The district sides capped the best amateur players from their areas' club sides to play inter-district matches and matches against touring sides. Unlike the Scottish clubs (and Ireland's provincial sides), the Scottish district sides had no settled home and were not members of their Rugby Union. This meant when Scottish rugby embraced professionalism, it was not clear if a model based on districts or clubs would be used.
Professional model: club or district
It was not clear which route professionalism would go in Scotland. This created a turbulent start for professionalism in Scotland and left Scotland far behind fast-embracing Ireland in the set-up of its professional structure. The first season of the Heineken Cup in 1995–96 was run without any Scottish teams in European competition.[citation needed]
The SRU were concerned that the existing and long-established Scottish amateur club sides could not compete against the best teams from France and England and that by professionalising the district sides they would be more capable of advancing Scottish Rugby.[citation needed]
The four amateur district teams – Glasgow, Edinburgh, South of Scotland, and North and Midlands – were to become the professional sides Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh Rugby, Border Reivers, and the Caledonia Reds, respectively.[citation needed]
The Border Reivers were created in 1996 to compete in the Heineken Cup, because the Scottish Rugby Union did not think that Scottish club sides would be able to compete against the best teams from France and England.[1]
Then financial difficulties – the SRU's high debt, partly as a result of the redevelopment of Murrayfield – called for retrenchment. After two seasons, financial difficulties forced the Union to merge the four teams into two. The Border Reivers side merged with Edinburgh Rugby to form a team to be known as Edinburgh Reivers, causing outrage with many Border rugby fans, as effectively the Border side was disbanded.
The establishment and early success of a Celtic League caused the SRU to rethink its professional district structure. The Border Reivers side was resurrected in 2002 as The Borders and joined the second season of the Celtic League.
Since their return as a team in 2002, the Borders failed to challenge for the Celtic League title; however, they performed well during the 2005–06, finishing mid-table.
Disbandment again
On 27 March 2007, Scottish Rugby Union announced the Reivers were to disband at the end of the season as a cost-cutting exercise.[2] Many fans and sections of the Scottish media have claimed that the Reivers suffered due to SRU's determination, despite poor crowds and results, to make rugby a success in Glasgow.[citation needed] At the end of the 2006–07 season, several Borders players transferred to Glasgow Warriors. The success Glasgow later achieved with sell out crowds and a Pro 12 title win suggests this was a wise strategy.
Potential revival
Following the decision by the SRU to disband the Borders Reivers, the Border Reivers Action Group was formed to fight against the disbandment.[3]
However, in April 2007, the Borders Rugby Action Group conceded defeat as the SRU insisted there would be no finance available from the governing body. The action group pledged an attempt to resurrect the team in 2008; however, no such attempt was made.[4]
On 19 December 2011, former Scottish internationalist Keith Robertson gave an interview to The Herald newspaper. Robertson claimed that he was in contact with "people in the Borders who are interested in getting involved in funding a professional team". However the interested parties were said to be unwilling to afford any direct shareholding to the SRU. Robertson went on to claim that if the project came to fruition, the team would feature many "Borderers" – an attribute he felt the defunct Border Reivers had lacked.[5]
