Richie Vernon (born 7 July 1987) is a former

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 Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player with London Scottish. He previously was with

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 ...

, playing for the Glasgow side over two spells. He has also previously played for the now defunct

Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

and

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 ...

Rugby union career

Amateur career

Educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is an independent, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only priv ...

, Vernon then played for

Dundee HSFP Dundee HSFP is a former rugby union team that played their home games at the Mayfield Playing Fields, Dundee, Scotland. The club disbanded in 2021. The team was founded in 1880 by former pupils of the High School of Dundee. The men's side play ...

. Vernon has been drafted 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 ...

in the

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

for the 2017-18 season.

Professional career

Vernon started his pro career at the

until they disbanded in 2007. His contract was then move to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

where he would breakthrough into the team playing mainly at No. 8 or openside flanker. With the establishment of the "Killer B's" as the first choice back row at Glasgow, he left the Warriors in 2011 for

, signing a two-year deal with hopes for more gametime to develop his game and enhance his prospects for more caps with Scotland. At the end of 2013 he returned to Glasgow. However, he struggled to tie down a regular starting place in the back row due to injuries form and also stiff competition within the squad. This led to an unusual conversion in position to centre following discussions with Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend and Scotland coach Scott Johnson, who hope to more readily use his 6-foot, 5-inch frame and evident pace. Vernon announced his retirement from rugby to finish at the end of the 2018-19 season on 12 March 2019.

International career

Vernon played Rugby Sevens for Scotland between 2005-2008, gaining his first cap in the

Dubai Tournament Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. Vernon won his first cap for Scotland as a replacement for

Johnnie Beattie John William Beattie (born 21 November 1985) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A number 8, he played for Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier, Castres and Bayonne. Background Beattie is the son of former Scotland number 8 John Beattie and ...

in the 23–10 victory over Fiji in the 2009 Autumn Internationals.

References

External links

RBS 6 Nations profileScotland profileGlasgowWarriors.com profile
1987 births Living people People educated at the High School of Dundee Scottish rugby union players Glasgow Warriors players Sale Sharks players Scotland international rugby union players Rugby union players from Dundee Rugby union flankers Scotland international rugby sevens players Dundee HSFP players Currie RFC players Male rugby sevens players London Scottish F.C. players West of Scotland FC players Ayr RFC players Stirling County RFC players 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players Rugby sevens players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games rugby sevens players for Scotland {{Scotland-rugbyunion-bio-stub