The Albyn School community has come together to celebrate the tremendous achievement of our recent leaver Ben at the Rugby 7’s Youth Commonwealth Games.

The Men’s Rugby 7s team made history at Trinbago 2023, as they became the first Scottish team to win a rugby medal of any kind at either Commonwealth Games or its younger athlete iteration.

The Youth Commonwealth Games in Tobago witnessed an intense battle of skill, determination and sportsmanship, and Ben’s exceptional performance on the field was nothing short of inspirational.

Ben, who played youth rugby at Deeside RFC until moving to Gordonians RFC at the beginning of last season, was thrilled to be part of the first Scottish team to pick up a medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games.

He said: “I am really honoured to be part of a history making team. I cannot really put it into words how proud I am of all the boys in the squad for the effort we have put in over the past few weeks.”

Team Scotland produced a great performance in the final game, defeating Fiji in extra time on Tuesday (8 August).

After an early try by Mariko Ravuiwasa, Scotland hit back through Robbie Mitchell. A yellow card for Fiji’s Josaia Ralulu afforded the young Scots team a player advantage, scoring through Albyn’s Ben.

Jimmy Lamont, Albyn School’s Head of PE and Sport, said about the game: “Fiji started strongly taking an early lead but the Scotland team pulled two tries back, one scored by Ben to level the score 10-10 at halftime.

“The game edged to Scotland’s favour as Fiji went down to six men for the remainder of the game early in the second half. However, the Fijians fought hard and at full time, the game was tied at 20-20.

“The match went in to extra time where the first team to score a try would win. Luckily for us, the Scottish team started quickly and finished off a flowing move to win the match and be crowned Rugby 7’s Youth Commonwealth Games champions.”

Ben was previously selected to play in the Caledonia Reds and Blues matches against Wales at Murrayfield Stadium. He was then invited to be part of the National U18 squad and he was also selected to represent Scotland at the U18 level against Wales in Swansea.

In addition to his intensive training regimen, Ben was concurrently preparing for his S6 exams. The Albyn pupil, who received B in Advanced Higher Geography and A in Higher Physical Education, will soon commence his academic journey in Physiology and Sports Science at the University of Glasgow.

Headmaster Stefan Horsman said: “We are immensely proud of Ben’s exceptional achievement at the Rugby 7’s Youth Commonwealth Games. His dedication and hard work exemplify the values we uphold at Albyn School. We would like to congratulate him on this outstanding feat and wish him the very best as he pursues his academic studies too.”