Balfour Norquoy has been making a name for himself throughout Scottish Rugby’s youth system, and with a dream of making it to the professional game, he has been loving every minute of it.
Aged 16-years-old, Balfour has had his best season as a youth rugby player to date, and with this, he has realised his dream of making it as a professional rugby player.
Earning his way into Glasgow Warriors under 17’s squad in the 2025/26 season, Balfour is marking out his next steps in the sport.
To support Balfour as he looks to develop and climb the Scottish rugby pathway, he has been accessing funding through sportscotland’s Athlete travel Award Scheme (ATAS) and has been provided with a Performance Development Plan by sportscotland’s Institute of Sport.
He said: “My main goal is Scotland under 18s, that is definitely where I want to get to. The ultimate end goal is to go professional in the sport, that would be a dream come true.”
ATAS provides funding to performance level athletes from Shetland, Orkney, Western Isles and Highland, with an overall aim of supporting the cost of travel to developmental opportunities and competitions.
Growing up on the island of Orkney, Balfour has always loved rugby, starting to play the sport at age five, now playing for Orkney Rugby Football Club, and traveling across Scotland, playing some of the top youth teams. Recently Balfour was selected to represent Caledonia under 17’s, and Glasgow Warriors under 17’s team.
This came because of all the hard work, determination and commitment that Balfour has shown, something that the Norquoy family are all extremely proud of. Although, this step up in the sport came with significant travel commitments, often needing to travel over to the Scottish mainland.
With Balfour only being 16 years old, when he travels over to Dundee Regional Performance Centre and Ravenscraig Sport Facility, to attend training and matches, he is not allowed to stay in a hotel by himself. Meaning that not only is the travel and accommodation costly for Balfour, but he also has to have a parent accompany him, this is an area where ATAS has supported the Norquoy family, Balfour said: “I mean 100%, the Athlete Travel Award Scheme makes a big difference, it takes the pressure off of my mother and father.”
“It helps you massively, it makes a big difference, it is brilliant.”
Balfour has been involved in Scottish Rugby Union’s youth system for the previous two years, however, it wasn’t until this past year that he has found himself getting more game time, one of the reasons he has attributed to this is the increased strength and conditioning support he has had through his Performance Development Plan, which is delivered on the Island to him and other high performance Orcadian athletes, he said:
“This season would have been a big one, I’ve been in the Caledonia pathway for two years, and I was lucky to get through a massive squad of 50. This year, when I fully committed, and had a fully committed position, and a Strength and Conditioning plan, I completely broke out, Glasgow Warriors and Caledonia, I did really well in Caledonia, and really well in Warriors, I would definitely say that this year has been my breakout season.”
“As a back rower, physicality is a huge thing, the nature of rugby is very physical, so when you can get a dedicated gym programme, you will become more physical, and you will become a better player.”
Along with progressing in the sport, playing against other Scottish regions, and occasionally English teams, Balfour has enjoyed the social element of meeting new rugby players “I would definitely say that my favourite is the team, building up friendships, rugby is a team game, so you get to know the people you are surrounded by, there are many boys that I wouldn’t normally talk to, those from Falkirk who live completely different lives to me, boys from private school, and it is really nice to build a bond with them.” He said.
