This piece appeared on The Offside Line on 29th May 2026

Spring in Scotland is the time for 7s or 10s rugby with tournaments held all over the country, and this weekend, one unique tournament takes place in Glasgow. The inter-islands 10s tournament, featuring ten different island rugby clubs, takes place on Saturday 30^th May in the slightly unusual setting of Cartha Queens Park in the city’s southside, notably not on a small island.

This year will be the second edition after the inaugural tournament was held back in 2024. The competition came to be thanks to the hard work and dedication of Silas Cox from Orkney RFC and has its roots in the desire to create more playing opportunities for players from island clubs.

Silas, a dairy farmer originally from Somerset, was heavily involved as Orkney looked to create a second team given their ever-increasing pool of players and the success of their first team. But, as he outlines, they soon encountered a large hurdle. “Finding an opposition for friendlies was almost impossible. Isle of Arran and Isle of Islay RFCs were in the same position, so it was proposed to meet both of them in Glasgow for a triangular fixture.” Soon after this was scheduled, more island clubs caught wind of the event and wanted to be involved. In no time at all, Silas had a full tournament on his hands.

Back in 2024, ten men’s teams competed for the Donnie Graham Cup while the women’s Kilkerran Cup was hotly contested by four sides. Shetland won the men’s cup, beating neighbours Orkney 22 – 14 in the final, while Mull won the women’s tournament after winning two of their three fixtures.

Other trophies were played for and won, thanks in large part to the support of a variety of island distilleries. As Silas is keen to point out, “Sponsorship was something that had huge enthusiasm and I approached many island distilleries, a core fabric of island economies.” In the end, five distilleries all lent their support, including main sponsors Abhainn Dearg from the Isle of Lewis. At the request of the owner of Abhainn Dearg, the men’s cup is named after a Stornoway RFC club legend, and fittingly in 2024, Donnie’s son Alick, also the Stornoway men’s captain, presented the cup to Shetland. In addition, Kilkerran sponsored the women’s cup as well as the shields and bowls in both competitions and Tobermory sponsored the tankard in the men’s draw

The biennial 10s competition offers the island clubs from Scotland the opportunity to play against one another, something that rarely, if ever, happens in the typical league structures. With their recent success, Orkney are well established in National League 3, while all the other clubs play in regional leagues, with one club, Arran, due to re-enter the league fold after several absent years.

Looking to take down Shetland this year in the men’s tournament are Arran, Skye, Orkney, Mull, and Campbeltown/Kintyre (while Kintyre may strictly not be an island, it often feels just as remote as a Mull or Orkney, so their inclusion feels justified). Over in the women’s tournament, Shetland, Stornoway, and MAKI (a Hebridean Barbarians team consisting of players from Mull, Argyll and Bute, Kintyre, and Islay) will be doing battle. The hosts, Cartha, are also entering a team in each competition as another way to lend their support to the tournament.

While many of the teams are Scottish, 2024 saw Alderney and Sark from the Channel Islands and Rugbyfélag Reykjavíkur from Iceland make the trip for the men’s fixtures. The Icelandic team, also known as the Reykjavik Raiders, are back again this year, after making a lasting impression on their Scottish counterparts two years ago.

For Silas, the coming together of island clubs for this event has a bigger meaning. “Naturally, the level of travel for away games denies playing opportunities, something all island teams can relate to. The amount of commitment from island players is something I don’t think many people will ever understand, and this tournament aims to celebrate that together.”

Cartha Queens Park might sound like a strange host for a tournament between island rugby clubs, but it serves as a central location for the participating teams, especially those who fly in for the weekend. And with several available pitches, a strong community culture and “maybe the best after game social,” it gave Silas everything he needed to run a successful first event. “To call the first tournament a success is an understatement. Everyone seemed to get on board, including Cartha who allowed teams to camp on-site. They bent over backwards to accommodate the tournament, which I am incredibly grateful and thankful for.”

This year is just the second iteration of the tournament, but Silas has his eyes on something bigger. “I’ve had interest from all sorts of island teams, even islands with no team and just one keen player. If a wild dream was to come true and they all entered a team, we would be looking at over 20 islands represented. Maybe one day!” The action this weekend begins at Dumbreck at 12pm with the bar open and refreshments available, and with some excellent quality island rugby to be watched, get along to support if you are nearby.