Scott Lawson to retire from professional rugby

After a career which has brought more than a century of appearances for Newcastle Falcons and 47 international caps for Scotland, hooker Scott Lawson will retire from professional rugby at the end of the current season.

The 36-year-old will take up a new position as director of rugby at the University of St Andrews.

Announcing the news, Lawson said: “I’ve played professional rugby for a long, long time, and I don’t want to play for too long. Now feels like the right time, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought and I’ve been given an outstanding opportunity at the University of St Andrews.

“With the season we’ve had it feels like now is the moment to call it a day, and I’d like to thank Dean Richards and the Falcons as a club for being so understanding throughout the whole process. This also means my role as head coach of Tynedale RFC will come to an end, and I’d like to put on record my thanks to everybody at Tynedale who has made my time there so enjoyable and rewarding.”

Lawson’s rugby career began at his local club, Biggar RFC, and went on to see him excel in the professional ranks for Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks, Gloucester and London Irish before joining the Falcons in the summer of 2013.

Running out 109 times so far in Newcastle colours, a remarkable 2017-18 campaign for club and country saw him ending a wait of more than three years for a Scotland recall during this year’s Six Nations, scoring two tries in the European Challenge Cup semi-final and playing in 16 of the Falcons’ 22 Aviva Premiership games during their best league finish in 20 years.