King William’s College and The Buchan School in Castletown are to offer scholarships to talented young rugby players.

They are named after Chris Ralston, a former pupil of KWC, who represented England and the British and Irish Lions. Ralston was part of the renowned 1974 ‘Invincibles’ tour to South Africa.

Chris said: ‘I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing rugby for College and was delighted to be invited to be a guest speaker at the rugby dinner last October.

‘I was struck by the enthusiasm of the boys, the quality of the pitches, and how much rugby still means to the community. I am greatly honoured to lend my name to such an exciting and worthwhile cause.”

Head of rugby at KWC, Mark Moss, said: ’After four years in the Isle of Man, I know what fantastic talent and appetite for the game there is here.

‘I am really looking forward to selecting and working with a new crop of rugby scholars and guiding them through our exciting fixture list, including trips to the UK as well as island matches.’

Director of sport at the school, Zoё Shimmin, added: ‘Having recently become accredited to deliver the TASS (Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme) Dual Career Award – a program that helps high-performing athletes aged 16-plus to balance their studies with a demanding sporting schedule – the news about rugby scholarships is very welcome and perfectly timed.

‘We are extremely grateful to those who have pledged their support to fund these scholarships and look forward to welcoming candidates to the assessment day.’

The scholarship assessment day will take place on Saturday, March 21 and will be delivered across three sessions:

For further information, please contact the school’s admissions team on 820110, by emailing [email protected] or visiting kwc.im/admissions