Shinty: Davie MacPherson is ready for battle after cancer fight

SHINTY is often perceived outwith its inner family as a gutsy sport only to be broached by the fearless.However, as the 2012 Orion Group Premiership gets under way today, one player will not quickly forget the brotherly fraternity that helped him through a different battle.

Two years ago, Inveraray player Davie MacPherson, a fitness instructor in Glasgow, was delivered the hammer-blow news that he was suffering testicular cancer. From galloping about determinedly with a stick on a Saturday and enjoying life to the full, MacPherson’s life was suddenly placed in sharp focus. “It makes you look at everything,” he recalls. “It makes you really appreciate your family, your friends, everything.”

What the experience also reminded the Winterton player, too, was the surfeit of kindness which exists within his sport.

Thankfully, he has made great progress, his recovery is as hoped and he will enter the fray today against Kyles desperate to prove that, at 32, he still has many good shinty years ahead of him.

One thing which can also be guaranteed is that he will approach the match with the same total commitment he is known for. “One of the things which really amazed me was the support I got from people within Shinty,’ says MacPherson. “I was getting texts from people I didn’t even expect; people you might knock lumps out of on a Saturday.

“I also remember at the Macaulay Cup final last year, former player Fraser Inglis donated his match commentary fee to my charity, Friends of the Beatson. The Macaulay Association matched it as well. It was a fantastic gesture.”

Since pacing the journey to recovery, MacPherson has run half marathons to raise money for the Beatson Oncology Centre in Glasgow, where he underwent chemotherapy. Shortly after his return to shinty last year, he picked up an injury which curtailed his involvement.

However, he was delighted Inveraray survived in the top flight and is determined to do his bit to ensure it is a better campaign in Argyll. “We thought when we beat Kyles in the Camanachd Cup last year that our season would turn around but it didn’t really happen. We had a lot of big players injured last year and, with the size of our squad, that really has an affect. We are looking to improve this year and we don’t want to be in a similar relegation situation again.”

At the other end of the table, all eyes will be on Newtonmore and whether they can secure a third championship. With Fort William and Kingussie in the midst of transition, it may once again be Kyles who will offer the biggest threat to their hegemony. ‘More’s tails are up, though, and with their strength in depth, must be favourites.