Alex Grant Allan (born 28 February 1992) is a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international rugby union player. He is now Head Coach at Hong Kong Scottish; and forwards coach for the

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

international side. He previously played for

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. He played primarily at loose head

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Allan began his rugby with Harrogate Rugby Union Football Club and at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

, before going to represent his University team. Aware of his Scottish roots he also played for the

Scottish Exiles Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

team. He transferred his university career to Edinburgh Napier after two years to join

Edinburgh Academicals The Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby. Its home ground is Raeburn Pl ...

. He stayed with the amateur club as part of the pro-player draft to be available when not in use by his professional club. In 2016 and 2017, as part of the pro-player draft he was assigned to

Currie Currie ( gd, Currach, IPA: �kʰuːᵲəx is a village and suburb on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, situated south west of the city centre. Formerly within the County of Midlothian, it now falls within the jurisdiction of the City of Edi ...

for the seasons. In 2018, he was drafted to

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

for the season. In July 2021 he became a Coach at Hong Kong Scottish.

Professional career

The prop started his professional career with

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

before moving to

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

. On 30 April 2014, it was announced that Allan would leaving Edinburgh's development squad to sign a two-year professional contract with rivals Glasgow Warriors. He made his competitive Glasgow debut in a home win against

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

on 6 September 2014, becoming Warrior No. 231. He was to stay with the Warriors for seven years; making 14 appearances in Glasgow's

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

title winning season in 2014-15; becoming a centurion on 14 December 2019 in the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

match against

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

. He would leave the Warriors at the end of the 2020-21 season. He stated:

I am immensely proud to have represented Glasgow Warriors. There have been some incredible moments over the last seven years both on and off the pitch. I have been fortunate enough to be part of some incredible victories and I wish the team the best for the future.

International career

He has successfully moved through the Scottish age grades from under-17 to now represent the senior Scotland national team. He qualifies for Scotland through his grandfather.

Coaching career

From July 2021, Allan is now Head Coach at Hong Kong Scottish. He combines coaching the Scottish exile side with being forwards coach for the

international side.

References

External links

*
Alex Allan biography

Rugby World Hotshots interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Alex 1992 births Living people Ayr RFC players Currie RFC players Edinburgh Rugby players Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players Glasgow Warriors players Hong Kong Scottish RFC players Rugby union players from Harrogate Sale Sharks players Scotland 'A' international rugby union players Scotland Club XV international rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players Rugby union props Anglo-Scots Alumni of Loughborough University Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Scottish expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Hong Kong