Two former Highland Rugby Club youth players came face-to-face in the USA last week as Scotland rugby star Jamie Dobie met American football professional Jamie Gillan.

Dobie was with the Scottish national team on their summer series, preparing to take on the USA in Washington D.C. when New York Giants player Gillan visited training.

The 27-year-old was born in Forres, and played rugby as a junior for Highland before his father’s job with the Royal Air Force saw them move to Maryland.

Gillan would start playing American football there, and went on to play college football at Arkansas–Pine Bluff.

Dubbed “The Scottish Hammer”, Gillan would sign for the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills before landing with the Giants in February 2022.

Dobie, meanwhile, played for Highland as a mini before moving to Edinburgh, catching the eye of Scottish Rugby’s professional clubs at high school.

He would go straight from there to Glasgow Warriors, getting his first taste of the international set-up during the 2021 Six Nations and making his debut against Tonga later that year.

Having just turned 23 last month, he has had to be patient for further opportunities, but he scored his first try for Scotland earlier this summer after starting on the wing against Canada in Ottawa.

Dobie was an unused replacement option in last weekend’s 42-7 win over America, but remains with the squad ahead of their coming fixtures against Chile this week and Uruguay next weekend.

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