Hislop hopes to become a Chunk off the old block

EDINBURGH have turned to the old rugby hotbed of Langholm in a bid to mould Allan Jacobsen’s successor.

The name Hislop is well-known in Borders and Scottish rugby circles for the exploits of Brian “Bomber” Hislop in the Langholm and South jerseys, but his 19-year-old son Rob is now sporting the “Bomber” moniker with some pride after agreeing his first senior professional contract with Edinburgh, up to 2015.

He said: “My dad has been a huge influence on my rugby and I suppose I was probably expected to follow him as a prop. I played No 8 for a while, but when I got to 15 or 16 and got a bit slower, then I moved to prop.

“I came along too late to see dad play, but I always went along with him to watch Langholm play and to Scotland games and learned a lot from him. I’ve got all his jerseys up in the house and I got told plenty of stories about him, so it’s great to make this step up.”

Like many youngsters in the Borders, Hislop was hugely disappointed when the SRU scrapped the Borders team in 2007, seeing a route to the pro game and a career in rugby taken away. However, his dedication, which included moving to Edinburgh at 17 and joining Boroughmuir, provides hope for others in the region.

“I was gutted when they cut the pro teams from three to two. I was still at school at the time, and I think everyone was gutted in the Borders, as most folk in Scotland were.

“I was going to come up to play for Boroughmuir to get to a higher level then, but the rule about having to be 18 to play in the front row of senior rugby came in and I was still 17 so I stayed with Hawick Wanderers for another year.

“Then, when I was 18, Boroughmuir offered me the chance to play Premier One with them and things have just gone on from there with the academy, an involvement with the under-20s squad and now the chance to turn pro with Edinburgh.

“So I hope that shows Borders lads that the door is open if you just keep at it. When I played for Hawick Wanderers, the semi-junior league in the Borders was very competitive and it still is, and then you look at Melrose playing in the British and Irish Cup and Gala challenging at the top of the league so there are stepping stones there.”

Hislop is enjoying working with “Chunk” Jacobsen, nearly 14 years his senior, and Kyle Traynor, but he is also an eager character who, after a few runs off the bench for Edinburgh during the World Cup, is desperate to take his development to the next level.

“I’ve had a few chances off the bench but I’m desperate for my first start,” he added. “Chunk has been brilliant to train with and pick things up from, but it’s just pretty hard to get in front of him. He’ll be away for the Six Nations, but Kyle Traynor is a good player, too, and I also hope to be involved with the under-20s, so we’ll see.”