Sam Hidalgo-Clyne

Samuel Hidalgo-Clyne (born 4 August 1993) is a Scottish rugby union player who plays for Benetton Rugby in United Rugby Championship. His primary position is as a scrum-half.^[1]

Sam Hidalgo-Clyne

Birth name	Samuel Peter Hidalgo-Clyne
Date of birth	(1993-08-04) 4 August 1993 (age 29)
Place of birth	Granada, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	84.2 kg (13 st 4 lb)
School	Corstorphine Primary, The Royal High School, Merchiston Castle School
University	Edinburgh University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum Half Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Forrester RFC () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2011–2018 2018–2019 2019 2019 2019–2020 2020–2022 2022− Edinburgh Rugby Scarlets →Harlequins Racing 92 Lyon Exeter Chiefs Benetton 107 16 6 6 7 32 4 (470) (7) (5) (15) (0) (20) 0 Correct as of 9 Oct 2022 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2011–2013 2015–2020 Scotland U20 Scotland 12 14 (5) (7) Correct as of 1 February 2022 National sevens team(s) Years Team Comps 2011–2012 Scotland 7s 5 (9)

Early life

Born in Jayena, Granada, Spain, Hidalgo-Clyne moved to Edinburgh at the age of three.^[2] He began playing rugby at primary school for Forrester RFC and continued there when he started his secondary schooling at the Royal High School.^[3] Having gained a scholarship, he attended Merchiston Castle School^[2] where he played as a stand-off before being selected as a scrum-half.

Club career

Hidalgo-Clyne specialised in international sevens for the 2011–12 season and joined Edinburgh's elite development roster in the summer of 2012.

Hidalgo-Clyne was awarded a place on the 2013 Macphail Scholarship to New Zealand.^[4]

Upon his return, Hidalgo-Clyne put himself in contention for a place in the senior squad and made his debut against Munster in September 2013.^[5] His first try for the club came in the opening minute of Edinburgh's 48–0 defeat of Benetton Treviso in December 2014.^[6] At the end of the 2014–15 season, Hidalgo-Clyne was named the Pro12 Young Player of the Year.^[7]

After seven seasons with Edinburgh, Hidalgo-Clyne left the club to join Welsh region Scarlets from the 2018-19 season.^[8] He left Scarlets early to join French giants Racing 92 in the Top 14 as cover during the 2019 Rugby World Cup^[9] Afterwards, Hidalgo-Clyne signed a short-term contract with Lyon until the end of the 2018-19 season.^[10]

On 17 February 2020, Hidalgo-Clyne agreed to move to Exeter Chiefs in the English Gallagher Premiership on a two-year deal from 2020-21 season.^[11]

On 3 February 2022, Hidalgo-Clyne would leave Exeter as he signs for Italy region Benetton on a three-year deal in the United Rugby Championship ahead of the 2022-23 season.^[12][13][14]

International career

Hidalgo-Clyne made his full Scotland debut on Saturday 7 February 2015, coming off the replacements' bench in a 15–8 defeat to France in the 2015 Six Nations Championship, and did so again in each of the remaining four matches.^[15]

Hidalgo-Clyne has also represented Scotland under-17, under-18, under-20 and Scotland Sevens.

References

1. "SAM HIDALGO-CLYNE SARA' UN NUOVO MEDIANO DI MISCHIA DEI LEONI". Benetton Rugby. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
2. Lothian, Bill (29 May 2012). "Rugby: Ex-Forrester kid lands development deal". The Scotsman. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
3. Morrison, Iain (20 January 2015). "Six Nations: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne on fast-track to top". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
4. Ferguson, David (26 September 2013). "Edinburgh v Scarlets: Sam Hidalgo-Clyne to start". The Scotsman. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
5. "Edinburgh Rugby (Sam Hidalgo-Clyne) - Edinburgh Rugby". edinburghrugby.org.
6. McVake, Roddy (19 December 2014). "Pro 12: Edinburgh 48-0 Treviso". BBC Sport.
7. (Press release). Guinness Pro12. 17 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
8. "The fall of the star once tipped for greatness and why his move to Wales could be one of the success stories of the season". Wales Online. 9 August 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
9. "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne: Scotland scrum-half joins Racing 92 as World Cup cover". BBC Sport. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
10. "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne agrees short-term contract with Lyon". The Off Sideline. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
11. "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne: Exeter Chiefs sign Scotland scrum-half from Lyon". BBC Sport. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
12. "Sam Hidalgo-Clyne: Scotland scrum-half to leave Exeter in summer". BBC Sport. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
13. "Hidalgo-Clyne to leave the Chiefs". Exeter Chiefs. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
14. "SAM HIDALGO-CLYNE SARA' UN NUOVO MEDIANO DI MISCHIA DEI LEONI". Benetton Rugby. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
15. "Scotland (Sam Hidalgo-Clyne) - Scottish Rugby Union". scottishrugby.org.

External links

• profile on Edinburgh Rugby
• profile on Scottish Rugby

Sporting positions
Preceded by Jonny Gray, Gregor Hunter	John Macphail Scholarship Finn Russell, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 2013	Succeeded by Ewan McQuillin, Adam Ashe