Former Scotland rugby player Ken Macaulay is nearing the end of a marathon 1,020 mile charity cycle challenge that by this weekend will have take him to the 76 domestic grounds on which he played.
When Ken’s pedal-athon reached the capital one of the club’s he dropped in at to accept donations was Edinburgh Northern who are based at Inverleith Park.
There to greet him and a support crew of fellow ex-players were ex-president Joe Smith and club secretary, Callum Miller.
They are pictured in a group featuring, left to right, Iwan Tukalo, Joe, Ken Macaulay, Callum, Stevie Douglas and Mike Hall.
Earlier this year Ken, now aged 66, was one of 75 players honoured with a retrospective cap as until then Scottish Rugby had a specific list of countries they would recognise as full international opponents.
In Ken’s case his momentous occasion came on a Scotland tour against a French XV in Bordeaux in 1980.
He said before setting off earlier this month: “I was very fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of the SRU’s retrospective cap initiative and this has got me thinking of a way to give something back as a thank you for being included in the process. It is also a token of my appreciation for everything the sport of rugby has given me over the years.“
He is due to conclude the cycle at Gala, where he spent the bulk of his playing career, on Saturday and where the marathon cycle started.
Other clubs which Ken played for include Heriot’s and North Berwick.
At the time of writing he has had £9,676.90 pledged or donated, which is around eight times his original target. The money will be divided between Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation and Prostate Scotland.
To make a donation, go to donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kens-retrospective-challenge
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