Scotland: Patrick Harrison’s family fly 7000 miles to share debut

Clive Lindsay, BBC Sport Scotland

Surprises keep coming for Patrick Harrison after the Edinburgh hooker’s family flew more than 7,000 miles to Chile in order to share “a special week” that culminated in his Scotland debut.

The 22-year-old’s farmer father even joined him on the pitch as his side’s 52-11 victory was followed by an invasion of fans to celebrate.

“Some of the fans came on the pitch and my dad was on the pitch behind me, which gave me a bit of a surprise and was pretty funny,” Harrison recalled.

“My mum and dad and one of my brothers flew out on the Friday – the day before the game – so that was pretty special.

“They basically just booked the flights on the Thursday and then flew out on the Friday. It was very last minute.”

It has been a whirlwind few months for Harrison, who so far has only made 15 first-team appearances for his United Rugby Championship club since joining in 2020.

Named among a group of young players taken along on Scotland’s summer tour by head coach Gregor Townsend largely for experience, Harrison was brought on shortly after the break in Santiago.

“It was an exciting day and a pretty special week leading up to it and then, on the day, getting on the pitch was a good feeling,” he said.

“When I got on the pitch, I just tried to do the basics. The important aspects of my game, lineouts and scrum-wise, they went pretty well, so I had a pretty solid game from my point of view.

“It was a surprise getting here, but once I have been out there, the boys have been class and, when I was told I was making my debut, it was pretty exciting.”

Harrison admits it “hasn’t really sunk in yet”, but before he starts thinking of framing his first Scotland shirt and cap back home, he is dreaming of a first start when Townsend’s side finish their tour against Uruguay in Montevideo on Saturday.