Fergus Dunn was born in Surbiton but thanks to his grandparents and great grandparents, is now Scotland’s tallest player.
A Surbiton hockey player has spoken of his high hopes for his international career.
Fergus Dunn was born in Surbiton but thanks to his grandparents and great grandparents, is now Scotland’s tallest player.
Standing at 6ft 5″, Dunn has played 75 times for Scotland and has become a key figure in Scottish Hockey.
“At the time I was selected for the Scottish squad, I qualified through my Scottish grandparents and my mum, who was born in Scotland,” he said.
“I have hockey in my genes from my great grandfather and Scotland in my blood from my grandfather. I must get my competitive edge from both as my grandfather Bob Christie has competed in national curling competitions for nearly 60 years from the age of 16. He truly does have something special in his blood as he’s given more blood donations than any other Scot!”
Not only did he get his hockey skill from great grandfather Dick Turner, who was known as “the best foot stopper in the game”, but also his height, as he stood at 6ft 4″.
The University of Edinburgh graduate aims to reach 100 caps for Scotland, with career highlights so far including a hat trick against Italy in 2007 and scoring five goals in a single Spanish premier league match for Barcelona in 2010.
He is hopefeul that a new professional coaching programme, the first iniative of its kind in Scotland, will ensure a strong future for the nation’s hockey, from grassroots to elite.
The scheme will be funded by Aberdeen Asset Management and hopes ultimately to increase Scotland’s competitiveness at international level.
“We are delighted to be involved with this exciting and challenging sport and hope to help raise awareness of hockey in Scotland, and players like Fergus with their passion for Scottish sport make this very worthwhile for us,” said Martin Gilbert, Aberdeen’s CEO.
Follow us @SW_Londoner
