Derek Stark (born 13 April 1966 in Kilmarnock) is a

Scottish 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 ide ...

former international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who 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 ...

at the

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

positions

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Stark grew up in Kilmarnock playing rugby with

Kilmarnock RFC Kilmarnock Rugby Football Club is a Scottish rugby union club which was founded in 1868, and is based in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in west central Scotland. They play in . Often simply referred to as "Killie", their ground is at Bellsland in Kilmarn ...

and working in his parents hotel there, The Foxbar Hotel. As a teenager he moved south to England to study a catering course in Woking at the Tante Marie Culinary Academy. While he was there he played amateur rugby for Guildford & Godalming RFC and Chobham RFC. After a sojourn into athletics, on seeing the top Caribbean athletes run slightly quicker, Stark moved back into rugby playing for

Boroughmuir RFC Boroughmuir RFC is a rugby union football club in the Scottish Rugby Union. The club's home ground is Meggetland, in southwest Edinburgh and the club plays in the , where they are known as the Boroughmuir Bears. Founded in 1919 and admitted to ...

. Stark played for

Ayr RFC Ayr Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club. Its professional men's side currently plays as Ayrshire Bulls in the Super 6 competition; and its women's side play in the . The club also runs a "Club XV" which competes in the Tennent's Nationa ...

He went on to play for amateur side

Glasgow Hawks Glasgow Hawks is an amateur rugby union team in Glasgow, Scotland. They were Premiership Division One champions for three consecutive seasons from 2003–04 to 2005–06. History In Paris on 27 August 1995 a meeting of the International Rugby ...

. Stark played for

Melrose RFC Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnett ...

He played half a game for Melrose; one of the ten club sides that he played for. Stark again played for

. and won the BT Cellnet Cup with them in 2001.

Provincial and professional career

He represented Glasgow District at U21 as well as 7s. Stark was again picked for Glasgow District when back at Ayr RFC. He was part of Glasgow District's famous 1989-90 side which went unbeaten all season, winning that year's

Scottish Inter-District Championship The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...

outright. On the amateur provincial Glasgow District's move into professionalism in 1996 as Glasgow Rugby - now

- Stark signed a professional contract with the Glasgow side. The move came at a time when Stark was considering a move to play for

West Hartlepool RFC West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club (nicknamed West) is an English rugby union club who play in Durham/Northumberland 1 in the seventh tier of the English rugby union system. History West Hartlepool Rugby Football Club was formed in 1881. Of ...

. As the Wing named for Warriors first match as a professional team - against

Newbridge Newbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Newbridge, New South Wales *Newbridge, Victoria * Newbridge Heights Public School England * Newbridge, Bath, electoral ward *Newbridge, Cornwall, three places in Cornwall with the same name * Newbridge, ...

in the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

- Stark has the distinction of being given Glasgow Warrior No. 14 for the provincial side.

International career

Stark played for Scotland U21,

Scotland Club XV The Scotland national Club XV rugby union team is one of several national rugby union teams behind the Scottish national side. The national Club XV takes the best players from club rugby in Scotland to form a side that regularly competes with a ...

Scotland B The Scotland national football B team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is run occasionally as a second team for the Scotland national football team. During the period when Berti Vogts was manager of the national team, it was also ...

Scotland A The Scotland A team are the second national rugby union team behind the Scottish national side. The first Scotland 'A' fixture took place in 1990. History Unlike association football, where the main team is supposed to be the "A" team, Scotla ...

and

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 th ...

as well as Scotland 7s. He notably scored a try on his international Scotland debut in 1993.

Athletics career

From rugby union, Stark tried his hand at being a sprinter, He could run in 10.6 seconds.

Business career

For a short period, Stark - along with international teammates Rowen Shepherd and

Gregor Townsend Gregor Peter John Townsend, (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team having previously been an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won 8 ...

- owned a bar in Edinburgh's Grassmarket area. The bar was aptly named The Three Quarters. Alongside track star

Brian Whittle Brian Ian Whittle (born 26 April 1964) is a Scottish politician and former athlete, who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region since 2016. A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he serves as Shadow Mi ...

he was a co-director at PB events.

References

External links

ESPN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Derek 1966 births Living people Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Ayr RFC players Boroughmuir RFC players Glasgow Hawks players Glasgow District (rugby union) players Glasgow Warriors players Melrose RFC players Kilmarnock RFC players Scotland international rugby sevens players Scotland 'A' international rugby union players Male rugby sevens players Scotland Club XV international rugby union players Scotland 'B' international rugby union players Rugby union players from Kilmarnock