We are proud to announce that Monroe Job and Callum Smyth have been awarded the prestigious Macphail Scholarship. This will see them head to South Africa where they will spend five months honing their skills and learning their rugby culture at the world renowned Stellenbosch University.
Monroe has seen his rugby journey progress since his Selkirk Rhinos days. He has been involved in the Scottish Rugby pathway from under-14s and has gone on to play for both Scotland Under-16s and Under-17s. He has been a consistent starter for Selkirk 1st XV this season and has caused opposition headaches.
Callum recently moved to Scottish Borders and has played a couple of games this season for Selkirk 1st XV but injuries and illness has meant he has not played as much as he would have liked. He has been developed though the Scottish Rugby’s Scottish Qualified programme, beginning his rugby with Kettering RFC. Callum was included in the Scotland Under-18 squad for the Home Nations festival in France earlier on in 2022.
The Macphail Scholarship was established in 2005, as a partnership between The Robertson Trust and Scottish Rugby. It was created in memory of ex-Scotland Internationalist John Macphail to allow talented young players an opportunity to develop their skills in a high-performance environment.
Previous players who have had the priviliege of this scholarship include Grant Gilchrist (2011), George Turner (2011), Jonny Gray (2012) and Finn Russell (2013).
We wish both players all the best and look forward to seeing their rugby careers continue to grow. All here at Selkirk Rugby are proud of you.
