Islay Beach Rugby tournament

For the fourth year running, Lagavulin is sponsoring Islay’s Beach Rugby tournament, held on the White Hart Beach, Port Ellen with kick-off at 1:00pm on saturday 9th June. Twenty-five teams will visit Islay to play in the matches, with further teams having their applications turned away as no more could be accommodated. International rugby stars past and present will be on hand, with Ian MacLachlan of Scotland and British Lions announcing and presenting the trophies on the day. This event is unique in Scottish Rugby, as it is the only full-contact beach rugby event.The teams which plan to attend are: Army, Navy, Melrose, Cartha, Strathendrick, Cowal, Hillhead, Hillhead Select, Moffat, Howe (Fife) Cambuslang, Falkirk, Oban, MidArgyll, Kintyre, Islay 1 and Islay2, and four Islay distillery teams: Bruichladdich, Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Kilchoman. Women’s teams from Hillhead, Grangemouth, GHA and Oban will compete. Musical interludes will be provided by the Black Bottle Islay Pipe Band.

Update: And the winners of this year's Islay Beach Rugby tournament are: The Melrose Rugby Football Club, the same winners as last year. Congratulations! The pictures from this year's event are courtesy of Rosemary Fletcher. Many thanks for that!

The Islay Pipe Band on the beach opposite the White Hart Hotel

Relaxed atmosphere and lovely weather during the tournament

This story was published with kind permission from The Ileach - Community Newspaper of the year.