FORMER Scotland Under 20s fly-half Harris Rutherford is happy to swap the San Diego sunshine for a switch to Sonning as he sets his sights on feeling the buzz of Clubhouse Corner.
The 22-year-old stand-off has lived the American dream playing for the Legion in Major League Rugby for the past two years, but is relishing the chance to show his ability at Old Bath Road.
The new boy, who moved to the USA after playing in the U20s Six Nations Championship in 2023, believes Rams is the perfect place for him to kick on as he said: “I’ve learnt a lot in the past two years, but I’m looking forward to it, being closer to family and friends and being back in the UK.
“Most of my family are still up in Scotland, but I’ve got a lot of friends in the London area so it will be great to see them after a couple of years.
“I’ve never played in England, though I know National One and hopefully The Championship is a very good standard and the perfect bridge between amateur and professional.
“I really like what (Director of Rugby) Seb (Reynolds) said about the morals of the club and what it stands for, a desire to play a fast-flowing brand of rugby which suits my style.
“I’d say I’m not the old-fashioned northern hemisphere 10 who kicks corners, I like to bring a bit of flair and skill to the game, and I feel Rams matches up for me.”
The sport has been in Rutherford’s blood from an early age as he continued: “Rugby’s been in my family for a long time both on my dad’s (Andrew) and mum’s (Debbie) side, my first memory is just picking up a ball in the back garden as a kid.
“At five or six I started going to training with dad as the coach and he did that for about five years while I was at primary school.
The stand-off then went onto Galashiels High School and Academy, playing representative rugby with Scottish Borders and Edinburgh Academy from 15 to 18, while also playing for his father’s former club Gala from the age of 17-19 – “I always enjoyed playing for my local club because it was the boys I grew up with and great fun.”
After playing for Scotland U20s he missed the World Trophy in Kenya due to injury, but the opportunity to move to America arose soon after for the chance of a lifetime.
He explained: “I was lucky enough a couple of teams were interested – my grandfather (Dave Wood) was American so it would qualify me to play for them – and San Diego seemed the best fit, the weather’s always nice in California, I’m 10 minutes from the beach and have been living with a good bunch of boys, so I’ve been pretty fortunate.
“I’ve had two memorable seasons, and the quality of rugby is also very good.
“I didn’t know too much about it before watching the MLR final before I came out, but since I’ve been here, I’ve had the chance to play with some of the best in the world in the likes of Ma’aa Nonu and Matt Giteau and it’s an ever-improving league.
“With the World Cup coming in 2031 people are beginning to understand how big rugby can be, and supporters who come for the first time are all saying ‘I want to go back.’”
This is further supported by the fact Rutherford’s first season saw him playing at the 36,000 Snapdragon Stadium, Legion switching to Torero at the University of San Diego (12,000 capacity), with crowds of around 7-8,000 first time round and 6,000 this term despite less successful results.
And while his side narrowly missed out on the play-offs this time out, he offered an insight into life playing in the USA as he said: “There’s a lot of travel! It’s probably different to a lot of set-ups because for an away game you’ll have a full day with flights, hotel check-in, then a captain’s run the next day, the game and then back either the same day or the one after – so you’re spending three to four days in a different state.”
The fly-half accepts there remain long trips in National One but ended by saying the idea of playing at OBR rather than large crowds in half-filled stadia is another plus point as he gets set to arrive next month.
He closed: “It’s actually nice because the smaller grounds increase the atmosphere and I’m so looking forward to it.
“Crowds in Scotland and from what I’ve seen of Rams, they definitely make a lot of noise in a compact area, so it feels like there’s a lot more.
“With the fans close to the action I can imagine it’s going to be pretty loud, and I’ve heard about Clubhouse Corner – it’ll be good to see that in person!”
