Manning.

Referee: I Heard.