Stuart McInally embarked upon his first campaign as a professional in season 2010/11. The Edinburgh coaching staff have high hopes for the former head boy of George Watson's College, and introduced him to the first team in late 2010.
Since then McInally has grown in stature significantly, joining the list of promising young players at the club that were taking advantage of the internationalists on duty at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Having impressed in the first half of the 2011/12 season McInally penned a two year extension with the club until 2014 and immediately began to repay the faith shown in him with a characteristically decisive try in the round one win over London Irish at the Medejski Stadium.
McInally continued a successful season with selection for Scotland A and formed part of the dominant forward unit that laid the platform for the 35-0 win over England Saxons at Netherdale.
An age-grade internationalist of some repute, McInally captained Scotland at U17, U18, U19 and U20 and has represented the Scotland 7s on the HSBC Sevens World Series. His short-game debut was in Dubai in the opening tournament of the 2009-2010 IRB Sevens World Series, and he went on to play also in the George (South Africa) event a week later.
Previously, Stuart scored a try in the 25-11 win against Ireland in the 2008 under-18 festival, and, as captain in those games, he followed on from leading Scotland in winning all three matches in the under-17 festival at Millfield School, Somerset, the previous year.
That year, too, he was named Scottish Rugby Awards’ Scotland Under-17 Player of the Season. He has played also for Edinburgh at under-16 (season 2005-2006) and under-18 (2006-2007 and 2007-2008).
He captained Scotland under-18 in all six matches in March and April 2008, including the Six Nations Festival in Cork, Ireland. He was included in the Scotland under-19 squad for the following season, but he was promoted to the under-20 team, making his debut in the 18-17 win against Wales at McDiarmid Park, Perth, on the opening day of the age group’s Six Nations Championship in February 2009.
He went on to play in all four of the subsequent matches, scoring a try in the 35-20 win against Ireland at McDiarmid Park, Perth, and his ever-present run continued in the IRB Junior World Championship in Japan in June that year with four starts and an appearance off the bench. He scored a try in the tournament finale win against Tonga in Osaka.
Stuart was then named captain of the 2010 u20 6 Nations squad and started every match.
