ANDREW KELLY
Andrew James Kelly signed with his hometown team Edinburgh at the start of the 2003/2004 season and recorded his 100th appearance in the Black and Red against Ospreys in November 2008. He agreed a new two-year contract in May 2010 and is set to battle Ross Ford for the number two jersey.
An effective and astute hooker, the Scotland ‘A’ international started his rugby career alongside former Edinburgh centre Matt Dey at Stewart’s Melville College where they won the Scottish Schools Cup in 1999.
Nicknamed ‘Ned’, he went on to play for Stewart’s-Melville FP before signing a professional contract with Edinburgh.
On the international stage, Kelly played in all three games during the Barclays Churchill Cup in Canada in June 2006, starting as hooker in the win against Canada and replacement in the two others.
He continued in that bench role in 2006-2007 for the Perth matches against Australia and Italy, playing for the last quarter in the victory in the latter game.


RYAN GRANT
Prop Ryan Grant, 24, who was this week named in the Scotland 'A' squad for the IRB Nations Cup in Romania, will move along the M8 this summer to join Magners League semi-finalists Glasgow Warriors following three years in Edinburgh.
Grant, who played 14 games for Edinburgh, is a former Scotland age-grade internationalist who has gone on to win Scotland A honours and who has also represented the Army.

Speaking about Grant, who arrives at the Warriors having gained experience at Border Reivers prior to joining Edinburgh, Sean Lineen said: "The way Ryan plays really suits Glasgow and he'll certainly get game-time here.

"He'll add quality to the front-row which is a crucial area for us because he's a big lad but he's also very mobile."

He joined Edinburgh from Border Reivers in 2007. Following up under-21 international honours in 2006 he made his Scotland A debut in the victory against their Italian counterparts at McDiarmid Park, Perth, in February 2007. He had joined Reivers on an apprentice contract the previous summer and made his competition debut in starting at loose head in the Magners League match against Ulster the following November.

The Scotland under-21 forward scored the clinching try for the Army in their 23-13 victory against the Royal Navy at Portsmouth in December 2005, a result that secured the Inter-Services Under-21 Championship for his team. Ryan, who has served in the Royal Signals, has played also for the Combined Services’ under-21 team, and he stepped up to Scotland’s under-21 team in making his international debut against France at Falkirk in February 2006 as well as playing in all four subsequent matches in the championship as loose head in an ever-present front five. Later in the year he played in all five matches in the under-21 world championship in France, and when he subsequently signed for Reivers he also joined Heriot’s.

In addition to playing rugby, he is also an RADI adventure diver.




KEVIN TKACHUK
Kevin "T-Bone" Tkachuk signed a new one-year contract with Glasgow in May 2008.
Kevin has spent the summer playing for Canada, firstly in the Churchill Cup and then in the World Cup qualifiers.

Kevin joined up at Glasgow in 2004 after completing his studies at Oxford University. He has played for Oxford in the varsity matches from 2001 to 2003, and scored a try for them against Australia.

The Canadian international prop joined Glasgow from PerTemps Bees and made a big impact in his first season at Hughenden.

He captained Canada five times in 2004 and 2005 and made his debut for the Barbarians in May 2006 in the Murrayfield match against Scotland.

Only a few days before that match he was named Glasgow Warriors’ Player of the Year at the Scottish Rugby Awards Dinner.

Later that year he returned to Canada’s team for the 56-7 win against USA in the World Cup qualifying match in St John’s, Newfoundland.

His first try for Glasgow was in the Celtic League victory against Ulster at Hughenden in October 2004, and he scored a second in the home win against Connacht two months later.

He has also played for Campion Grads, Prairie Fire (Saskatchewan’s Rugby Canada Super League team), the Capilano and Castaway Wanderers clubs in British Columbia, and Henley Hawks in England.

Former wrestler, gridiron player and speed skater, Kevin is noted for his strength, mobility and committment

ALY MULDOWNEY
Alastair Muldowney joined Glasgow Warriors from from English Championship side Moseley in May 2010.
The Scottish qualified lock forward is a latecomer to rugby having played basketball for Stoke Steelers in the English National League.

He joined Moseley in 2008 after two seasons with Stourbridge where he had been voted most-improved player of the year and player of the year in successive seasons.

He was educated at King Edward VI High School, Stafford, and Staffordshire University, where he read Accountancy.

Aly is Scottish-qualified through his maternal grandfather, Bill Morrison, from Perth.


DUNCAN WEIR
Duncan Weir joined Glasgow Warriors from Glasgow Hawks in March 2010.
The former Cathkin High pupil joined up at Old Anniesland from Cambuslang where he was involved since primary school.

Glasgow coach Sean Lineen said of the stand-off: "We've been watching Duncan for a while now. He is a talented youngster with an outstanding kicking game. I really like his attitude and I'm looking forward to working with him."

Duncan represented Scotland in the IRB Sevens series in 2010 and has played for Scotland U17 and U19s.

He is studying an HND in Sports Coaching with Development of Sport at Cumbernauld College.

For much of season 2008/2009, Duncan was was sidelined with a serious injury to his anterior cruciate ligament. But the young stand-off battled back to fitness.

He explained: “I had to be patient, but I suppose I am a fairly down-to-earth person and that setback just made me more determined to enjoy rugby when I returned to the fold.

“I have also been fortunate that so many folk have done their best to help me, such as Scott Forrest [Scotland’s international sevens captain], who worked with me at Cambuslang, and Peter [Wright], who has given me my opportunity at Hawks and has encouraged me to play my natural game.

“When you grow up in Glasgow, you get used to kicking a ball around, and trying different tricks with it and, for me, the shape of the ball doesn’t really matter. If you get comfortable with it and keep practicing, it gives you the confidence to try things and Peter always tells us to trust our instincts. And it’s going fine so far.”



ESTEBAN LOZADA
Esteban Lozada is one of several high-profile additions to the Edinburgh squad for season 2010/11. An athletic, robust second row, the signing from high-flying Toulon was part of the Argentina outfit that stormed to third place in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Lozada played against both Georgia and France during the tournament.
The following year, he lined up against Scotland in both Tests of the drawn series staged in Rosario and Buenos Aires. Prior to joining Toulon, he turned out for the CASI club based in the Argentine capital.
Born in Ottignies, a town close to Brussels where his parents were studying at the time, Lozada has represented Argentina at under-19, under-21 and A team level, as well as being capped by the full team. His debut for the Pumas was the historic win over England at Twickenham in November 2006. He was an unused sub when Argentina last came to Murrayfield in November 2009. When in signing negotiations with Edinburgh, he produced Jonny Wilkinson and Tana Umaga, colleagues at Toulon, as character witnesses. Both gave Rob Moffat a glowing report about his merit

This article was originally posted on 17-Aug-2010, 09:54 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 17-Aug-2010, 11:29.