Jack Fisher – When the Bears came calling

MELROSE, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 12: Boroughmuir Bear's Jack Fisher during a FOSROC Super6 match between Southern Knights and Boroughmuir Bears at The Greenyards, on August 12, 2022, in Melrose, Scotland. (Photo by Simon Wootton / SNS Group)

Boroughmuir Bears second row Jack Fisher began his career at Preston Lodge RFC, where he played from the minis section right up to the first XV. He owes his love of the game all to his dad, who also played for the Prestonpans based club. He said, “I’ve been brought up around rugby. My dad took me to games when I was younger, and I’ve only known rugby really.

“I’ve played my whole life and that’s all stemmed from my dad.”

Jack’s passion for rugby only grew throughout his time playing with the Men’s Tennent’s National League Division 2 team and it was in 2021 that he received a call from the Bears’ Team Manager Gordon Henderson asking if he wanted to join the Super6 club. He said, “[Gordon told] me they had the opportunity if I wanted to make the step up and thankfully it’s worked out not bad.

“It was a hard decision to leave Preston Lodge because that was the only club I had ever played for.

“I went from playing with my pals every week to joining the part-time-pro league – sort of the unknown.”

It may have been a difficult choice to leave the only club he had ever known, but Jack knew he had to make the change to progress in his rugby journey, and his new club was right behind him. “It was definitely a step up – everyone’s more physical, the games faster. I had a lot of support from my club though,” said the 22-year-old.

“[Everyone at the club was] so welcoming and straight away from week one, I felt like I had been there for a year.”

Throughout his shift, Jack has appeared 25 times for the Meggetland team and has started nine out of the 10 2022 FOSROC Super6 Championship rounds. This weekend he will also be part of the Bears starting team that face Ayrshire Bulls in the 2022 Championship semi-finals.

“You’ve got people from all parts of their career [in Super6].

“Having players like Tom Brown who has taken a step back from the professional game, his experience and his knowledge – you don’t have that anywhere else.

“Also [having] someone like Craig Keddie, who captains the side every week – he’s been around the block. He’s been in situations that not necessarily anyone else in the team have been in.

“It’s almost like having another coach when you have people like that with experience.”

During the current championship, Jack has been one of the leaders in turnover statistics. He has made 11 turnovers in 8 rounds, more than any of the other 192 players in the 2022 FOSROC Super6 Championship. He was also awarded FOSROC Player of the Match in the first round of the current Championship against Stirling Wolves.

“I like to do my analysis – again that’s something you don’t get so much from the lower leagues.”

Jack and his teammates work closely with Performance Analyst Cam Davis, who also works with professional players from Edinburgh Rugby. Jack said, “All of [Cameron’s] knowledge coming from the pro-environment is second to none – he knows what I need to do, he teaches me. He’ll tell me straight up what I need to do and how I need to improve.

“We can really break down the games I play and look at how I’m going to improve and what I need to work on. I think having someone like him really helps.”

In addition to his commitment to the game, Jack also works a full-time job at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Despite his “demanding” schedule, he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I’ve always taken the ‘if you’re going to do something then you’ve just got to go for it 100%’ route”.

With the 2022 FOSROC Super6 Championship nearing its finale, Jack confirmed that he will continue to play with Boroughmuir Bears and use the off season to “work hard, get better, get stronger and then look forward to getting back into the Sprint Series.”

Jack added, “I want to get in my thanks to Gordon Henderson and Graham Shiel for giving me the opportunity to be a part of Super 6 – I’ve loved every minute of it and I’m grateful they took a chance on me.”