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Gavin Hastings. Author Grant Ritchie. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Best Scottish Rugby Players

The Scotland national rugby union team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship, where they are the current Calcutta Cup holders. They also participate in the Rugby World Cup, which takes place every four years. As of 6 February 2023, Scotland is 5th in the World Rugby Rankings. The Scottish Rugby Union Championship, where most of the national team players are drawn from has produced world-class players who have contributed a lot to the success of Scotland being ranked highly in the world. Here we look at the Top 10 Best Scottish Rugby Players.

1. Jamie Bhatti

Jamie Bhatti is a Scotland international rugby union player who currently plays as a loosehead prop for Glasgow Warriors and has also previously featured for Edinburgh Rugby and Bath Rugby. Coming through the development stages of Irish Rugby, Bhatti has represented Scotland at Under 17, Under 18, and Under 19 age grades. He was later capped for Scotland Club XV and won his first call-up to the senior Scotland squad in October 2017 for the Autumn Internationals, appearing as a replacement in all three tests including a historic win over Australia. He has been capped over twenty times by his country.

In between playing rugby, Bhatti also had spells working in an abattoir and as a nightclub door steward before being awarded a Scottish Rugby academy contract aligned to Glasgow Warriors in the summer of 2016 when he was 23 years old, giving him a real-life perspective that has given him an opportunity to showcase his talent and change his life completely.

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2. Murphy Walker

Murphy Walker is a Scotland international rugby union player who plies his trade at Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship. His position is mostly as a scrum. An upcoming star, Walker played for the Scotland U20 side in 2018 and 2019, playing in the World U20 world championships. He was capped by Scotland ‘A’ on 25 June 2022 in their match against Chile. As of 20 November 2022, he had 3 international appearances for his country and hopes to play more matches.

He made his first appearance for Glasgow Warriors in the 2021-22 season, playing in the pre-season friendly against Newcastle Falcons on 3 September 2021, replacing Murray McCallum in the match 51 minutes. He also played in the pre-season match against Worcester Warriors, on 10 September 2021. He still has a lot of time to sharpen his skills and has already shown signs of taking on some of the Scottish rugby greats.

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3. Hamish Watson

Watson is definitely one to watch in the coming season as he will be out to continue the excellent stint of performances he put out in the 2021 Six Nations Championship, which gained him the title of ‘Player of the Championship’. Having moved through the ranks, beginning in Scotland’s under-19s team, the flanker is now known as an ever-present player who rarely misses a tackle (he made 60/60 tackles in the 2021 Six Nations.). Since 2017 he has won numerous Man of the Match awards.

He earned his place in Scotland’s squad for the Rugby World Cup in 2019 but suffered a tournament-ending injury in the opening match against Ireland. The player has exhibited outstanding performances in all the matches that he has played and as of 13 November 2022, he had played more than 50 matches for Scotland.

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4. Ali Price

Alistair William Price is a Scotland international rugby union player who plays as a scrum half for Glasgow Warriors.  On 26 November 2016, Price made his Scotland debut against Georgia in 43 points to 16 wins at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock. He was selected in Scotland’s 2019 Rugby World Cup squad and played in Scotland’s opening Pool A match against Ireland. However, he sustained a foot injury and that curtailed his World Cup experience.

The young player has already demonstrated tremendous consistency as a scrum-half in all the matches that he has played. For this, he has already achieved 40 international caps and gained the honor of joining the British & Irish Lions in 2021 against Springboks. He is an exciting player to watch and if he maintains the same form, then he is destined for bigger things in the rugby world.

5. Duhan van der Merwe

Duhan van der Merwe. Author 34 super héros.

 Duhan van der Merwe is a South African-born Scottish Rugby player. He currently plays as a wing for Edinburgh Rugby and for the Scotland national rugby union team on residency grounds in 2017 and has been a high-flyer within the team ever since.

In his debut, he scored a try against Georgia and shortly followed with the only try of the game against England in Scotland’s 2021 Calcutta Cup victory. As of 4 February 2023, he had 3 games for Scotland and was the top scorer in his first Six Nations tournament. With this, he truly deserves a place in this

As the top try scorer in his first Six Nations tournament, Duhan has definitely earned his place on the Top 10 Best Scottish Rugby Players.

6. Jonny Gray

Jonny Gray. Author www.davidmolloyphotography.com.

Jonathan Douglas Gray is a Scotland international rugby union player. He plays at lock for Exeter Chiefs in Premiership Rugby. Having gone through the Scottish development stages, Gray established himself as a reliable player to represent his country at the senior level earning his debut in 2013.

He played in every match for Scotland during the 2015 6 Nations, attempting an astonishing 85 tackles and missing only one. He also participated in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, playing four of their five matches in the run to the Quarter-Finals. As of November 2017, Gray has scored four tries for Scotland, including scores in consecutive weeks against the All Blacks and Australia during the Autumn Internationals. He has played more than 70 games for his country.

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7.  Ross Ford

Scottish rugby union international Ross Ford in 2011. Author McMarcoP.

Ross William Ford is currently a Strength and Conditioning coach for the Scottish Rugby Academy. He was previously a Scotland international rugby union player who played as a hooker and made 110 test appearances for Scotland, making him their most-capped player. In his rugby career, he played in three World Cups (2007, 2011, and 2015) and toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2009, making one appearance.

8. Chris Patterson

Chris Paterson kicking a penalty during RBS Six Nations 2008. Author Chris_Paterson.JPG.

Christopher Douglas Paterson is an ambassador and specialist coach for the Scotland and Edinburgh rugby union teams. He is a former professional rugby union player who played for Scotland and, for the most part of his career, Edinburgh. He played in multiple positions including; fly-half, fullback, and wing. He is also said to have had a 100% kicking record over a 10-month period. He is also Scotland’s record points scorer with 809 points and the second most-capped player with 109 caps. He was capable of playing in a range of positions, including fullback, wing, and fly-half.

9. Stuart Hogg

Stuart Hogg is a Scottish rugby union player who plays for Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership and used to captain the Scottish national team. His playing positions are fullback and fly-half. In his playing career, he was named Six Nations Player of the Tournament, in 2016 and 2017. He has also been selected to tour with the British & Irish Lions on three consecutive occasions (2013, 2017, and 2021). Unfortunately, his 2017 tour was cut short due to an injury, but in 2021 he gained two Lions Test caps against South Africa.

 His explosive and exciting style has cemented his position as one of the best rugby players in Scotland and is a darling of the crowd whenever he is playing. In the Six Nations in 2016 and 2017, Hogg was named player of the tournament, the first Scottish player to win the award. He has made a remarkable 100 appearances for Scotland internationally.

10. Gavin Hastings

Andrew Gavin Hastings is a former Scottish rugby union player who played as a fullback. He is regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 caps for Scotland, 20 of which as captain. He played for Watsonians, London Scottish, Cambridge University, Scotland, and the British Lions. He twice toured with the British and Irish Lions, to Australia in 1989, and as captain on the 1993 tour to New Zealand.

He is best remembered for his role in Scotland’s Five Nations Grand Slam in 1990, as they beat England in the tournament decider.