FORMER Scotland rugby international Lewis Carmichael has swapped the oval ball game for a career in broadband.

Mr Carmichael has joined the engineering workforce of Openreach after his rugby career was cut short on medical grounds. Having played nearly 50 times for Edinburgh, and earned two caps for Scotland against Canada and the US in 2018, he was forced to quit the game aged just 26 last year. The forward had suffered several concussions.

Now Mr Carmichael is learning the broadband game with Openreach, which is working on the roll-out of fast-fibre connections across Scotland. He will primarily around his hometown of Peebles, Hawick and Melrose.

Mr Carmichael said: “The lifestyle at Openreach was a real draw for me. Having the freedom to travel round the country and take on new challenges makes every day different.

"Already I’ve been able to get out all across the south of Scotland and can see the material difference it makes to families and businesses to get a reliable superfast connection installed.  

“Although it’s a stark change from life as a professional athlete, training and working so closely with a team all day, many aspects of the job are very familiar. When the recent storms hit it was an all-hands-on-deck approach to get people back connected. 

“I knew about the opportunities at Openreach through friends but also because of the sponsorship at BT Murrayfield. I’ve completed my eight weeks’ training now but with each unique issue that arises I’m learning more. Every day’s a school day and I like that aspect of the role.”

Fraser Rowberry, chief engineer at Openreach, who also started his career as an apprentice, said: “We aim to attract talented, enthusiastic hard workers from all sorts of backgrounds and former careers, and we’re really fortunate that Lewis was drawn to engineering as he considered his next steps after his pro-rugby career.

"He’s proving to be a real asset to the team, and we’re delighted that he now looks set for a sterling second career. He’s in good company, as we’ve also been joined by football internationalist Alana Marshall, current captain of Edinburgh’s Spartans FC, as a trainee this year.  

“Openreach is a people business first and foremost, so I’m proud that we’re continuing to invest heavily in our team. It’s never too late to embark on the engineering training programme and pick up new skills that will last a lifetime.”