Scotland 7s star Fleming hangs up his boots

Scotland 7s winger James Fleming has made the step from rugby to business, hanging up his boots following a 9 year professional career.

The 30-year old has scored 112 tries in 45 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments and was a member of the first ever core Scotland 7s squad when the programme went full time in 2011.

Having dedicated his playing career to 7s, he now moves on to another Borders institution taking on the role of Operations Manager at Lovat Mill, Hawick the ‘Home of Tweed’.

Hailing from Perthshire Rugby Club the winger was Premier 3 Player of the Season in 2008/09 and went on to Dundee High School Former Pupils.

Fleming studied at Stirling University and Edinburgh Business School simultaneously throughout his career.

Scottish schools champion for 4x100m running in 1999/00, he also played for Scotland Universities and Scotland Club XV.

The speedster was a member of both Scotland squads to win back to back Twickenham competitions scoring the opening try of the comeback in the 2015 Cup Final.

He also played in Scotland’s victory over New Zealand the following year, the first time a Scotland squad had beaten the All Blacks at any level.

This season Fleming played at the Commonwealth Games in Australia with Scotland finishing sixth overall.

James Fleming said: “I would like to thank everyone who gave this 7-year-old the opportunity to realise his dreams.

“To everyone at Perthshire Ruby Club and to Ian Rankin at Dundee High for taking a chance on a slightly overweight 21-year-old.

“To the club game in Scotland for giving me a platform to progress even having missed out on representative honours as a youngster and to everyone I have encountered on the Scotland 7s circuit.

“Rugby has taught me so much and I have made friends for life. 2018 is going to be a new challenge now. Rosslyn and I welcomed our wee baby boy Alexander James into the family in May and I am excited to embark on the new chapter of my life with Lovat Mill.

“I’m joining a very successful team along with Stephen Rendle and Alan Cumming at Lovat Mill and look ahead to taking the company forward to the next stage.”