New director of rugby role for John Barclay to help young players take opportunities in US

John Barclay has taken up a new position as director of rugby with FirstPoint USA, a company that specialises in American sports scholarships.

John Barclay retired from playing in 2020 and is now an analyst. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

The former Scotland captain’s role will be to raise awareness of the opportunities that exist in the States and to support those young athletes involved.

The US is seen as a growth area for the sport and the rate of expansion is set to increase with the hosting of the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups in 2031 and 2033 respectively.

More than 100 university rugby programmes are now established and Barclay will head up the FirstPoint USA’s rugby activities

“Playing rugby as a student-athlete in the States is certainly something I would have considered myself had there been opportunities at the time, so I’m looking forward to linking schools, clubs and other organisations to FirstPoint USA to educate them and make them more aware of the opportunities that now exist,” said Barclay who retired from rugby in 2020.