Scotland call-up for Bulldogs' McGuigan
Little-known Border Bulldogs centre Byron McGuigan has received a surprise call-up to the Scotland Sevens squad.
The Cape Town-reared McGuigan, who started his career for the Hamilton’s club in Green Point before playing for the Bulldogs for the past two years, went on trial with the Glasgow Warriors in December.
McGuigan was successful that his agents, the Global Sports Group, managed to secure him a deal that will see him join the Warriors in June – after a six-month stint with Scotland’s national Sevens squad.
McGuigan joined the Scottish Sevens squad at Murrayfield on Monday, where they started preparations for the remainder of the 2011/12 IRB World Series.
Despite having been born in the Namibian town of Walvis Bay and being schooled at Milnerton in Cape Town, McGuigan qualifies to play for Scotland because his mother was born in Glasgow.
Although some may frown upon his sudden elevation to the international stage – given that he did not play Craven Week (a domestic provincial schools competition in South Africa), nor did he attend one of the high-profile rugby schools in the region – he has previously played for the SA Vipers, a team often used for back-up to the country’s senior Sevens squad.
However, his career has taken a dramatic turn and his future now lies with Scotland.
“This is a dream come true,” said McGuigan.
“I have always aspired to play professional rugby, but to be able to join up with the Scottish Sevens team and hopefully tour on the IRB circuit is incredible.”
He is also looking forward to joining up with the Warriors once his stint with the Sevens team comes to an end in June, when he hopefully get a chance to display his skills in major European competitions like the Heineken Cup.
“Glasgow Warriors are a great side and I cannot wait to join up with them for the 2012-2013 season,” he said, “hopefully I can contribute in some way to further success in these great European competitions.”
Looking ahead to his future, McGuigan continued: “To qualify and potentially represent Scotland on the international stage is very exciting, but right now I will be focusing on Sevens and trying to work my way into their squad.
“My time at Border has been fantastic, and I would like to thank everyone there – especially coach Andre Human for all that they have done to further [and assist] me in my rugby career.”
