Edinburgh Rugby is delighted to announce highly-rated tighthead prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty has signed his first professional contract, committing his future to the club until the end of the 2027/28 season.
The 19-year-old prop becomes a full-time professional with immediate effect, marking a significant milestone as he prepares to face Castres Olympique in the Investec Champions Cup this Sunday.
Blyth-Lafferty puts pen to paper on deal after making his first professional start in Sunday’s thrilling Investec Champions Cup victory over RC Toulon at Hive Stadium. This followed his professional debut from the bench the week prior against Ospreys in the BKT United Rugby Championship.
Blyth-Lafferty is one of several young, local Scottish players coming through the club’s academy system to feature prominently in the senior team this season, with fellow talents like Liam McConnell (21), Tom Currie (21), Conor McAlpine (21) and Freddy Douglas (20) all catching the eye.
Blyth-Lafferty said: “Signing my first professional deal with Edinburgh Rugby is a genuinely massive moment for me and my family. This is my hometown club, and to put pen to paper after coming through the academy is an amazing feeling.
“I’m hugely proud to have made my debut, and then get my first start in the Champions Cup against Toulon was just incredible – it’s what you dream of as a young player.
“Now that I’m a full-time professional, the hard work really steps up. I want to make my mark here and push to be a top player for the club. It makes it even better that I’ve loved coming through the system with my mates. Guys like Liam and Freddy – we’ve played together for years, and now we’re all getting a shot in the senior team. We push each other every day, and hopefully, we can be part of a successful future for Edinburgh Rugby.”
Blyth-Lafferty started with Boroughmuir in Primary 1, playing all the way up to U18 level where he won the U18 Boys’ Youth Cup. He was named as one of the FOSROC Contracted Academy players aligned with Edinburgh Rugby for the 2023/24 season.
Still just 17 at the time, Ollie gained valuable adult rugby experience via Currie Chieftains and the FOSROC Futures XV, while also featuring for Heriot’s Rugby in the Premiership during the 2024/25 season.
On the international stage, before being brought into the Scotland U20 set up, Ollie was a standout player at Scotland U18 level, having represented the side in all three games of the 2024 Under-18 Six Nations Festival.
He and his brother Jerry – a hooker in the Edinburgh Rugby academy – also made history by becoming the first brothers to play for Scotland U20 together on an international stage when they started in the front row in the team’s first pool match against Samoa in the 2024 World Rugby U20 Trophy.
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt highlighted Blyth-Lafferty’s potential and the club’s commitment to developing local talent.
He said: “It’s brilliant news for the club to secure a player with so much potential like Ollie on a long-term deal. He has shown his quality and composure in training and on the field when given his chance, especially with that Champions Cup start against Toulon.
“Ollie has a really bright future ahead of him. The exciting thing is he still has so much more room to grow, both physically and technically, which speaks volumes about the potential he possesses. We want Edinburgh fans to continue to get right behind these young local players. The mantra here is clear: we want to turn local players into legends.”
High Beam
India is the only country to win the 60-Over, 50-Over and 20-Over World Cup
light despair
Some of the sports’ most loyal fans consider cricket their religion – and they have a god. His name is Sachin Tendulkar. Although there are cricketers with excellent numbers, Tendulkar’s fans may have a point. Over his 24-year long career, he has notched 34,357 runs, averaged 51.74 half-centuries in 664 international matches, and has achieved 100 centuries. This, along with his charisma, earned him the nickname, God of Cricket.