The return, and continued rise, of Scotland's Freddy Douglas
Freddy Douglas is one of Scotland's best young talents
©Bryan Robertson Photography
Rising Scottish rugby star Freddy Douglas is back from two and a half months out injured and is chomping at the bit to help the Under-20s cause a shock against England on Friday evening in the U20s Six Nations.
Leading up to the Autumn Nations Series last year, the 19-year-old openside had been touted for a big future given his performances for Stewart’s Melville College, the Future XV in the Super Series, Scotland Under-20s and Edinburgh Rugby A.
He was then called up to the full Scotland squad for their Autumn matches and at TRU, we ran a piece on the emerging talent where Stuart Edwards, who coached Douglas when he was at Stewart’s Melville College, stated that the player had “huge potential to kick on”.
Kick on the youngster certainly did, and Douglas earned his first full Scotland cap in November off the bench versus Portugal in the 59-21 triumph at Murrayfield before making his Edinburgh Rugby debut soon after.
After his Scotland bow, Douglas played two matches for Edinburgh but got injured against Gloucester in the EPCR Challenge Cup at Kingsholm in December. His first outing was against Benetton in the URC while, around the same time, he graduated from the club’s senior academy to a professional contract.
Since then, he has been rehabbing hard, and after starring for them in 2023/24, Douglas is now back with the Scotland Under-20 squad as they prepare to take on England at Kingston Park in Newcastle.
Given that England have won two from two so far and Scotland are winless, it will be tough, but Douglas loves a challenge and he told TRU: “I'm just really happy to be back.
“The injury was syndesmosis in my ankle so I was thinking I was going to need surgery, but a specialist said I could recover with just rehabbing.
"It was just about being careful. You don't want to risk coming back a week early and then making everything worse, but I am very excited to be back in time for this England Under-20 match.
“I love a game against England, they're rivals, it’s the big one and they have big names you want to play really well against so I'll always get up for it."
“Obviously England are the only team that are two from two at the moment in the competition and they look good. Their set-piece is a real weapon for them and, obviously, coming off of winning the World Championship last year and the Six Nations as well, they seem like a really class act.
“As I say though, you like to challenge yourself against the best and I think we have a really good pack this year in the Under-20s that can challenge opponents.”
‘I did some self-reflecting’
No rugby player, especially one at the start of their professional and international journey, likes to pick up injuries, but for Douglas, the recent break did give him time to take stock of his rapid rise after becoming cap number 1234 for Scotland.
“I got to spend quite a bit of time with my family during the time of being injured and it was really nice,” he said. "And obviously I did some self-reflecting because I had quite a good year last year, so to be able to reflect on that and spend a lot of time with my family and others around me was lovely.
“I'm kind of just grateful that I did have that good spurt [playing for Scotland then playing for Edinburgh in November and December] and getting injured when I did was probably good timing, rather than before November which would have meant I missed out on everything. So, after the injury happened, I kind of tried to take everything positively.
“It is rugby, everyone gets injured and the timing's not always nice, but I didn't feel like it was too bad.”
With Scotland’s Under-20s having lost to Italy and Ireland at Hive Stadium so far during the age-grade Six Nations, Douglas’ return could not have come at a better time for the group.
And the man who helped them win the World Trophy last summer is ready to take on more of a leadership role at this level going forward.
“I think so, definitely,” he said when asked about helping out skipper Johnny Ventisei over the next few rounds of action.
“You can't shy away because last year I didn't say much, I was just kind of a player, but now this year I’ll take on more of a leadership role as I'm a bit more experienced than a lot of the members in the team.
“Our pack, for example, is really young - I think there's not many of them that even played Six Nations last year - so I really have picked up a leadership role and want to help out in any way I can.”
‘He just brings that extra level’
One man delighted to see Douglas back is Scotland Under-20 head coach Kenny Murray.
“We've not really had much of a tackle contest threat in the first two games this year,” he explained. “We struggled a wee bit in that first game against Italy and against Ireland in that area, but Freddy obviously gives you that in abundance.
“I think being around the environment now, he just brings that extra level. Everybody else lifts their game when he is around, in the forwards in particular. I'm looking forward to seeing him back and in the mix.
“The last time we played England [a 30-17 loss at the Hive in round three last year], Freddy was the best back-row on the pitch against Henry Pollock, that is how good he is.
“I think he's desperate to play in the coming weeks and wants to get back into it and help the boys out.”
.jpg "Henry Pollock, who was part of the England U20s set-up last term, scored two tries off the bench")
