BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
Oz kid Savala making Scots dad proud as he aims to shine at Edinburgh
CHARLIE SAVALA was just nine years old when he first set foot on Scottish shores. His father, Scott, had emigrated to Australia as a teenager but returned for a holiday to his hometown of Ayr with his family, keen for them to understand their roots.
Young Charlie even managed to pick up a rugby ball — and shirt — during the trip, unknowingly foreshadowing his move to Edinburgh late last year.
‘I went down to Ayr Rugby Club as a young kid with my younger brothers Hugo and Xavier,’ recalled fly-half Savala. ‘We played for one of their mini-teams. I still have an Ayr pink and black jersey at home in Australia.’
Savala thought that brief dalliance with the old country would be the end of it.
That was until just under a year ago when, playing rugby league for the Sydney Roosters, his career took an unexpected but, in hindsight, fortuitous twist that saw him return to his father’s homeland.
‘Because of Covid, Sydney Roosters told the young guys at the club there wasn’t much sport for us and we could go work elsewhere and train part-time,’ said the 21-year-old.
‘I was a bit up in the air over what I was going to do, so I went and played some rugby union at my local club Eastern Suburbs and it turns out there was a Scottish talent scout at our games.
‘I ended up playing okay and he told me about the opportunities over here. My agent kept in touch with Scottish Rugby and had a couple of meetings with Jim Mallinder (SRU performance director) and the deal for me to sign for Edinburgh happened in three or four weeks.’
The transition wasn’t easy, though. Not for a young man more accustomed to sunnier climes.
‘I grew up by the beach, by the sea and the social part of my life has been huge, so to make the switch so quickly and come here during Covid restrictions was tough,’ said Savala. ‘I like to think I add my bit of spark coming from a different code and different country but I learn off these guys at Edinburgh, coming in every day, wanting to get better.’
After arriving in Scotland last October, a too-close encounter with a team-mate ensured he would have to wait until March to make his debut against Cardiff.
‘Pierre Schoeman accidentally broke my cheekbone a couple of weeks in, so it made the transition a little bit harder,’ said Savala, ‘but I have been made so welcome.
‘I’ve made some good friends here. Without them, I don’t know what I would be doing as it’s a weird time. It is hard not to look on my phone and see what is going on back home in Australia and be jealous in a way, but to come into training and try to get better every day has been awesome.’
His Scottish roots ensure that Savala could one day make his family proud by pulling on a dark blue shirt, but he admits it is too early to be thinking about that for now.
‘I was lucky enough to go to the Scots College in Sydney and played a couple of years of first XV rugby union for them under Brian Smith, who was coach at London Irish and attack coach with England,’ he said. ‘We used to walk out to Scotland the Brave and wear kilts to the games and sang Flower of Scotland when we won.
‘Dad grew up in Ayr, he is Scottish through and through and he played football and rugby before moving to Oz when he was 19. He hasn’t lost his thick Scottish accent. He told me about the Celtic and Rangers football rivalry growing up and he is a big Ayr United fan.
‘I have strong family roots over here, and to see some of my family in Ayr and make some of my family back home proud by playing rugby for Edinburgh is an honour.’
Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill has confirmed Savala will play some part in their Rainbow Cup match against Glasgow Warriors at BT Murrayfield on Saturday evening in what will be the biggest game of his fledgling rugby union career.
‘There is not much on the line now but it is still a massive game against Glasgow and I can’t wait for the opportunity to get some revenge after they beat us in the first game,’ said Savala. ‘I am just grateful to be in the squad and will try to make a name for myself.’
Cockerill said he had high hopes for Savala but insisted it was too soon to put pressure on him.
‘He hasn’t played a lot of rugby union in the last two years,’ said the Englishman. ‘He has played a lot of rugby league and he is just 21, and he has some real talent and ability. He would have started against Zebre if not for injury, so he is still learning the craft as a fly-half.
‘He has a good personality and is sharp with ball in hand and he is a typical Australian in that he is very confident in himself.
‘It is good to see we have a Scottish-qualified man who has a real spark and he will be involved at the weekend as we want to see him play again. He has already done that against Cardiff and he will get another opportunity at some point at the weekend.’ lEDINBURGH co-captain Grant Gilchrist is facing a race against time to be fit for Scotland’s summer tour matches against Romania and Georgia.
The second row is to undergo surgery after injuring his ankle in last Friday’s loss to Glasgow Warriors. He will miss his club’s final three Rainbow Cup games and has less than two months to get back to full fitness before the national team’s match with Romania on July 10.