U20 6N: Reuben Logan embraces the thistle – to his dad's delight
01/28/2025 02:00 AM
WHEN Reuben Logan was selected for a couple of England age-group squads his father Kenny, the former Scotland international, did his best to play the role of the supportive parent by feigning pleasure. But when the back-row forward opted to play for Scotland instead and was selected in the squad for this year’s Under-20 Six Nations, there was no need for Kenny to feign anything.
The pleasure was genuine. The delight – perhaps tinged with a touch of relief as well – was clear. And that delight was shared by Reuben’s mother, television presenter Gabby Logan, despite being Welsh.
"I think my dad pretended when I was with England that he was happy with it,” the 19-year-old back-row forward said yesterday as preparations continued for Friday night’s first game in the shadow Six Nations, against Italy at the Hive. “But he really wasn’t, and he’s made that very clear now. He struggled with it.
“And I think he’s very, very happy [now]. He’s excited.
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“I think my mum was just as emotional as my dad, because she’s seen my dad wear that shirt. I sent her the media photos and she got quite emotional seeing them, because my dad used to wear the same thistle.”
Born and raised near London, Reuben, now with Northampton, was with Wasps for a time. Being with an English club, in a way it made sense for him to agree to train with the national set-up where he is.
"Well, there was a number of reasons,” he explained. “I wanted to sign for an English club. I was at Wasps – they went under – and it’s much easier to get involved with an English club if you’re in the English pathway.
"As I got older, opportunities in England weren’t necessarily there. I’ve always been a Scottish fan and when you see your dad play for Scotland, and you see all the rugby around the house, it’s obviously quite inspiring. So when you need an opportunity, and you consider yourself Scottish, it’s quite an easy choice to make.
"I was named in the England playing squad at the start of the year, and I didn’t necessarily think I was going to get an opportunity. I spoke to my dad about it, and then Peter Walton [Scottish Rugby’s ‘Scottish-qualified performance player transition manager’] got in contact with me, and it all sort of just went from there."
If the choice of sporting nationality was easy enough in the end, perhaps the choice of sport was too. Gabby represented Wales at gymnastics before becoming a presenter, while her father, Terry Yorath, was capped by Wales at football. But neither was quite the right path to take for a young man who, now 6ft 5in and 18 stone, appears predestined to have become a rugby player.
"I was fairly horrendous at football,” he admitted. “I would have loved to have been in the Tartan Army, don’t get me wrong, but I was fairly horrendous. I had a good left peg, but not much skills after that. Maybe in another life.
"I did try gymnastics but I wasn’t very good. So that was nipped in the bud pretty quickly."
Logan played his early rugby on the wing, perhaps in emulation of Kenny, but also because of the natural speed which remains a key strength of his game. But as he grew, a switch to the pack seemed the obvious things to do.
"I must have been about 16, 17 when I moved in to play back-row. I think it’s been good, but I do miss sometimes just sitting out on the wing looking pretty.
"I’d say my main strength is my ball-carrying, and speed. Being able to get the team on the front foot, that’s something I pride myself on, and it’s something I really want to achieve in this upcoming Six Nations."
Logan’s current Northampton contract runs out at the end of the season, but for the time being at least, he is revelling in life at Franklin’s Gardens. "I’m really, really enjoying playing for Northampton. It’s difficult, obviously, to crack into that squad, but it’s really just amazing to be around some of those players and just learn off them for as much as I can, because there’s so many amazing players at that club.
“When I look at boys, just the way they hold themselves, boys like George Fairbank, Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman, and last year Courtney Laws – just watching him play and how he conducted himself on the pitch. It’s just quite amazing to see, you know, people you watch on telly when you’re younger, just how they do their day-to-day. You learn a lot from it.
"I live with Henry Pollock [the highly-rated England Under-20 back-row who has been part of the senior national squad]. Henry’s one of my best mates, so I work beside him quite closely, and he’s an amazing player, and I think that just shows that there is a pathway for boys at Northampton if you’re at that level. So it’s quite exciting for a young player when you’re at Northampton."
Logan may not be so well acquainted with a lot of his new team-mates in the Scotland Under-20 squad, but there is one very familiar face – Montpellier second-row Charlie Moss, with whom he played at school. "We're actually really, really close mates. I obviously spoke to him about it before coming in, and it’s really interesting to be back playing with him when I haven’t played with him for so many years, so it’s really nice.”
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