Matthew Fick making impact for Scotland U20s
9 Jul 2026South-African born scrum-half Matthew Fick joined Edinburgh Academy earlier this year, sparking a hectic couple of months for the Scotland Under-20s player.
Qualifying for Scotland through his Inverness born grandfather, South African born Matthre Fick was included in the 20s squad for the World Championships and has made an immediate impact, playing in all three games so far and scoring the opening try against Japan in their most recent match.
Reflecting on his early rugby journey, Fick said: “I started in school and played for the Sharks before being scouted by the Bulls and I played for them at under-19 level. I then made the move to Scotland, which has been a long time in the making as they knew I was qualified. They wanted to bring me here for the Six Nations earlier this year but I was in the Junior Bok camp. It’s always been something I’ve been passionate about pursuing and I’m delighted to be here and be part of it all.”
The Scottish Qualified programme has been instrumental in the development of a number of current internationalists such as Ewan Ashman, Ben White, Rory Hutchison, Will Hurd and Nathan McBeth.
It works in a number of ways with Scottish Rugby looking at all avenues to seek out the best Scottish qualified players across the world. Fick was first put on Scottish Rugby’s radar in 2019 and after years of tracking from Peter Walton and Rob Brierley, he was signed for Edinburgh Rugby.
Fick explained: “I’ve always been interested in playing for Scotland and the doors were kind of closing for me in South Africa so it all aligned perfectly. Scotland have been very generous in giving me this opportunity as it’s allowed me to expand my game and I can feel I’m developing all the time. I’ve felt very welcomed into the environment which has been nice too.
“My family are very happy for me but it’s been hard as they miss me a lot. I’m loving Scotland so far. It’s warmer than I expected but I’ve been told to not get too used to that. To represent my grandfather’s heritage is something that means a lot to me and I feel a lot of pride when I’m pulling on the Scotland jersey.”
Fick doesn’t have to look far for inspiration when he will train day in day out at The Hive with Edinburgh Rugby, having a similar journey to one of Scotland’s most recent 50 cappers in Pierre Schoeman.
He said: “Schoey has come through a similar journey to me in a way as he also came through at the Bulls and stayed at the same house as I did. We have a similar back story that way.
Scotland Under-20s have defeated Italy and Japan so far in the Under-20s World Championship and they now have their sights set on a match against Argentina as they chase a fifth place finish which would be their joint best finish in the competition.
Reflecting on the tournament so far he said: “The World Championships have been a great experience so far and I’m backing us to win every game we play. We have been holding ourselves to a high standard and pushing every game we play to improve.
“The players are very skilled, the standard of the boys is very high and it works well with the style I try to play as a running nine. I’ve loving the experience so far.”
Scottish Qualified Programme Information
The Scottish Qualified Programme is a player centred initiative designed to identify, develop and support Scottish Qualified players living outside of Scotland. The programme recognises individual playing pathways then provides appropriate support and opportunities to progress towards age-grade, professional and international rugby.
