Three of the most promising young talents in the Scottish game are to be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to immerse themselves in New Zealand rugby and culture after today being named as the joint recipients of this season’s prestigious John Macphail Scholarship.
Lock Grant Gilchrist, stand-off/centre Harry Leonard and hooker George Turner will spend 18 weeks in Christchurch, playing for local clubs and benefitting from the high-end facilities and coaching offered by the Canterbury RFU International High Performance Unit.
The trio will receive specialist support from members of the coaching staff at the Crusaders, the most successful side in Super 15 history.
Among those sharing their expertise will be Todd Blackadder, the one-time All Black captain and Edinburgh player/head coach, ex-New Zealand prop Dave Hewett, who followed Blackadder to the Scottish capital and then back to Canterbury, and Daryl Gibson, the one-time Glasgow Warriors centre who is now an assistant coach with the south island franchise.
Gibson’s fellow former All Blacks, centre Aaron Mauger and lock Norm Maxwell, together with two-time Super 12-winning hooker Matt Sexton, will also be on hand. Each of the visiting youngsters will be assigned an individual mentor and will be able to call on full strength and conditioning, performance analysis and medical support.
The Macphail Scholarship, now entering its seventh year, was established in memory of former Scotland hooker John Macphail, who died in 2004. In Macphail’s business career, he was chief executive, then chairman, of the Edrington Group, a private company that is owned by the Robertson Trust.
The scholarship has a proud record of assisting the development of Scottish talent by exposing them to different environments.
Previous winners include John Barclay, the Glasgow Warriors and Scotland player now widely considered one of the leading openside flankers in the northern hemisphere, Roddy Grant, the 2008 recipient who has captained Edinburgh for much of this season, and Lewis Niven, who has played for the capital club in both the Magners League and Heineken Cup.
Last year’s recipient, hooker Finlay Gillies, is now an Elite Development player with Glasgow.
Graham Lowe, Scottish Rugby’s director of performance rugby, congratulated Gilchrist, Leonard and Turner, saying: “Grant, Harry and George have the potential to go a long way in the game, and spending four months in a set-up like Canterbury’s will be great for them both as players and individuals.
“The support of The Robertson Scholarship Trust has helped us accelerate the development of a number of players in the time the Macphail Scholarship has been up and running, and the high-performance aspect we’ve introduced this year will fortify that process even further.
“Myself and Stephen Gemmell, our head of player development, conducted a detailed study of a number of different options in the southern hemisphere, and the level of support and opportunity offered by the Canterbury RFU we believe is second to none.
“I’ve every confidence that Grant, Harry and George will make the most of this opportunity and return energised and enthused, with a lot of fresh knowledge to exploit.”
Duncan Munro, Director, The Robertson Scholarship Trust, said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce these three fine young players as the recipients of the 2011 John Macphail Scholarship.
“This year is the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Robertson Trust, and it is particularly fitting that it should coincide with the decision by Scottish Rugby to incorporate the John Macphail Scholarship into its Elite Player Development programme as a core strand for its most talented players, at the same time increasing the number of scholars able to benefit,
“Along with the Trustees, Mrs Macphail and her family continue to take a close, personal interest in the experience of each scholar both during and after the period of the award.”
Speaking on behalf of the recipients, Leonard said: “It’s a fabulous honour for us all to receive the John Macphail Scholarship. We’re determined to follow in the footsteps of the guys who have made the most of this opportunity and the prospect of learning and playing in what is another fantastic rugby environment is massively exciting.
“We’re all looking forward to getting out there this weekend and taking as much as possible from the experience.”
Scottish Rugby have been in regular dialogue with both the Canterbury RFU and Crusaders since an earthquake struck Christchurch last month.
Scottish Rugby president Ian McLauchlan has emphasised the sport’s solidarity with those affected by the tragedy, with Munro confirming: “Grant, Harry and George will act as worthy ambassadors at this difficult time. They will convey the support and best wishes of Scottish Rugby and the wider rugby family to the people of Christchurch as they seek to rebuild their city and their communities.”
GRANT GILCHRIST
Grant Gilchrist is an Elite Development player with Edinburgh. The powerful lock forward was schooled at Lornshill Academy and received his grounding in the game at Alloa RFC. He has since moved to Stirling County, and has represented Scotland at under-18, under-19 and under-20 level.
Away from rugby, Gilchrist has studied chemical engineering and benefitted from an apprenticeship with oil giants BP.
Club: Edinburgh/Stirling County
Position: lock
Height: 6ft 8in
Weight: 18st 0lb
D.O.B. 9 August 1990
HARRY LEONARD
Harry William Leonard is a stand-off/centre who was a key figure for Scotland under-20 in their 2011 6 Nations Championship campaign. He was recently awarded an Elite Development contract with Edinburgh, and has represented both Scotland and London South East at under-18 level. Leonard has also turned out for London Irish A.
A former Brighton College first XV captain, Leonard has represented his county at both rugby and football.
Club: Edinburgh/Boroughmuir
Position: stand-off/centre
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 13st 4lb
D.O.B. 28 April 1992
GEORGE TURNER
George Edward Turner was part of the Scotland under-20 squad for the 2011 6 Nations Championship, and has represented his country at under-18 level. The hooker has also played for Edinburgh under-16, under-17 and under-18 and was in the Scotland under-17 training squad in Spain in 2009.
He was named Man of the Match when Stewart's Melville Lions won the national S1 championships in 2005.
Club: Stewart's Melville FP
Position: Hooker
Height: 5ft 11in
Weight: 15st 6lb
D.O.B. 8 October 1992
