Meet Chris Dean: The Scottish centre stalwart with fond memories of his grassroots days

For Edinburgh stalwart Chris Dean, it all began at a grassroots club with a proud history of producing quality players for Scottish rugby.

Dean first took up the sport at his home town team of North Berwick RFC on the East Lothian coastline.

That was also where Scotland co-captain Rory Darge started out, with fellow internationals Lewis Carmichael and Tom Brown, plus Saracens lock Callum Hunter-Hill, other notable names to have played their junior rugby for the seaside club.

“It has a fairly good alumni for producing some Scottish players over the last 15 to 20 years, which is great,” says centre Dean.

“It was the first place I ever picked up a rugby ball.

“I was taken along to mini rugby up at the Recreation Park when I was about five years old. It was the local club.

“On a Saturday morning, you would have rugby at 9.30am and then you would sprint over for football at 10.30am. It was just the thing to do, with tournaments then on a Sunday.”

He continued: “North Berwick is a beautiful seaside town. I was absolutely blessed there. It’s a stunning place to grow up, with so many things on your doorstep for a kid.

“Sport is a massive part of the community. You’ve got the golf heritage, tennis, watersports, while the rugby club is quite a focal point at the weekends. It’s very well supported in the community. It sits at the top of the hill and then you roll down into the high street afterwards for all the fun!

“The whole ethos of the club was to get the ball in your hands and run around and enjoy it.”

Dean started out in the backs at North Berwick, but then ventured into the back row when he played schools rugby at Edinburgh Academy, who he captained to cup success.

He also skippered Scotland U17s and, such was his talent, he went straight from school into the national Sevens set-up, earning an elite development contract at the age of 18.

“I left school on the Friday and joined the Scotland Sevens team which was quite a big posting at the time,” he recalls.

“So I got to travel round the world for two seasons.

“That unearthed a bit more of the backs attributes in me, versus hitting mauls, which I am quite thankful for 12 years on.”

After his globe-trotting on the Sevens circuit, Dean was handed a first team contract at Edinburgh Rugby in 2014.

He established himself as a key figure in the centre and was named in Scotland’s Six Nations squad in 2019.

A cap has eluded him to date, but he is a highly respected figure in the game, having given sterling service to Edinburgh for a decade now, making more than 140 appearances.

“This is my tenth season. Time flies for sure,” says the 29-year-old.

“I have been here a long time and seen it evolve. It’s been nothing but enjoyable.

“I am very fortunate in terms of the group of players I have come through with over the years. Some have retired and what not, but the friends who have come through have stayed close. It's been really enjoyable.”

Dean, who turns 30 next month, has shown his versatility of late by slotting in on the wing for Edinburgh’s last two games, victories over the Scarlets and Zebre Parma.

“I have been there long enough to know if you are asked to do a job, you just go out there and give it your best, whatever position you are playing, and try and get a win for the team,” he says.

Next up is a league meeting with the in-form Ospreys at the Hive Stadium on Friday evening in the BKT URC Origin Round.

“It should be a great game,” says Dean.

“I’ve played the Ospreys many a time and they have been up and down over the years, but it’s great to see they are coming through. They have got a group of talented players that are really bringing the club forward and challenging again.

“I think they are playing some really great rugby. It looks like they are a team playing with a huge amount of confidence and wanting to play rugby for the enjoyment of it.

“So it’s absolutely going to be a challenge. But, fingers crossed, at home we can put the performance together.

“We are striving to bring our best game forward and, if we do execute that as well as we can, it should give us a good chance to come out of the game with a good result.”

The BKT URC Origin rounds have seen players wearing the socks of the grassroots clubs where they started out and when Edinburgh have done that Dean has looked to give a dual tribute.

“I like to pay homage to North Berwick. I usually wear one red and black sock and then an Edinburgh Academicals sock on my other foot as they gave me senior opportunity when I left school,” he explains.

“I feel very fondly towards North Berwick, for sure. I know a lot of the people down there.

“Regardless of how many big games or professional games you might play, there are always those fond memories of playing down with your friends when you were young. You never forget those moments.”