The Herald reports

Bulloch back to his roots as he returns north to join West
KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer July 27 2006
Gordon Bulloch, the former Scotland and Lions captain, has rejoined West of Scotland, with whom he made his name a decade ago.
Just a year after he led the British & Irish Lions midweek team to an unbeaten record during the 2005 tour of New Zealand, the Glaswegian has turned down opportunities to continue his full-time professional career to come home.
Bulloch, who won a Test cap during the Lions previous tour in 2001, quit international rugby following last year's tour having, in his final season, captained Scotland and extended his record as the country's most capped hooker. After a year with English Premiership side Leeds he has now been given a new career opportunity in commercial property management with Collier's CRE, helping him decide it was time to return to his roots.
"I had a few offers after I decided to leave Leeds but it would have meant heading around Europe or even further afield," he said.
"The last year was not the most enjoyable of my career. I don't think it is any secret that it was a difficult time to be at Leeds, because the club wasn't in a great state, with problems on and off the field. I still made a lot of good friends down there and it was a very valuable experience, but this just felt like the right time."
Having trained at Burnbrae for the past few weeks Bulloch has now confirmed that he will play in Premiership Division Three next season with the club from which he was first capped and, as a 22-year-old, led Glasgow's district team.
Still in his prime as a front-row forward, he admitted to having reassessed his priorities. "My wife took a career break earlier this year to come and join me in Leeds so we will both be going back to work around the same time next month, and it has been great to get some time to relax together over the summer," he said.
"After playing professional sport for so long I suppose a nine-to-five job will take a bit of getting used to, but this is the first year since 1994 that I've not been involved in a rugby tour somewhere, so we have really enjoyed that."
Bulloch seems refreshed and ready to help West return to their traditional status after a period that has seen Glasgow Hawks establish themselves as Scotland's top club, while city rivals Cartha QP, GHA, whom Bulloch's younger brother and fellow cap, Alan, joined on quitting the pro game two years ago, and Hillhead/Jordanhill are all playing at a higher level.
"It didn't really feel as if there was anything left to achieve in professional rugby so it will be nice to get back and play without having to deal with the pressures of professional rugby," explained Bulloch.
"I've told John Beattie [West's coach] that I'll play as much as I can and it does feel as if this is an opportunity to give something back. The club game has suffered a lot over the past 10 years or so, but when I first started it was a lot of the older guys who were the life and soul of things and I'd like to help generate that atmosphere again.
"A few of the boys I played with at Glasgow as well as West, when we started, are still around, like Guy Perrett and John Shaw, while Rory Kerr has also been along at training so, hopefully, we can have a lot of fun and help the younger players develop."

This article was posted on 27-Jul-2006, 07:01 by Hugh Barrow.