Logan enjoying being back home
3 March 2005, 3:25 pm
By Jonathan McConnell
Tracey McKay chats to Kenny Logan, currently enjoying his final season with Glasgow
Kenny Logan is one of those people who, nine times out of ten, has a grin on his face. Just talking to him down the phone line you can hear it in his voice - even a stinking cold and discussing Scotland’s Six Nations campaign doesn’t curb his enthusiasm.  Despite their win against Italy in the third match of the competition it’s clear there is still a long way to go for Scottish rugby, and what Logan is eager to emphasise is that things are steadily progressing. 

‘We needed that win to have something to build from; we can step up from that and gain in confidence.  After the last World Cup Scotland lost so many key players in Bryan Redpath, Gregor Townsend, Doddie Weir, Stuart Grimes and myself to retirement.  Now we have to start rebuilding and bringing all the young players through. To begin with there were quite a few guys with hardly any international experience at all but that’s growing all the time’. 

And Logan intends to be around to see all the hard work come to fruition.  After 8 years of  playing for one of the English Premierships most successful clubs, London Wasps, he decided at the end of last season to uproot and return to the club he left behind, Glasgow. So why on earth leave the home comforts of London, wife Gabby and a successful team to go back to the club he left all those years ago? 

‘I’d always intended on finishing my career up here, I’m playing quite well and really enjoying myself.  I didn’t want to spend a season sitting on the bench at Wasps when I could come up here and do what I love, play rugby.  It’s also great to be close to my family again.’

During his time at the club Wasps won just about every major trophy they could get their hands on, The Zurich Premiership, The Powergen Cup and, of course, last season the team landed the biggest prize in club rugby, the Heineken Cup.

‘To be honest staying at Wasps would have been the easy option; I could have stayed on another year.  But for me it was time to go - I’m not one of those people who tends to go for the easy option’.

Despite what some may think because of his easy going manner and seemingly never- ending flow of confidence, Logan is not one of those who, certainly in his younger days, had many easy options.  After years of struggling in school, and eventually walking out without a qualification to his name, at 18 years old he discovered he was  dyslexic.

‘My school years were the worst time of my life.  The teachers just thought I was stupid.  Every day I would try harder and harder to spell & read better but I just couldn’t do it.  I had ten years of stomach pains because I was so miserable. When I found out what it was I asked for some antibiotics to cure it, but obviously I soon realised that wouldn’t be happening.’

Logan is painfully honest and open about the subject now and his willingness to help others is bourn from years of frustration and anger at having a condition no one was prepared to understand or deal with. 

‘Until a year or so ago I couldn’t even talk about it, Gabby would try and get me to face it but I’d just shout and tell her I wasn’t talking about it.  I’d go and present awards at dinners and be petrified of having to read anything out and have a massive panic about it’. 

After signing up to a course to improve his brain capacity, spatial awareness and balance, his condition has improved remarkably, and one of his current projects is to help others to do the same. In the meantime it’s just a few games until the end of the Celtic League season and, the end of his rugby career but he’s going to enjoy the remainder of his testimonial year and not rush into any decisions about what happens next.

‘I’m really enthusiastic about the next stage of my life, I don’t want to be one of those people who gives up rugby when my body gives up, I didn’t want to risk another year when there’s so many other things I want to do.  With Gabby expecting twins, I’m sure much of my time will be spent being a dad and changing nappies, oh and walking my dog, (‘you see what happens? You come and live in Scotland and you end up getting a dog..!’).

Children and canines aside, Logan is already involved in the SRU doing some commercial work, he also owns an event and sports consultancy in London, so no doubt will spend a lot of time commuting back and forth. The main goal though is to put something back into the game he has played since he was 11 and watch it continue to develop over the next few years.

‘I’m never going to be one of those ex-Internationals who sits and slags the Scottish Rugby Union off, I want to try and help build something, to put all the things I’ve learned during my time in professional rugby and put it back into the game.  The progress has to start with the Celtic League.  It’s such a great brand, but people forget it’s only a couple of years old, we need some big sponsors and for everyone to buy into it 100%.  We have three or four years of work before we will be up to the standards of the English Premiership.’

And with someone armed with as much enthusiasm and determination as Kenny Logan involved, you can bet it will be even sooner.  

 

All Pictures: ©  http://www.inpho.ie/, Huw Evans Agency,  Martin Stuart
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