aving had spells with Edinburgh
Rugby, Melbourne Rebels and
the aptly-named Kurita Water
Gush in Japan, Alex Toolis has returned to
the UK and signed for London Scottish.
The second row, twin brother of
Scotland internationalist Ben, caught
up with SCRUM shortly after his arrival
at the Richmond Athletic Ground was
announced by the Greene King IPA
Championship Club.
The 27-year-old is enjoying life at his new
club.
“I’ve settled in really well so far. The boys
have all been great and we’re in the
middle of pre-season, which has been
pretty tough.”
When asked about his reasons for a
return to the UK, the former Edinburgh
man explained that the arrival of Stevie
Scott to the London Scottish backroom
staff was a contributing factor.
“I really enjoyed working with Stevie at
Edinburgh so when I heard that he was
coming on board here, I was excited
to get the opportunity to work with him
again.”
The former Marist College pupil also
explained how a bad run of injuries limited
his opportunities back in his homeland
after signing a two-year deal to join
Melbourne Rebels in 2017.
“When I left Edinburgh also coincided with
the collapse of the Western Force and all
their guys took precedence when it came
to finding contracts elsewhere for people,
so that put me at a disadvantage straight
away, and then I broke my neck.”
Toolis is perhaps lucky to still be able to
play the game at all, having suffered from
a bulging C7 disc in his neck, which he
picked up trying to make a tackle.
“I heard a crack but I didn’t know what I’d
done so I played on – I was so keen to
make a good impression that all I wanted
was to just keep playing.”
Thankfully physios and medics were onhand to persuade the giant second row
from doing otherwise but thereafter came
a lengthy period of rehabilitation that
meant Toolis was unavailable for all of his
maiden Super Rugby season.
He admitted to “tough times” post-injury,
and left Melbourne with a year still to run
on his deal, Japan-bound in a bid to get
back on the field and rediscover his best
form; and he managed that with Kurita
Water Gush.
“I was still learning things out there,” he
continued, while adding that Japan had
been a “great experience on and off the
pitch.”
While Alex settles in to life in London, his
twin is aiming to win a place in Scotland’s
31-man squad for the Rugby World Cup in
Japan.
Alex had words of wisdom for his brother
about playing in the Land of the Rising
Sun: “I’ve given Ben some advice about
the World Cup in Japan if he’s selected.
It’s a fantastic experience - Japan is a
beautiful country with beautiful people –
the main thing he’ll have to get used to
is the food because it’s obviously quite
different to back in the UK.”
And while Alex is happy to pass on advice
to his twin about potentially playing in a
new environment, the London Scottish
man admits his brother is probably not too
fussed that he’s moved back to the UK.
“We’ve got a very love-hate relationship,”
he said.
“I think he probably quite enjoyed it when
I was back in Australia but I’m sure our
mum will probably like it that we’re back
closer to each other.
“I think we were in each other’s pockets
a bit too much when we were both in
Edinburgh.”
Whether Ben likes it or not, Alex Toolis is
aming to hit the ground running in London
and help Graham Steadman’s side battle
their way to the upper echelons of the
Greene King IPA Championship table.H
TOOLIS KEEN TO HIT THE
GROUND RUNNING AT
LONDON SCOTTISH
LONDON SCOTTISH
124 • WWW.SCRUMMAGAZINE.COM • ISSUE 116 2019