2025/26 End of season report
What a season it’s been! It has been another history-making year for the Club, with multiple league titles across BUCS and Scottish Hockey, trophy wins, and promotions. These fantastic results are all down to the hard work and dedication of our members, coaches, and the Committee, so well done and thank you to everyone who has been involved with EUMHC this season.
BUCS
On the BUCS front, our 3XI came out in front. After losing only one match in Scottish Tier 2, they have secured promotion into Tier 1. A hard-fought cup campaign saw them travel to St Andrews for the Scottish Conference Cup finals, where they defeated Napier in a 3-1 victory to be crowned champions. The Conference finals day also saw our 6XI narrowly lose to Stirling 2-1 after conceding last-minute in the Trophy, ending another noteworthy cup campaign.
This season saw the return of our 1XI to BUCS Premier (National), after a short stint in Premier (North) last season; under the stewardship of Jamie Croll, the boys faced some tough matches against the strongest sides in the UK, managing to secure two victories against Oxford and Bath.
Our 2XI narrowly missed out on playoffs for the Premier (North) league, losing only one match against the Scottish Tier 1 champions, St Andrews, who went undefeated. The 4XI, 5XI, and 6XI had less successful seasons in their respective BUCS leagues, however the 4XI managed to avoid relegation after an all-important final match verses Dundee, which saw them walk away with a 5-2 victory.
Scottish Hockey
In the Saturday leagues, our 1XI once again made history, becoming the first every university side to be crowned champions of the Scottish Premiership. This is the latest in a series of history-making achievements from our Ones, and is a testament to the dedication of our Performance players, alongside their expert coaching team, consisting of Neil Allan, Martin Beckford, and Neil Willson. After being the first university side to win the Cup last season, they sought to retain it at the end of April, however narrowly lost out. All was not lost however, as they had the opportunity to bounce back at the Grand Finals the following weekend: after a resounding victory against Uddingston on the Saturday, a hattrick from Jamie Golden in the final versus Grange on the Sunday saw Uni become the first men’s university side to qualify for the EHL since 2007, and only the second ever. Well done to the 1XI, and good luck on their European campaign next season!
Elsewhere in the Club, our 6XI narrowly missed out on promotion from East 3 to East 2 after winning twelve matches, drawing two, and losing 2. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th XI placed 4th, 3rd, 10th, and 8th respectively in their leagues, with thankfully no relegations, and so we can expect to see every team in the club compete in the same leagues next season. The 2XI travelled to Glasgow Green with the 1XI on the April cup finals day, but unfortunately walked away with an identical 3-2 scoreline to the 1XI, after a nail-biting District Cup Final versus Hillhead.
team results
| Team | Captain | Coach(es) | BUCS (Wins-Draws-Losses) | Scottish Hockey (Wins-Draws-Losses) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1XI | Jamie Croll | Neil Allan (Head Coach), Martin Beckford, and Neil Wilson (Assistant Coaches) | 7th Premier (National) (2-1-5); National Vase Quarter-Finals |
Premiership Champions (13-2-1); Cup Runners-Up; Grand Final Champions (Qualified for EHL) |
| 2XI | Myles Harrison-Stirling | Ian Chapman | 2nd Scottish Tier 1 (7-2-1); National Trophy Semi-Finals |
4th Regional League 1 (9-2-5); District Cup Finals |
| 3XI | Murray Walker | Ethan Williams | Scottish Tier 2 Champions (8-1-1); Scottish Conference Cup Champions |
3rd Regional League 2 (9-2-5); Reserve Plate Semi-Finals |
| 4XI | Toby Dunnet | Jamie Golden and Rory Steedman | 5th Scottish Tier 2 (2-1-7); Scottish Conference Cup Quarter-Finals |
10th East 1 (2-3-14); Reserve Cup Quarter-Finals |
| 5XI | Adam Hepburne-Scott | Jamie Golden and Rory Steedman | 5th Scottish Tier 3 (3-3-4); Scottish Conference Cup Quarter-Finals |
8th East 2 (4-0-11) |
| 6XI | Alessio Tassinari | Arthur Owens and Reuben Kelly | 5th Scottish Tier 4 (3-0-7); Scottish Conference Trophy Finals |
2nd East 3 (12-2-2) |
2025/26 EUMHC Honours
BUCS
Scottish Tier 2 (3XI)
Scottish Conference Cup (3XI)
Scottish Hockey
Premiership (1XI)
Grand Finals (1XI)
Performance Players, coaches, and officials
At the very top end of the Club, we have a number of individuals who perform at the very highest level. In terms of players, we this season we have seen Keir Robb, Jamie Croll, Jamie Golden, and Matt Taylor earn multiple Scotland Senior caps across various competitions. Most recently they competed in the FIH World Cup Qualifiers in Chile, with Neil Allan as Head Coach and Martin Beckford as Team Manager. They unfortunately missed out on a place in the World Cup this summer after an unfortunate result in the group stages against Wales.
Croll, Robb, and Golden will travel to Cape Town, South Africa, for the FIH Nations Cup next month, where they will be joined by Ollie Wilson who will earn his first senior cap. Matt Taylor and Alex Wilson were selected as non-travelling reserves. Further congratulations are in order for Ollie Wilson, he having been selected for the Great Britain Elite Development Programme, one of a handful of Scottish players in the squad.
On the umpiring front, two of our umpires stand out yet again for their high calibre of performance. Ben Burton and Hamish Kinloch have both been appointed to the Scottish Performance Panel, and both were appointed to the EHCO Trophy U19 European Clubs tournament. Ben further umpired the Regional League playoff game, alongside U21 international fixtures.
Sports union awards
Sports Ball was held at the start of Second Semester, with our 1XI up for Team of the Year in recognition of their slate of achievements last season. It was great to see such a high turnout from the Club, and even better to see the Ones win the award—the first EUMHC Sports Ball silverware in quite some time. Well done to the 1XI once again!
The Sports Union Blues and Colours Awards dinner will be held at the end of May, in recognition of individual achievements in Edinburgh University sports clubs. Ben Burton and Hamish Kinloch have been shortlisted for Student Official of the Year, a testament to their high level of umpiring and dedication to officiating at the University. Jamie Croll and Freddie Kelly-Greaves have both been awarded University Colours which they will be presented with on the evening, and which are awarded for services to and dedication to University Sport, above and beyond what is expected of club volunteers. Freddie has been further shortlisted for the McTernan Colour of the Year, which recognises the most outstanding Colour of the year.
Hockey Ball
In April, Hockey Ball returned to Tynecastle for a second year. With 350 attendees across the Men’s and Women’s Clubs, it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the end of another successful season. A huge thank you to George Aspden and Rhona Byers (Social Secretaries) for all the time and energy they poured into the evening—without them it wouldn’t have been possible! The end-of-season awards were announced at on the evening, to reward the achievements of our members this season. The winners were as follows:
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Gregor Mackay |
| Team of the Year | 3XI |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Algie Anderson |
| Coach of the Year | Ethan Williams |
| International Player of the Year | Ollie Wilson |
| Goalkeeper of the Year | Ben Elie |
| Top Goalscorer of the Year | Jamie Golden |
| Umpire of the Year | Cameron Colgan |
| Dennis Hay Outstanding Contribution to the Club Award | Ben Burton |
| Eugene Connolly Lifetime Achievement Award | Jamie Croll |
| Sports Personality of the Year | Will Franks |
| Dick of the Year | Toby Dunnet |
| Quickest Pint | Sam Phillips |
| Slowest Pint | Jamie Stewart |
| First Year of the Year | Luke Ryan |
Valete!
As with the end of every season, we must bid farewell to our graduating seniors. A massive thank you to all seniors who are leaving the Club this year, no matter how big or small a part they have played in the Club over their time at Edinburgh. Special thanks goes to those graduating who have volunteered time and energy throughout their Uni careers to keeping the Club running, be it coaching, umpiring, or sitting on Committee.
| 2026 Leavers | |
|---|---|
| Tristan Anderson | |
| Declan Bradley | 1XI Captain (2024/25) |
| Henry Bury | |
| Jamie Croll | 1XI Captain (2025/26); Scholar Secretary (2023/24; 2024/25); 3XI Coach (2023/24) |
| Tom Fox | |
| Vincent Gaudiosi | |
| Max Hamilton | Fixtures (National) Secretary (2023/24) |
| Archie Jackson | Fixtures (East District) Secretary (2023/24) |
| Alexander Jones | Website Secretary (2024/25); Intramural & Alumni Secretary (2025/26) |
| Freddie Kelly-Greaves | Secretary (2024/25); 4XI Coach (2024/25); President (2025/26) |
| Jamie Kirkham | |
| Izaak Morley Jessup | |
| Calum Munro | |
| Tom Pendry | |
| George Penny | |
| Keir Robb | 1XI Captain (2023/24) |
| Henry Wheeler | 5XI Captain (2024/25) |
| Josh Wiggins | 3XI Captain (2022/23) |
| Alex Wilson | |
| Louis Vanlint | 3XI Captain (2023/24) |
AGM and Committee
Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in February. At the AGM the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer presented their relevant reports; Constitutional changes were passed; and next year’s Committee was elected—you can find the minutes here which detail the business of the meeting. A huge thank you to this year’s Committee for keeping the Club running, and for their time and energy—the Club is run primarily by volunteers who devote copious amounts of time to keeping EUMHC operational, and without these volunteers the Club would simply cease to run. Good luck to next year’s Committee as they take on their roles in the coming weeks.
| Position | Incoming | Outgoing |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Committee | ||
| President | George Aspden | Freddie Kelly-Greaves |
| Vice President | Ben Burton | Tom Anderton |
| Secretary | Gregor Mackay | Fintan Duff |
| Treasurer | Will Franks | Murray Walker |
| Wellbeing & Inclusion Secretary | Ben Leslie | Ben Leslie |
| Social Secretary | George Aspden | Elliot Kirkpatrick |
| General Committee | ||
| Charity Secretary | Elliot Hyland | Tommy Robinson |
| Fixtures (National League & BUCS) Secretary | Hamish Kinloch | Hamish Kinloch |
| Fixtures (East District) Secretary | Hamish Kinloch | Gregor Mackay |
| Goalkeeper Secretary | Vacant | N/A |
| Intramural & Alumni Secretary | Algie Anderson | Alex Jones |
| Kit Secretary | Sam Dixon | Charlie Cowan |
| Publicity Secretary | Tom Winter | Raahan Mehta & Ben Burton |
| Tour Secretary | Milo Darley | Tyler Hunter |
| Umpire Secretary | Cameron Colgan | Ben Burton |
| Vice-Treasurer | Lucas Nixon | N/A |
| 1XI Captain | TBA | Jamie Croll |
| 2XI Captain | Bertie Gowan | Myles Harrison-Stirling |
| 3XI Captain | Paddy McAllister | Murray Walker |
| 4XI Captain | Henry Williams | Toby Dunnet |
| 5XI Captain | Monty Brown | Adam Hepburne-Scott |
| 6XI Captain | Kieran Stevenson | Alessio Tassinari |
Thank yous
Firstly, a massive thanks go to all our 140-plus members. You are the lifeblood of EUMHC, and without members, there would be no club!
Thank you to our fantastic coaching team: Neil Allan; Martin Beckford; Neil Wilson; Ian Chapman; Ethan Williams; Jamie Golden; Rory Steedman; Arthur Owens; and Reuben Kelly. On behalf of the members, thank you for all your hard work and dedication this year, and good luck in your future coaching roles, whether that is with EUMHC, or elsewhere.
Next, huge thanks must go to all our umpires—whether they have umpired a single match, or a plethora—as matches simply can’t happen without you, so thanks once again.
Thank you to the staff at Peffermill for keeping our fantastic facilities operational. Thank you also to our Club sponsors—Grilla, Dropkick Murphys, Mash House, and Potterrow—for without their support our Club would not be able to operate.
As we say goodbye to our graduating seniors, thank you to them for their commitment over their time at Edinburgh, and particularly to those who have devoted time to volunteer on the committee.
And as has previously been stated, thank you once again to this year’s Committee—be it fixtures, or umpires, or kit, without our Committee members EUMHC wouldn’t run.
As the new Committee get prepared for the 2026/27 Season, we hope everyone has a great summer, and thank you once again to everyone who has played a part in Edinburgh University Men’s Club this year!
