Ben Inglis has got juggling golf and rugby down to a tee.
The Aberdeen Grammar forward, a recruit last season from North Berwick, works as a groundskeeper at Trump International, as well as driving forward his rugby ambitions at Rubislaw.
Inglis moved to the Granite City in October last year and through no lack of hard work, he made himself an integral part of the Grammar side by the end of the season. But golf remains a big part of his life.
He said: “I played a lot of golf when I was younger and took an apprenticeship on when I left school at 16. It’s something I’ve had a real drive for. I don’t play as much as I’d like to now days – working takes up that time and commitment to rugby.
“They’re really good if it’s my weekend on. I can start early or boys will swap shifts. It can be stressful – but only if you let it be!
“I moved up last October, following my girlfriend up here. I wasn’t playing a lot of rugby at the time but I felt it was the best way to make friends and meet people.”
He made his debut away to Dundee and scored tries in each of the last two games of the season. His impact and dedication over a short space of time was duly rewarded with progression from the seconds and even in pre-season, his efforts saw him named as the club’s player of the month for July.
Grammar play their first game of the season at home to Marr in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, with their first Premiership game at Rubislaw against Edinburgh Accies the week after.
Inglis added: “I was put straight into it then asked to go down to Dundee on the bench with the ones. If you don’t get involved too early you’ll struggle to get involved at all.
“We have lost a few main characters but I think we’ll still be in good shape. If we’d lost them halfway through the season it’s a lot harder. We’ve got time to rebuild on push others on for the season starting.
“I played a bit of Premiership 2 when it was the old structure with Haddington. I’ll relish the opportunity and the challenge. I think it’ll still be a really high standard – there’s still six teams in there that we’ve played last season, so we fancy our chances.”