Mid Argyll starlet eyes international caps
One of Mid Argyll RFC’s promising young players has just been selected to play for Hong Kong in the upcoming under-20 World Trophy, writes John McCallum.
Jamie Blair, from Tarbert, qualifies to represent the Hong Kong team on his mother’s side.
Jamie played his youth rugby at Mid Argyll before his move to Glasgow for university, where he now plays for Glasgow Hawks.
Jamie captained the South Argyll Schools team that played in the under-16 School Bowl final at Murrayfield in 2018, and recently made his senior Mid Argyll debut when the team travelled to Islay where he scored the opening try.
The tournament is the first Junior World Trophy since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic.
The tournament is being held in Kenya where the best under-20 players from around the world will come together.
Jamie was selected through frequent footage which was sent to the coaches from his 2022-23 season, as well as endorsements from his coaches at Glasgow Hawks.
Jamie flies out to Hong Kong on Wednesday June 14 to join up with the under-20 training camp.
This will be a home-based training camp, followed by a one-week pre-tournament camp in Holland where the team will have a warmup fixture against Netherlands under-20s.
Following this, the squad will fly out to Nairobi, Kenya, where the tournament will be held and begin their preparation for the international event.
Lee Buckley, one of the coaches at Mid Argyll RFC, said: “The other teams with Hong Kong in group B are Samoa, Spain and Kenya and we know Jamie relishes the opportunity.
“If results go the right way there is potentially a meeting with Scotland under-20s, who are in group A, which will present Jamie with a chance to have a run out with some former teammates from Glasgow Hawks!”
Jamie said: “I’m absolutely buzzing for the opportunity. It’s been a massive goal of mine since starting my journey here in Scotland with Mid Argyll to represent my country at a major international tournament.
“I am looking forward to the experience of joining the high performance group in Hong Kong and competing with the best young talent from around the world.
“With Mid Argyll RFC starting up again in West 3 for the coming season, thanks to the hard work of the coaches and players, I look forward to sharing my experience on the field with these lads whenever I get the opportunity to run out with them.”
Lee added: “Everyone at Mid Argyll RFC wishes Jamie well for the upcoming tournament.”