Son of Tarzan apes father

When Newtonmore goalkeeper Michael Ritchie was growing up in the Seventies and Eighties, Camanachd Cup winners medals were two a penny. His dad, the legendary David “Tarzan” Ritchie, had 12, which was then a record, but he was by no means unique. Several of Michael’s age-group team-mates were the sons or nephews of multiple Camanachd Cup winners; it was just the way of things in the Strathspey village where the game is a religion.

After all, many of the current Newtonmore team are the scions of celebrated shinty dynasties. As well as Ritchie, there’s striker Danny McRae whose dad Angus won many winners medals, while fellow striker David Cheyne’s uncle David won seven Camanachd Cup winners medals, and full-back Norman Campbell is part of the Campbell family which produced the finest player ever to wear the blue and white, Norman’s uncle, the great Johnny Campbell. And then there’s combative midfielder Paul McArthur – his dad is current team manager Norman “Brick” McArthur, who was the man of the match when Newtonmore last won the Camanachd Cup. This is truly the land of my fathers.

“I suppose as youngsters we just assumed that this was what was in store for us,” laughs Ritchie ruefully. “In those days Newtonmore were a fantastic side and were winning year after year, so I suppose we all thought that if we could get into the side – and it was the aim of absolutely every boy in the village to play for Newtonmore – then it would come to us as well. But it hasn’t happened. The 5-1 win over Oban Camanachd in 1986 was the last time we won the Scottish Cup, although at the time I had no idea that it might be the last in my lifetime. It’s been 25 years since we won the Cup, so it’s up to us to change that at Bught Park.”

Bught Park in Inverness is where, on Saturday, Newtonmore will meet Kingussie, their neighbours and ancient foes. It is Kingussie, of course, whose utter dominance of Scottish shinty since 1986 has been partly responsible for Newtonmore’s corresponding lack of success. With the goals of prolific marksman Ronald Ross (ironically the grandson of Newtonmore shinty blueblood Minto Sellar) making them virtually unbeatable, Kingussie became the most successful sports team in the world as they won 18 league titles in a row, seven successive Camanchd Cups and at one stage in the early 1990s went four years undefeated.

Not that Newtonmore haven’t fought the Kingussie hegemony. They’ve made the final on four occasions since 1986, although on three occasions they have been beaten by Kingussie. At times it’s been more than a beating, it’s been brutal. The final between the Old Firm of shinty in 1987 was held at Fort William and was an absolute classic, with Kingussie winning 4-3. But since then it’s been horribly one-sided: the 5-1 defeat at Oban in 1989 was bad, but the 12-1 shellacking in 1997 was so terrible that all Michael Ritchie wanted to do was run away and hide.

“It was devastating, the worst day of my life,” he said.

“They were in their prime just then I wondered whether we’d ever beat them. This is our time, though: I’m 39 years young and although I’ve been in the first team for 21 years, I’m still waiting for my first winners medal.”

It hasn’t helped that Kingussie is just eight miles down the road from Newtonmore, and that children from the two villages go to school together. Ritchie, a painter and decorator, even lives in Kingussie with his wife and two sons (14-year-old Craig already plays for Newtonmore under-17s) next to shinty legend Michael Clark, and he admits there’s a fair amount of banter. “It’s alright most of the time, although they didn’t like it much when I painted my house blue and white [Newtonmore’s colours],” he laughs.

Ritchie’s father David appeared in the first of his 18 Cup finals in 1966, but he was 46 when he appeared in his last (a 4-1 defeat by Skye Camanachd in 1990), so there’s still hope for his son.

That sense has been stoked by the exploits of the young Newtonmore side, which is still in the running for the league title and earlier this season beat Fort William – who have won the last four Camanachd Cup finals – 8-1. Even more significantly, last week they won 6-1 at The Dell, Kingussie’s boggy fortress by the banks of the Badenoch.

“We shouldn’t read too much into that,” says Ritchie, “because that was an under-strength side missing Ronald Ross and a couple of other top players, but it was a morale-boost.

“That could be important because it’s going to be a helluva tight final that’ll be decided by defence, and in particular by whether we can stop Ronald Ross.”

While Kingussie rely on Ross, for Newtonmore it’s more of a team effort. Strikers Danny McRae (“he hits the ball like Ronald Ross”) and Glen Macintosh (“he loves a battle”) are always threats, but the man who could be decisive against an equally callow Kingussie side is the experienced David Cheyne.

The 26-year-old has been injured for much of the season but, says Ritchie, “is vital; he’s the man who makes our forward line tick”.

The battle between Kingussie, beaten finalists last year, and Newtonmore, bridesmaids for the past 25 years, is likely to be relentless.