A FORMER Ellesmere College pupil has achieved his dream of becoming a professional rugby player.

Gus Warr has signed a five-year contract at Rugby Union Premiership side Sale Sharks just months after finishing his academic studies.

The 18-year-old scrum-half joined the academy at Sale and kicked off his time there when he was named as part of the squad for the televised Rugby Sevens at Franklins Gardens in Northampton.

Aired on BT Sport, the games gave Gus his first taste of large-scale rugby.

He said: “I enjoyed my time at Ellesmere and it helped me focus on my rugby alongside my academic studies.

“There was a lot of opportunity there, but I headed North of the Border with aspirations to play for Scotland at Under-18 level – which I did.”

Since leaving college, Gus has played for Scotland 18s, captained Scotland 19s in games against Scottish Students, Romania and France and was then selected to play for Scotland 20s against Ireland.

He was also named as a non-travelling reserve for the Scotland U20 World Cup squad.

Gus is now looking forward to getting stuck in to first team action, and following in the footsteps of his dad Mark, who played rugby for Sale FC in the mid-nineties.

He added: “I am relishing the opportunity to train with the senior squad at Carrington, where the academy and senior squad work together.

“Supporters of a certain age may remember my Dad, who also played scrum half, who played for Sale FC before moving to Orrell.”

Gus spent two years studying at Ellesmere College in Shropshire and completed his GCSEs there before going north of the border to complete his ‘Advanced Highers’ at the Dollar Academy in Clackmannanshire.

Alex Murphy, Director of the Rugby Academy at Ellesmere College, said: “We are thrilled at Gus’ success and that he’s signed a five-year contract with Sale Sharks.

“He was always destined for good things in rugby and he was a determined pupil here - both at the Academy and in his academic studies.”

The Ellesmere College Rugby Academy will be hosting a Scholarship Afternoon on Wednesday, November 14 for U13/14 and U16s – visit www.ellesmere.com for more information.