John Houston has consistently impressed since joining the professional ranks from Heriot's in 2007. His form in the 2009/10 campaign convinced head coach Rob Moffat to offer him a four-year extension to his contract.
Moffat had been a key figure in Houston's rise, having coached him at Scotland age-grade level and with the national sevens team.
Edinburgh-born, but raised in Hawick, Houston won the club’s Newcomer of the Year award after his rookie season and went on to help the Scotland 'A' side clinch the IRB Nations Cup in June 2009.
Recording 16 starts in his first campaign as a professional, Houston scored on his home debut against Ulster in September 2008 before repeating the feat on his Heineken Cup debut against Toulouse in November – the effort which won him Edinburgh’s Try of the Season award.
During the opening half of this debut season, Houston established himself as a permanent fixture in Edinburgh’s back division and had scored three tries in the process. He had previously been part of the Hawick side that won the BT Premiership Division One, the BT Cup and Border League honours in 2001-2002.
Following his move to Heriot’s, Houston, who has studied sports science and management, raised his game even further, winning his first professional contract at the relatively advanced age of 24.
Houston made his international sevens debut at the IRB GMF Paris Sevens in June 2005 and produced some excellent performances for Scotland 7s at both Twickenham and Murrayfield in the summer.
He scored a try against England at Murrayfield in the Emirates Airlines Edinburgh 7s as Scotland 7s reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time ever on home soil.
Away from rugby, Houston enjoys reading and fly fishing, is studying construction project management and has coached the backs at Heriot’s.
