Ewan Bulger the logical choice for rugby scholarship

ARRAN teenager Ewan Bulger is to spend a month in New Zealand honing his rugby skills after landing a scholarship from a new coaching business.

Coach Logic was founded by former Currie and Scotland Club International skipper, and former PE teacher, Mark Cairns, and his Currie teammate Andy Muir. The firm has grown quickly into a global concern, providing shared ideas from coaching to fitness programmes, player recruitment to team analysis tools, with customers now across the UK, North America and Australasia.

The duo have now launched a Coach Logic Scholarship as part of a link-up with the Inside Running Academy based in Bay of Plenty on New Zealand’s North Island, and Bulger has beaten off a lot of interest to secure the first award.

The 18-year-old Scotland age-grade cap impressed Coach Logic with his commitment. He heads from school for the ferry to the mainland three times a week for an 80-mile round trip to train and play at Ayr with longer trips for Scotland squad sessions.

Muir said: “Ewan showed a real commitment to his training and development in his application. The fact that he jumps on a ferry and has to sleep on friends couches just to make a gym session, before returning to school, really impressed us.”

Bulger, a second-row forward, admitted: “Although 6’6” and 96kg, there are stronger, bigger and faster players than me about, but, to be fair, I don’t know of anyone who has given up so much to make their dream a reality. I’ll happily swap the ferry for the plane to New Zealand.”

The scholarship provides return flights to New Zealand and a month’s worth of top coaching and conditioning at the Inside Running Academy, where Bulger will come under the coaching of former and current international players and coaches. The Academy is run by ex-England back row Dan Ward-Smith and Dr Nick Gill, the All Blacks current strength and conditioning coach.

Ward-Smith said: “We’re really looking forward to Ewan’s arrival. I get a real thrill out of assisting young athletes to reach their potential and we’re sure that Ewan will do extremely well at our Academy, but also on his return to Scotland.