by Thousands of England supporters have boarded the train to Edinburgh over the past few days, they will embark on one of Britain’s most beautiful stretches of railway, hugging the coast of the Border and East Lothian as it arrives at Waverley Station .
Unlike the Borders, established as the traditional rugby heartland of Scottish Rugby, East Lothian is golf country. Closely followed by bird watching. Late on Saturday evening, the residents of North Berwick will temporarily put down their clubs and binoculars to flock to televisions to watch one of their favorite sons, Rory Darge, lead his country in the Calcutta Cup against England.
Technically, Darge hails from the small village of Aberlady, nine miles up the coast, but it was at North Berwick Rugby Club that his ability and passion for rugby was forged. His father, Kevin, only took him to rugby training because, as he tells Telegraph Sport, Darge was “hopeful” in football, unlike his brother, Arron, who is a professional footballer.
If there was one person who put him on the path to the Scotland captaincy, it was Keith Hogg, his coach at Berwick North who died last year. “Keith was such an influence on Rory,” says Kevin Darge. “He was a great coach but most importantly he made rugby fun for Rory and all the kids who came through. He loved running around with his friends there more than anything.
“Keith always saw something in Rory. He always predicted that Rory would win the Scotland cap and captain Scotland, but unfortunately he was very ill by the time it happened. There are so many coaches we owe to North Berwick because it’s often the parents who get involved. We are quite a small village and everyone is very proud of this area.”
At the age of 17, Darge was already playing for Scotland under-20s under Bryan Redpath. The Scottish investigator was known for his toughness but even he was impressed by Darge’s courage. “We were playing South Africa in a pre-World Cup game on the back pitches at Murrayfield and Rory kept passing the ball,” he said.
“I thought ‘Jeez he’s brave’ because he was hitting the South African starters who were much bigger than him, but he kept coming back. He never let that discourage him. It just kept coming.”
As he celebrates his 24th birthday on Friday, it’s easy to assume that Darge has always had the world at his feet. The rise of pace to international rugby is often described as meteoric. But for two years, he was sidelined after signing for Edinburgh where he was unable to force his way into a stacked back line that included Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watson and Bill Mata. For all his ability as a jackaller, there was also the perception that he was too small to cut it in professional rugby.
“He was probably around 95kg and he wanted around 105kg,” Kevin said. “I won’t mention the coach’s name, but there was a lot of emphasis on getting over that 100kg mark. He struggled to do that despite eating as much as he could and training as hard as he could. He was often the 24th man, going on tours but never playing. I think he got 17 minutes in the end against Leinster when the result was already decided.”
Darge could easily have been lost in the professional game but when his agent, Tom Beattie, noticed that Glasgow Warriors were suffering an injury crisis at the back. A quick call to coach Danny Wilson then ensured that Darge was making the trip across the M8 as he quickly discovered that concerns about his size were unfounded.
“He had something like two man-of-the-match games in his first three games in the Rainbow Cup,” says dad Kevin. “I think there’s an element of feeling respected and loved that makes a difference for those people. It was immediately welcomed and became a success.”
Darge went on to make his debut in the 2022 Six Nations and was first used as captain in a World Cup warm-up by Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, who has described him as “world-class”. At the start of the Six Nations, he was named co-captain alongside Finn Russell.
Darge was a late developer physically but even now he is listed at 6ft 1in and 98kg (just over 15 stone) on the Glasgow Warriors website. Redpath remains deeply concerned that young players are still judged by their size and ability. “There’s a history of players being told they’re not big enough,” Redpath said. “Was that said to Kwagga Smith in South Africa? Probably yes. Did Ben Earl tell that? Yes. Did Neil Back tell that? Many times. This old-school obsession is that you are never going to be this or that. It’s helping to break that stigma.”
Darge has won against England at Under-18 and Under-20 level but this will be his first experience of a senior match in the Calcutta Cup. The Darge family will be in attendance at Murrayfield as the North Berwick clubhouse is packed. “We are so proud of him,” said Ken Muir, current director of rugby. “He still comes back to the club and presented the trophies at the school championship last year. The kids love to look up to these guys. It’s proof that you don’t have to be the biggest kid or come from the biggest school to make it.”
