Samuel Hidalgo-Clyne (born 4 August 1993) is a Scottish rugby union player who plays for Benetton Rugby in United Rugby Championship. His primary position is as a scrum-half.
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Birth name | Samuel Peter Hidalgo-Clyne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 4 August 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Granada, Spain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 84.2 kg (13 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Corstorphine Primary, The Royal High School, Merchiston Castle School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Edinburgh University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editBorn in Jayena, Granada, Spain, Hidalgo-Clyne moved to Edinburgh at the age of three.[1] He began playing rugby at primary school for Forrester RFC and continued there when he started his secondary schooling at the Royal High School.[2] Having gained a scholarship, he attended Merchiston Castle School[1] where he played as a stand-off before being selected as a scrum-half.
Club career
editHidalgo-Clyne specialised in international sevens for the 2011–12 season and joined Edinburgh's elite development roster in the summer of 2012.
Hidalgo-Clyne was awarded a place on the 2013 Macphail Scholarship to New Zealand.[3]
Upon his return, Hidalgo-Clyne put himself in contention for a place in the senior squad and made his debut against Munster in September 2013.[4] His first try for the club came in the opening minute of Edinburgh's 48–0 defeat of Benetton Treviso in December 2014.[5] At the end of the 2014–15 season, Hidalgo-Clyne was named the Pro12 Young Player of the Year.[6]
After seven seasons with Edinburgh, Hidalgo-Clyne left the club to join Welsh region Scarlets from the 2018-19 season.[7] He left Scarlets early to join French giants Racing 92 in the Top 14 as cover during the 2019 Rugby World Cup[8] Afterwards, Hidalgo-Clyne signed a short-term contract with Lyon until the end of the 2018-19 season.[9]
On 17 February 2020, Hidalgo-Clyne agreed to move to Exeter Chiefs in the English Gallagher Premiership on a two-year deal from 2020-21 season.[10]
On 3 February 2022, Hidalgo-Clyne would leave Exeter as he signs for Italy region Benetton on a three-year deal in the United Rugby Championship ahead of the 2022-23 season. He played for Benetton until 2023–24 United Rugby Championship season.[11][12][13][14]
International career
editHidalgo-Clyne made his full Scotland debut on Saturday 7 February 2015, coming off the replacements' bench in a 15–8 defeat to France in the 2015 Six Nations Championship, and did so again in each of the remaining four matches.[15]
Hidalgo-Clyne has also represented Scotland under-17, under-18, under-20 and Scotland Sevens.
References
edit- ^ a b Lothian, Bill (29 May 2012). "Rugby: Ex-Forrester kid lands development deal". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- ^ Morrison, Iain (20 January 2015). "Six Nations: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne on fast-track to top". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Ferguson, David (26 September 2013). "Edinburgh v Scarlets: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne to start". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Edinburgh Rugby (Sam Hidalgo-Clyne) - Edinburgh Rugby". edinburghrugby.org.
- ^ McVake, Roddy (19 December 2014). "Pro 12: Edinburgh 48-0 Treviso". BBC Sport.
- ^ "GUINNESS PRO12 Awards 2014/15" (Press release). Guinness Pro12. 17 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "The fall of the star once tipped for greatness and why his move to Wales could be one of the success stories of the season". Wales Online. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne: Scotland scrum-half joins Racing 92 as World Cup cover". BBC Sport. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne agrees short-term contract with Lyon". The Off Sideline. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne: Exeter Chiefs sign Scotland scrum-half from Lyon". BBC Sport. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
- ^ "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne: Scotland scrum-half to leave Exeter in summer". BBC Sport. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "Hidalgo-Clyne to leave the Chiefs". Exeter Chiefs. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "SAM HIDALGO-CLYNE SARA' UN NUOVO MEDIANO DI MISCHIA DEI LEONI". Benetton Rugby. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
- ^ "12 GIOCATORI SALUTANO IL CLUB BIANCOVERDE" (in Italian). Benetton Rugby.it. 1 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Scotland (Sam Hidalgo-Clyne) - Scottish Rugby Union". scottishrugby.org.
External links
edit- Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at the World Rugby Men's Sevens Series
- Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at Premiership Rugby
- Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at ESPNscrum
- Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at ItsRugby.co.uk
- profile on Edinburgh Rugby
- profile on Scottish Rugby