Rising Stars

How old were you when you first played? Five. Mum and Dad took me down to my local club, Swaffham. My older brother already played there, so before then I’d go down to watch and throw a ball around on the touchline.

Did you play any other sports? A lot. I played county cricket for a few years and a lot of hockey. It wasn’t until I was 13 or 14 that the rugby got more serious. Is that when you linked up with Leicester… Yes, at the local DPP (Developing Player Programme) centre in Norfolk. I had a few years there, then I was fortunate to get a place in the academy at U17-18 and I pushed on from there. Have you always been a full-back? I started at fly-half, then inside-centre. Then at 15 I moved to full-back; the academy coaches thought it would be a good idea to see how I went there.

I love being behind the front line – lots of talking and bossing people around! I like the aerial contests and high balls. And I love the kicking battles too. How have you found the Premiership? It’s been a massive step up but I’ve been introduced slowly, which is really good. It’s not like I was thrown in at the deep end. I’ve built experience gradually. The physicality is the biggest difference – big blokes!

Who was your childhood hero? I used to watch Leicester a lot when I was younger and I looked up to Matt Smith, who is now an attack coach here, as a player. Also Geordie Murphy, one of the best full-backs to ever play the game. Who has been the biggest influence on your career? My mum and dad. They’ve spent countless hours watching me play and driving me around the country.

What are your long-term goals? At the minute to stay consistent. I want to play in the Premiership for a long time, not be someone who started at 19 then dropped off and never played again. So to be consistent, in and around the starting XV.

What do you do away from rugby? I’m studying for a degree in economics at Loughborough. It’s been tough to balance that with rugby but if I didn’t have that I’d just get bored all the time! I’m in my second year and will probably split my final year over two years.

2 ROSS THOMPSON

Age 21 (10 April 1999) Born Edinburgh Position Fly-half Club Glasgow Warriors Country Scotland

When did you first play rugby? Three or four – as soon as my dad could get me into it! That was mini rugby at Stew Mel Lions on a Sunday, then I moved to Stewart’s Melville from 12 or 13.

Did you play any other sports? I played a lot of football and some racket sports as well, badminton. But it was mainly rugby and football, which I stopped at 16. What positions have you played? Centre until I was 16, then I moved to fly-half and I’ve been there ever since. Your strengths? Kicking is a big one, and my distribution. I’m always working on my defence and my running game. I want to be a bit more dominant in the tackle and a threat with ball in hand. When did you link up with Glasgow Warriors? I came across to Glasgow for uni and joined Glasgow Hawks. A teacher knew Fin Gillies, the coach at the time, and put us in touch, and he really helped me a lot. On the back of a couple of games for Hawks I trained with Glasgow a couple of times and after that, in my second year of uni, I became a Stage Three academy player. Are you still studying? Yes. It’s taking five years to do a four-year course as I went part-time so did two years over three years due to the increase in rugby. I’m doing law. I enjoy it; it’s something quite different outside of rugby.

How have you found the step up to the Pro14? Really good. I’m lucky with the players I’ve had around me – it’s made it a lot easier. There are great stand-offs here, so I pick up little things from them. Childhood hero?

Chris Paterson was one. When I played centre, I looked up to Brian O’Driscoll. He was never the biggest but he was pretty skilful and that’s what I strive to be. Your long-term goals? I want to push on here and get as much experience as I can. I’d love to play for Scotland one day as well.