BARRY Ross-Mackenzie has been awarded the Tubs Cup in recognition of his nearly 60 years of serving Weymouth & Portland Rugby Club.

This magnificent cup is awarded in memory of the late Paul “Tubs” Tobutt to a member who has given outstanding service to the club on or off the field of play.

As a young schoolboy Ross-Mackenzie first played for the club in 1960 and was an outstanding fly-half during many of the club’s most successful seasons in the 1970s and 80s, which also included winning the highly competitive Dorset Sevens competition several years in succession.

In 1985, Ross-Mackenzie had his Silver Jubilee year as a first-team player and to celebrate his extraordinary achievement a special game was played featuring a team captained by Ross-Mackenzie.

After the game, a Barry Ross-Mackenzie Silver Jubilee Dinner was held in his honour. That special occasion marked Barry’s 25 year-long playing career with the club.

After his retirement as a player, Ross-Mackenzie has continued to loyally serve the club in many ways.

His knowledge, experience and advice have been invaluable and he provides crucial behind-the-scenes support at training and on match days and he has also spent very many years facing the challenge of managing and maintaining the club’s three pitches which were originally laid over a council waste tip in the 1980s.

A club spokesman said: “Without Barry’s commitment and experience, playing rugby at Monmouth Avenue could have been very difficult.”