My life in rugby: Gordon Ross – London Welsh and former Scotland, Leeds and Edinburgh fly-half

I’m not sure what the fat kid who started out in professional rugby would have made of the game as it is now – but for a back injury it might not have mattered.
When I was at school I played a lot of golf and was playing off a handicap of two at 16. I’m sure my bank would be happier if I’d gone down that route but a school rugby tour to South Africa made my mind up.
I’d had a back injury from a rugby game and playing golf was making it worse and jeopardising my chances of going on the tour – so it had to go.
I still win myself the odd bacon butty from my London Welsh team-mates when we go for a game every couple of weeks while my girlfriend plays golf herself so that is the retirement plan sorted.
I was starting my pro career with Edinburgh Reivers in 2000, a day after finishing university where I studied teaching.
It’s fair to say it was a little bit different in terms of conditioning then. It was eat as much as possible, now it seems it’s eat as little as possible and the game has changed a lot, but I’ve loved my career.
From Edinburgh I went to Leeds and experienced winning a Powergen Cup final in 2005 when we beat Bath. You could say that game was a highlight as I was man-of-the-match but that would be doing a disservice to the entire back end of that season.
We were favourites to go down but we won both our Cup games and four league games on the bounce and stayed up.
I was working under Phil Davies at the time and he’d created a great atmosphere at Leeds and he had a huge influence over my career.
I’d made my Scotland debut in 2001 in unlikely circumstances. I wasn’t supposed to be playing before Gregor Townsend got injured, then Chris Paterson also got injured and suddenly I was kicking.
I had a dream debut against Tonga with 23 points but after that I was in and out of the side.
I don’t think I got the extended chance that I deserved but then again when you get dropped from a team you always feel hard done-to.
But I’m proud of what I achieved for Scotland and of course I’d have liked to have played more games but that is how things go.
When Leeds were relegated I moved to France with Castres and it’d be fair to say that was a different experience. I wouldn’t say I had any big bust-ups with the coach, I just barely spoke to him.
It was a totally different way of doing things and it was hard for me especially having worked under someone like Phil Davies.
It’s the same now with Welsh, I love working under Lyn Jones and I’m learning a hell of a lot from him from a coaching perspective which will, hopefully, stand me in good stead.
I’ve worked with great coaches throughout my years with Lyn and Phil as well as Frank Hadden.
I’m well aware at 34
my playing days are approaching an end – my body tells me that the morning after every game – so I watch a lot of what Lyn does and try to learn.
With my teaching background I’d love to stay in sport and preferably work in coaching rugby when I retire – oh, that and, of course, my return to the golfing roots.