Richie Gray, the forwards coach in South Africa who is now a national academy coach for the SRU, was particularly impressed by the contribution of David Young, the prop from Glenrothes. “As long as he continues his development, David has the potential to go further in the sport,” says Gray.
But such is Young’s ambition, he offered a different opinion on the tournament. “A lot of time and effort was put into that team and I feel we let many people down,” he says.
Born in Belfast, when his father was stationed there with the army, Young first played rugby at the age of 11 and was quickly thrown into the scrum at school, playing in both the loosehead and tighthead positions.
While appearing for Glenrothes, he was spotted by Jono Phillips, who was Caledonia rugby academy manager at the time. Phillips quickly selected him for his district side at the age of 16. “Jono gave me a lot of belief,” says Young. “He said if I worked hard enough, I had the potential to be a professional rugby player.”
To do that, Phillips advised Young to play at a higher level and, after representing Scotland’s under-18 A side, he joined BT Premiership Division Two club Kirkcaldy last season. As well as rugby, education also plays a huge role in Young’s life and next month he is going to study for an HND in sports coaching development. “Rugby is not everything in life. At least I will have something to fall back on.”
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In June, Young attended the International Rugby Academy of New Zealand in Wellington, run by former All Black Murray Mexted, for three weeks’ training. Arranged by the Tayside and Fife Institute of Sport, Young was the only Scottish player there this year, and he felt the experience certainly improved his rugby.
“At the academy, it was 24/7 rugby. We woke at 6am and had two rugby sessions before a classroom session, looking at psychology, nutrition or sports massage. The main thing I learned was from Mexted, who taught us about mental toughness. If you are strong enough upstairs, he said, then you will be strong enough everywhere else.”
When he returned, Young signed for BT Premiership Division One side Currie, and Gray believes it is an important move. “This will be a big season for him. It will determine whether or not he can fulfil his dream and become a professional rugby player.”