Canadian flyer Taylor Paris has signed a one-year deal with Glasgow Warriors which keeps him at the club until at least the end of May 2013.
The 19-year-old winger made his mark as a teenage sensation for his national side and has already impressed the coaching staff with his work ethic in pre-season.
"I'm not the first player from Canada to play for the Warriors so the side is really well known back home and I jumped at the chance to come and play in Glasgow," said Paris.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I've really enjoyed the first couple of weeks of training. I know I need to keep working hard and putting in the effort to make the most of it.
"It's a squad with a lot of talent so I know I have to work hard to earn my place here."
Paris burst onto the international scene at just 17 years of age when he made his debut for the Canadian Sevens team, scoring a try in his first match at the Wellington Sevens in 2010.
He's also the youngest player to ever win a cap for the Canucks, making his debut aged 18. He scored a brace of tries in his second Test and was part of the 30-man squad which travelled to New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
He missed out on the Canucks' June Test series with a foot injury but last month was named captain of the Canada U20 side at the IRB Junior World Trophy.
"Taylor has fitted in well with the Warriors squad and we're really looking forward to seeing how he performs as the season goes on," said Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend.
"It's clear he has a lot of ability and we want to help him fulfill that abundance of potential.
"Playing international rugby when just a teenager means he brings with him a lot of maturity, despite his age, and coupled with his determination to improve we've no doubt he'll become a great asset for the Glasgow Warriors."
Comments
contepomi says...
i wish scotland the best, but i'm keener to get an improved canada team, they've come on loads over the last 4-5 years, hope he's a success
Posted 08:14 30th July 2012
CanIre says...
In a way, we are atg77. If you look at it via provincial team association, many of the players are picked from BC and Ontario (though the Rock and Prairies are catching up). And if you look at our club competition, a large majority of players are being picked from Uvic and James Bay. We have limits on import players, but so do you in Scotland. And as a rugby nation that is ranked higher than ours, if your hypothetical national team prospect can't win a starting spot at Glasgow over our man, then maybe he shouldn't be on the national team.
Posted 21:09 29th July 2012
atg77 says...
@minkusbc But are you choosing the majority of your national team from just two different clubs as in Scotland? I very much doubt it.
Posted 13:27 29th July 2012
minkusbc says...
Yes, but a chance for one of our boys from the "Colonies" to improve their game. By the way, we have a lot of Scottish players over here in Canada, and we don't say "Yet another opportunity for a Canadian player flushed down the toilet" !!
Posted 00:45 27th July 2012
atg77 says...
Yet another opportunity for a Scottish player flushed down the toilet.
Posted 13:24 25th July 2012