Why Edinburgh hooker Dave Cherry will be wearing a Mull sock against the Lions on Friday night

Dave Cherry’s journey from club rugby to his first Scotland cap at the age of 30 was a long and winding road which took him from Edinburgh Accies to Currie to London Scottish, on to the south of France and back to Edinburgh, but this time to the pro side.

Dave Cherry will wear the socks of Mull and Merchiston Castle. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

What is less well known is that it included a stop-off in Mull and an appearance for the local side, at prop no less.

Cherry would go on to find his niche at hooker, of course, the position at which he would represent his county with such distinction for the first time at last year’s Six Nations, beginning with the famous Calcutta Cup win at Twickenham, Scotland’s first there for 38 years.

He is now up to seven caps and counting but summer holidays spent in Mull were important stepping stones in his formative years and it is why he will wear one of the club’s black and red socks on Friday evening when Edinburgh host the Emirates Lions.

Edinburgh players will be wearing a variety of socks on Club Appreciation Night as they pay tribute to the grassroots game. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

It’s being billed as ‘club appreciation night’ at the DAM Health Stadium, an evening when the home players can express their gratitude to the grassroots coaches and teams who helped them on their way.

They will do this by wearing the socks of their old clubs, having been given special permission by the league to do so. Most will pick a pair but Cherry’s hosiery will be mismatched as he gives a nod of appreciation to not only Mull, but Merchiston Castle School who he credits with playing a huge part in his rugby development, in particular through coaches Mark Appleson, Javier Palacios, and the late former Kelso and Scotland captain, Gary Callander.

Odd socks aside, there is something special about the care Cherry has taken to recognise the clubs that have helped him along the way. Last year on club appreciation night he wore the colours of Edinburgh Accies and Currie, the two clubs he represented before heading south to play for London Scottish and then Stade Niçois.

“My family’s been in Mull for a few generations now,” he explains. “I spent my youth growing up there in the summer and I absolutely love it.

Dave Cherry and Cameron Redpath lift the Calcutta Cup following their Scotland's historic 2021 victory over England, their first at Twickenham for 38 years. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

“My mum’s side of the family is from the west coast so we’ve had connections there for years and every holiday we’d go up there.

“Whenever I had to train, I would go down to the pitch and either run myself or try to do little sessions here or there.

“I actually played for Mull on one occasion. I played prop, believe it or not.

“I’ve got long connections with the rugby club and I always give any kit I have to the club and try to help them in any way I can.”

Scotland great John Rutherford was involved with Mull Rugby Club from the very beginnings. Photo by Colorsport/Shutterstock

Remarkably, Cherry is not the only Scotland international to have played for Mull.

John Rutherford, the prince of Scottish stand-offs, is bound up in the club’s origins, playing in what is thought to be the first game of organised rugby on the island.

The year was 1978 and Rutherford had yet to wear the dark blue of Scotland but he was a more than nifty asset to the scratch team that took on a side from a visiting Royal Navy frigate.

Dave Cherry will wear odd socks when Edinburgh take on the Lions at the DAM Health Stadium. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

There was rustic quality to the game. The pitch was on the sloping public park in Tobermory and, according to lore (and the club’s website), “the uprights were ‘requisitioned’ from the Forestry Commission and tied onto the existing, rusty, goalposts with hanks of brown fishing line”.

The visitors arrived in the spotless red jerseys and thought they had an ace up their sleeve in the shape of a stand-off who would be playing for the combined services by the following season. They reckoned without Rutherford, who, according to the club, “took the first pass, mesmerised the ‘navy prospect’ with his side-step and scored between the posts”.

Isle of Mull RFC was formed shortly afterwards, with a women’s team constituted into the club in 1992. The club is now based in Garmony, 17 miles down the coast from Tobermory, and the men’s side are currently joint top of Tennent’s West League Division 3.

Rutherford’s role came about through his friendship with Mull man Duncan Swinbanks which endures to this day. The pair studied PE together at Jordanhill College in Glasgow, became best mates and Rutherford would visit the island regularly.

He even presented the young Cherry with his medal from the Mull Sevens, sealing the link between the two Scotland men and honorary Muileachs.

The sevens tournament has gained a reputation as one of the friendliest on the circuit and Cherry would concur. Professional commitments have prevented him from playing but he has watched and enjoyed the spectacle and the social side.

His one appearance for the club was in 15-a-sides and it came in an unaccustomed role.

“It was a case of ‘we need a prop’ and, I think it was my father who said, ‘just do it’,” he recalls.

“It was very relaxed. Ray White was in charge back then, if I remember correctly, and Gus White as well. It was old school, with jugs of beer on the table after the game, although me being 16 I didn’t have anything.

“It’s a brilliant clubhouse they’ve got but there are not many times you get midges when you’re playing rugby! It was probably the hardest things to contend with. But it’s stunning scenery from the pitch and if you haven’t been to the sevens it’s worth going.

“I’m sure I read an article where Roger Baird listed his top five sevens tournaments to visit and he had Hong Kong in there and Melrose but Mull also featured, so there you go.”

If it’s good enough for John Rutherford and Roger Baird, it’s good enough for Cherry.

Socks appeal: The Edinburgh players will wear the socks of their boyhood/local clubs against the Lions on Friday night:

15. Henry Immelman (Portobello RFC)

14. Darcy Graham (Hawick RFC)

13. Matt Currie (Dumfries / Merchiston Castle)

12. James Lang (RGC Rygbi Gogledd Cymru)

11. Emiliano Boffelli (Inverleith RFC)

10. Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Accies)

9. Henry Pyrgos (Leith RFC)

1. Boan Venter (Leith RFC)

2. Stuart McInally (Watsonians)

3. Luan de Bruin (Corstorphine Cougars)

4. Glen Young (Jed-Forest RFC)

5. Grant Gilchrist (Alloa RFC)

6. Luke Crosbie (Livingston RFC / Currie Chieftains)

7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Accies)

8. Viliame Mata (Trinity RFC)

Replacements

16. Dave Cherry (Mull RFC / Merchiston Castle)

17. Pierre Schoeman (Edinburgh Accies)

18. WP Nel (Watsonians)

19. Marshall Sykes (Ayr RFC)

20. Ben Muncaster (North Berwick RFC)

21. Charlie Shiel (Currie Chieftains / Royal High)

22. Charlie Savala (Ayr RFC)

23. Chris Dean (North Berwick RFC / Edinburgh Accies)