Paul Paxton has rediscovered his love for rugby, even if it has been a difficult season for Aberdeen Grammar.
Paxton restarted his rugby career with Grammar this season, after taking a hiatus from the game.
He was a prospect in the Scottish Rugby system, having played at Aberdeenshire, Huntly and Ellon, before relocating to Amsterdam.
But with a more amenable work-life balance in 2022, Paxton found himself looking to get back into rugby and the move to Grammar has reignited his passion.
“I took a couple of years out – my last playing season was 2018 and I was over in Amsterdam,” he said. “My first port of call was to get back to fitness and I’m still on that journey.
“I started off in the twos to get the legs back and that’s me in the ones for a few games, settling in at inside centre.
“I fell out of love with the game slightly. I was in the pathways system with Scotland and regional squads; the pressure with that, mixed with starting to get a work life together, I fell out of love with rugby.
“The break really helped me get the love back into it. I’m enjoying rugby more than I ever have.
“I work a lot but I can fit rugby in fine. It’s a much healthier way to be at the moment. I’ve only missed one or two sessions all seasons, for extenuating circumstances, so it’s been totally fine.”
Results on the field have not gone to plan, though. For the second successive season Grammar find themselves in a relegation battle, with just two wins to their name.
They have lost their last seven games, dating back to the win over Dundee at the end of October.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” added Paxton. “In some games I don’t think the scoreboard has reflected the performance.
“The Melrose game two weeks ago, they scored three tries in 10 minutes. We were beating them and they came back.
“We have fallen off slightly but we’ve had some cracking performances. The scoreboard hasn’t always reflected that, which is a shame.”
Grammar have lost to tomorrow’s Scottish Cup opponents Stirling County twice this season, including an agonising one-point loss at Rubislaw in September.
“The cup takes the pressure off a wee bit,” said Paxton. “You can go out, have some fun and play some rugby.
“They beat us by one at Rubislaw and that was unfortunate. We definitely should have had that one. We went down there for our away fixture and the game got away from us, even though we were dominant for a good portion of the game.
“We’ve got a gameplan and we need to go out and execute that. But we also need the enjoyment factor and really give it to them, with less pressure on us.”