A BORDERS Nissan retailer has taken sporting sponsorship to the next level by giving one of Scottish rugby’s rising stars a day job to support his blossoming playing career.
Gala’s up-and-coming Number 10 Lee Miller’s promising career had been under threat when the end of a college bursary nearly forced him to quit the club and return to his home town of Elgin hundreds of miles away.
But Galashiels dealership Dalgleish Nissan stepped in at the eleventh hour and offered the 21-year-old fly-half a job as its new Parts Assistant.
The move allowed Lee to stay with the club and continue his development. Since then Lee has gone on to represent his country at club level and played a starring role as Gala won last year’s RBS Scottish Cup.
Now he’s being tipped for a transfer south of border with a number of the big Aviva Premiership sides keen on his signature.
And his coaches at Gala’s Netherdale stadium believe he has the talent to go all the way to the full Scotland squad and even, one day, the British and Irish Lions.
Lee explained: ‘I’ve always wanted to play rugby – I’ve never wanted to do anything else – so playing for Gala was a great opportunity for me to progress my game.
‘But when I joined Gala I was on a bursary at the local college and when my course ended so did the bursary. I desperately wanted to stay with the club and continue my training but I was going to struggle financially.
‘Focus on my game’
‘Then Dalgleish Nissan came forward with a job and everything just fell into place. The job meant I could afford to stay in Galashiels and since then I’ve been able to focus on my game.
‘The dealership’s also been fantastic in accommodating my busy training and playing schedule. I couldn’t have done it without them.’
Scott Dalgleish, Dealer Principal at Dalgleish Nissan and Vice President of Gala RFC, said: ‘From the moment Lee arrived at the club it was clear he had real talent and we were desperate to keep him. But we’re an amateur club and Lee’s family are all in Elgin so we needed to find a way supporting him financially so he had the means to stay. The obvious thing was to give him a job.
‘There’s no doubt that Lee’s one of Gala’s better players and I would say he’s the best number 10 in Scottish club rugby at moment.
‘But realistically he’s going to have to move on and go fully professional if he wants to progress and realise his ambitions and I think that’s only a matter of time.
‘We know a lot of the big clubs in England are interested in him and I’m sure we’ll be seeing him run out onto the pitch at Murrayfield in the Six Nations before too long.
‘But Scotland’s gain will be our loss as we’ll be missing an excellent member of our parts team.’
- This story was prepared by the Nissan Dealer PR Service. Call the Nissan Dealer PR team on 0845 0550504 if you have a story you’d like your local papers and radio stations to know about!