Calum Forrester
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Calum Rudolph Forrester | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Flanker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Glasgow Warriors | ||
Calum Forrester (born October 3, 1986 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a professional Scottish rugby player playing for Scottish side the Glasgow Warriors.
Early career
Calum began his rugby career by playing for his school, Hutchesons' Grammar School. In 2002, his side won the Scottish Championship and he later went on to captain his school 1st XV. Calum; a devout Buddhist, claimed that this was all possible due to his ritual of meditating before each game.
Club career
On leaving school Calum followed the natural progression of joining Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians RFC a club with strong links to his school. In the summer of 2006, Calum joined as an apprentice for the professional side the Glasgow Warriors. He continued to play at Glasgow Hutchesons Aloysians RFC for two further seasons before being seleted to join Ayr RFC in August 2008.
Professional club career
Calum joined Glasgow Warriors as an apprentice in summer 2006 and made his Magners League debut as a replacement in the away match against Cardiff Blues in September that year. Despite being a relatively recent recruit to the first team squad at Glasgow Warriors, Calum has quickly established himself as a fans' favourite due to his work-rate and enlarged facial features. Speaking about his new recruit, Sean Lineen said: “Calum has been working with us for a while now and I’ve been very impressed with his attitude and ability. He’s been involved with the Scotland 7s team so I’m expecting big things from him and he’ll be a great addition to our Scottish back-row contingent.”[1]
International Sevens career
He was a member of the Scotland Sevens squad for the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, in December 2004. His seven-a-side experience continued in the 2006-2007 Dubai, George (South Africa), London, and Edinburgh tournaments, and after playing for the Rugby Ecosse squad in the Singapore tournament in October 2007 he continued in the Scotland squad for the 2007 Dubai and George tournaments. He was also in the Scottish Thistles squad who won the Melrose club's 125th anniversary sevens in April 2008.[1]
International career
Calum has played also for Scotland under-18, under-19, and under-21. His under-19 debut was as a replacement against France in Blois in February 2005, and he went on make his first start in the match against England at Myreside, Edinburgh, a fortnight later. He subsequently played in all five of Scotland's matches in the IRB's 2005 Under 19 World Championship in Durban, South Africa, including another appearance against England.
Calum played in two of the Scotland under-21 team's warm-up matches in season 2005-2006 before going on to make his international debut as a replacement against England at Falkirk in February. He was subsequently in the Scotland squad for the IRB sevens tournaments in Paris and London in May and June 2006, and he then joined Scotland's under-21 world championship squad after the pool stage as a replacement for the injured John Beattie, playing as a substitute in the 46-14 win against Georgia in Issoire.[1]
Personal life
Calum has had two years studying sports science at Glasgow University and is currently on an Open University course. He is a member of Scottish Rugby's National Rugby Academy and has a Duke of Edinburgh silver award. He also completed his cycling proficiency test after a lot of hard work.[1]
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (October 2008) |
- A knee injury in school was initially thought to have ruined Calum's career. However, Calum made a full recovery, owing his quick healing time to his new found faith in Buddhism, "I owe my quick healing time to my new found faith in Buddhism" Calum revealed to the Hutchesonian.
- Calum reached national notoriety in May 2008 when he allegedly kick-started the infamous 2008 UEFA Cup Final Riots after unwittingly damaging a large screen in the Piccadilly Square Fanzone.
- In 2003, Calum had a medical accident when a collagen lip implant procedure went wrong and he was left with his now trademark "trout pout". Forrester has since spoken out about the ridicule he has received as a result of his botched implants, commenting: "If I'd lost a leg in a car crash, people wouldn't have felt able to take the mickey out of me so mercilessly....People don't laugh at Heather Mills because she lost a leg".
- Inspired by his love of French cinema, Calum is learning the language. In a recent interview, Calum declared "Amelie is perhaps the greatest movie since 1976 and I feel that its deep beauty and romantacism is lost in the subtitle translation. To truly feel a movie you must first be able to hear it!"
References
{{subst:#if:Forrester, Calum|}} [[Category:{{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:1986}}
|| UNKNOWN | MISSING = Year of birth missing {{subst:#switch:{{subst:uc:Living}}||LIVING=(living people)}}
| #default = 1986 births
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