Inverness rugby player ready for Scotland duty after winning league with Glasgow

JAMIE Dobie says he is still trying to come down from experiencing the best season of his rugby career so far.

From the euphoria of winning the United Rugby Championship (URC) league title with Glasgow Warriors, he is also in the Scotland squad for their tour of North and South America this summer.

The Inverness athlete looks set to add to his two caps when he is contention to play in Scotland’s four matches against Canada, United States, Uruguay and Chile during July.

The scrum-half was part of the Glasgow Warriors team which became URC champions when they defeated Bulls 21-16 in the final in front of over 50,000 fans in Pretoria, South Africa.

While preparing for Scotland’s summer tour, Dobie (23) says he is still coming to terms what Glasgow Warriors achieved to become URC champions, but knows the hard work and talent at the club meant they fully deserved the title.

He admitted: “I am still in the process of it sinking in.

“I don’t know where it is going to go from the crazy week of playing a game of that magnitude and the euphoria of winning it and what it meant to the whole club.

“It will take a good while for that to really hit home.

“When we went 13-0 down, Scott Cummings’ try before half time to make it 13-7 was massive as it gave us momentum going into the second half.

“I can’t remember the message at half time, but there was no panic in the changing room. We spoke about discipline and allowing them to take points and dominate the first half. But there was a lot of trust and belief in what we could do. In the second half, we got to show some of the best stuff about the team and being able to see it out was massive.

“We knew that the crowd would be against us and not everything was going to go our way. But we knew in our circle what was going to be the deciding factor in the game and to be able to block out that noise.

“We didn’t realise how big winning it actually is. But when I look back in a year’s time, I‘m sure I will realise how big it is what we have achieved.”

Dobie is in the Scotland squad for the tour of North and South America, starting by facing Canada in Ottawa on Saturday.

They then travel to United States, Chile and Uruguay later this month.

Dobie has won two caps for Scotland previously, making his international debut against Tonga in October 2021, before playing against Italy in a warm up match for the World Cup last year.

He says there is no bigger accolade than playing for your country and is looking forward to taking on some of the emerging nations of world rugby.

He said: “I have been fortunate enough to play twice for Scotland and both times were at Murrayfield, so this will be my first summer tour.

“It is about rolling with the momentum we have created at Glasgow and making most of the opportunities we are presented with.

“The four countries will present a different challenge to what we are used to. It is a step into the unknown with these teams and it will be difficult to judge where they are at.

“Both Chile and Uruguay made great showings at the World Cup and I know United States and Canada will be keen to step up because the World Cup will be in the United States in 2031.

“I know they are keen to make the most of playing Scotland. They will be tough test matches and there will be opportunities for our players to grow.”

Dobie, who went to Kirkhill Primary School, before continuing his secondary education at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, first got involved in rugby when he was involved with Highland Rugby Club when he was eight.

When he was younger he got involved in a number of sports, but Highland helped reinforce his love of rugby and was the springboard for where he has got today.

“When I was younger, I played predominantly golf and tennis, but got involved in a lot of different sports and I did everything I could.

“One of my mates was playing rugby at Highland and I got involved in the minis and played tournaments across the country. Highland is where rugby started for me.

“At Merchiston, I was part of the tennis academy, but rugby at the school was of a good standard and we had a strong team and amazing coaches. My real passion for the game grew there. In my last two years at school, I knew rugby was the direction that I was heading in.

“I signed for Glasgow straight after school and looking back it was the right decision. I have just finished my fifth season at Glasgow and gained an amazing amount of experience and have gone on and won a Championship.

“Hopefully the whole journey is just getting started for me. But it is funny thinking that it all started by running about at Canal Park.“

After a successful campaign, Dobie hopes winning the URC and being on the verge of more international appearances for Scotland, is only the start of what he achieves in his career.

He said: “We have to use winning the URC as a stepping stone. It was a great feeling to win the league, but we can’t be content winning that.

“We want to be challenging that and win back to back titles that would cement ourselves into the history books.

“We want to put in a stronger performance in the European Champions Cup. I watched the final with Toulouse and Leinster and that is where we want to be challenging as a club at the top of Europe. As great as it was winning the URC, it can’t be the ceiling. It has to be the start of winning more titles in the league and Europe and that is what our target is.”

Dobie’s advice to any aspiring rugby player in Inverness or the north is to just enjoy playing the game and don’t stick to one sport.

He says maintaining an open mind is the right approach.

He says: “You have to enjoy your rugby or whatever sport you play.

“One of the main benefits with me is I didn’t get tied down with rugby too early and too focussed stressed on making it.

“If you enjoy playing rugby when you are younger, they are some of the best days.

“But stick to other sports as well, don’t get solely focussed on rugby. Playing other sports will help your skillset and mindset, whatever with rugby will be, it is not about getting too hyped up too early and you end up falling out of love with it.

“Find out why you love playing the game and mix it with other sports. It will stand you in good stead.”

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