Steelers Throwback Thursday: Scotland-Williamson dominates rugby on way to NFL
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In honor of Christian Scotland-Williamson‘s birthday on July 5th, 1993, here is the video that went viral and propelled him to a career in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Born in Waltham Forest, England, Scotland-Williamson went to prep boarding school – the Royal Grammar School in High Wycombe – where his favorite subject was Latin. After high school, he went to Loughborough University where he studied and received his degree in geography and economics before completing his master’s degree in International Business. His older brother played college basketball for the University of Alabama-Birmingham. His father, Guy, was an amateur boxer.
Scotland-Williamson played in 23 matches for the Worcester Warriors, a rugby team in the English Premiership. He played the position of “Lock,” where his main job was to be the second row of the scrum. Basically, the 4 & 5 Locks are the engine room of the scrum and target men in the lineout. He played for the Warriors from 2014-2017 before hitting a player so hard, the video went viral. The popularity of the video ultimately caught the eye of American scouts and he was encouraged to join the NFL’s International Player Pathway program.
Scotland-Williamson attended the 12-week camp at IMG Academy (Floria) before attending OTAs and the last two seasons with the Steelers as a tight end. “You can be the biggest man on earth but it won’t get you anywhere if you don’t have the technique,” Scotland-Williamson said about his entrance into the NFL. “People at this level are so skillful… it’s about finding my technique and then using my raw power and size.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjxOnA8hZ3h/?utm_source=ig_embed
“I don’t think you go into this half-hearted,” he said in 2018. “You want it all. You want to make the 53 (man roster). You want to go to Super Bowls. You want to end up being the first international player to make it big. That’s the biggest thing, not only to represent myself, but it means a lot for the international players who were born outside of America who don’t think they have a chance.”
