Edinburgh Rugby look to be planning long term at hooker by tracking Exeter Chiefs’ Elliot Young with a view to bringing last year’s Scotland under-20 cap back to native parts.
A product of Dunbar Rugby, Young debuted for the age group international side in 2022-23 and added two more caps the following season.
On reaching that landmark he had moved to Stewart’s Melville College for final school years then represented Heriot’s in the now defunct Super Six tournament as well as the Premiership.
During this period he caught the eye of Chiefs who attached him to their academy set-up while he attended Exeter University to study anthropology.
Opportunities at Chiefs appear to have been hard to come by for the 6ft and 105kgs prospect although he has been credited with developing from being taken under the wing of veteran hooker Jack Yeandle.
Edinburgh are already linked with six times capped Scotland hooker Dylan Richardson while David Cherry and Ewan Ashman both represented Scotland in the recent Six Nations series.
A further hooker, Paddy Harrison, has also been capped by Scotland out of Edinburgh.
However, it is widely believed that Cherry will be on his way soon with the French club, Vannes, heavily linked with the 34-year-old’s signature.
As for Richardson he has shown while at the Durban based Sharks in South Africa an ability to play at flanker which could be handy with Jamie Ritchie Perpignan-bound and Hamish Watson now 34-years-old and no longer a Scotland regular.
Young comes from a sporting family with his mother, Alison, running a surf centre near Dunbar and his dad, Brian, a Murrayfield Racers ice hockey player during the 1980’s.
Elliot himself competed in the world junior surf championships in his early ‘teens and also Nordic Games before concentrating on rugby.
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