Leader. Curious. Always striving to learn, to get better. That describes Jamie Farndale, Scottish Rugby 7s star, #ClimateComeback advocate, and EcoAthletes newest Champion.

EcoAthletes: What was it like to grow up in Scotland? And how and when did you get into rugby?

Jamie Farndale: Well, Lew, I grew up in Edinburgh, which I absolutely loved. Even though it’s a city, Edinburgh also is a very tight knit community in which everyone seems to know everyone. Added to that, there is so much nature right on its doorstep, which I was drawn to from a very young age. I was always outdoors and loved any chance to get up into the Munro Mountains. 

As for rugby, I was a little bit later than everyone else as my family didn’t have any connection to the sport. It was only through school that I started playing. I wasn’t very good at the beginning but I was quite quick and competitive and absolutely loved it. I played as much as I could, on Saturdays for my school team and on Sundays for the local club team. And I started to get better.

When did you realize that you were good and could make a go of it in the pros?

I definitely didn’t grow up dreaming of being a rugby player. I played for the Edinburgh age-grade sides and then moved up to Scotland age-grade sides so I did show talent as I grew older. I was really proud of it. But when I left school I had a place to go and study law at university. Thing was, I was offered a professional contract and because I was the youngest in my year by quite a bit, I decided to take it as a gap year before going to university and play pro rugby . That was a whirlwind of a year! I think I am still the youngest player to debut for Edinburgh, and played a couple of years for the Scotland U20s finishing as top try¹ scorer at the Junior World Cup. I soon realized just how much I loved it and at the end of that year cancelled my place to study law and picked up a part time business degree and signed to play rugby full time. 

That really was a whirlwind! What skill sets do you bring to the game, and what is it about the more wide open 7s (seven players per side) game that appeals to you as compared to the more traditional 15s?

I am definitely not the most skillful player on the team, but like to think I bring a very high work rate to the team. My goal is to try and lift everyone around me. 

I’ve played 7s, which is played one the same size pitch as 15s with shorter games, in both Edinburgh and Scotland for most of my career. But during COVID, when 7s wasn’t happening, I played a full season with Edinburgh 15s. I enjoyed it but it has always been 7s that has been my passion. Traveling the world with your best mates, living and eating together and experiencing the crowds, the pressure, the fatigue and the huge highs and lows of international 7s together - there’s nothing like it! It couldn’t be a more demanding sport and you learn a lot about yourself in those extreme highs and lows. I am an edge prop in 7s which is very similar to a winger in 15s.

What are your biggest highlights on the pitch? What are your Rugby goals going forward?

I have been very lucky to achieve a lot of what there is to achieve in 7s. I was part of the first ever Scottish team to win a tournament in 2016, which we backed up in 2017 with what is still the only Scottish victory over a side from New Zealand in history at any level. I have been to two 7s world cups and two Commonwealth Games, and have been privileged to captain my country. I have missed out twice on going to the Olympic Games for Great Britain. And while Paris 2024 is still the target I have realized that it is the moments and experiences made working towards these goals rather than the final result that is truly fulfilling.  

On environmental and climate advocacy, what got you started down that path?

As I said before, I grew up in nature and was always aware of wanting to protect our place in it. I often felt futile trying to make individual efforts, but a module I took on business sustainability impressed on me not only that this was a chance to make a real impact but also that this truly was the future of what business would have to look like. That module and all the extra reading I did around it was what set me down this path. 

How have your teammates and other folks in the rugby world reacted to your climate work?

Really well! It is such a driver of positive change everyone wants more of it. My teammates are supportive, even if I do bore them by talking about it so much.

What tangible goals are you looking to achieve within rugby on climate action?

My vision is that, at some point in the not-too-distant-future, every time rugby is played, it gives back to the environment, it gives back to society and it creates profit. In other words, it’s got to be people, planet, and profit. I believe there is a lot of strategic work and mindset change required to get there, but I am working on using every platform and pushing every lever I can to progress this vision 

You are among a group of rugby players, active and retired, who’ve led on climate — including David Pocock (an Aussie rugby union legend and now a senator!), Julien Pierre (retired French rugby legend, founder of Fair Play for Planet and an EcoAthletes Champion) and Alena Olsen (USA women’s rugby 7s player and EcoAthletes Champion). Why do you think rugby players in particular have taken to the climate issue?

I am not sure I agree that rugby players in particular have taken to the climate issue - I have taken so much inspiration from athletes in other sports, including EcoAthletes Champions, speaking out about the need for climate action. I certainly hope and believe that all sports have a role to play. Within rugby, I would say that you become very close and if there is a teammate who is passionate about something then this definitely spreads and teammates will always work to support each other. I would love to see more prominent sportspeople - household names - speaking about climate issues and hopefully those of us who are stepping out to speak about these issues are making this easier for the future. 

In 2021, you, Pocock and Olsen delivered a letter, signed by many rugby players the world over, to World Rugby, asking them to develop a detailed sustainability policy. How did that letter come about? And how do you think World Rugby is doing as far as its response is concerned?

The letter came about by working with a good friend of mine, Melissa Wilson, co-founder of Athletes of the World.

…Melissa, a retired Team GB rower, is also an EcoAthletes Champion…

That’s right! Melissa suggested the letter and helped us with the wording and then David, Alena and I sent it around to rugby players to sign before publishing it. After doing so, it got even more signatures and some international media attention. World Rugby were working on an Environmental Sustainability plan already and I feel our letter really helped give this plan some strength. Alena and I were invited to give feedback on the plan before it was released and I am happy to say it is very ambitious which I love.

What are some of the highlights of the World Rugby Sustainability Plan and where could they show more ambition in your opinion?

That the sustainability plan encompassed World Rugby’s three spheres of responsibility — World Rugby as an organization, as an owner/operator of major events, and as an international sports federation — is a big positive for me. I think this is a good strategic way of approaching a complex issue. Equally I like that it is broken into three phases with short, medium and long term goals tied into World Cup cycles (the men’s will be this October in France, in Australia in 2027, and in the USA in 2031; the women’s world cups will be in England in 2025, Australia in 2029 and USA in 2033).

I think World Rugby’s biannual sustainability reporting aims starting in 2024, are a good way to go. Public transparency should lead to greater accountability. I like that some of the goals that have been articulated — 50 percent carbon reduction by 2030, without relying on offsetting, and an aim to make the World Cup and 7s tournaments climate positive by 2030 — are bold. That is a perfect way to galvanize interest and action. Other positives include instituting a sustainability awards program and ‘biodiversity days’ where all clubs are encouraged to increase wilding/animal habitats/endangered fauna in their area. 

In terms of areas for progress, I think a strategic social plan would make this a more broad-based, ESG sustainability plan. The good thing is I do believe there is social value baked into rugby, and a strategy that would encompass this would pull together what is already being done while searching for areas in which more could be done. Instead of looking at environmental, biodiversity and social issues in a siloed way, I think a systemic, holistic approach would yield better results!

Amen! What led you to become an EcoAthletes Champion?

I am excited to learn from other athletes who have a passion for climate action. So, being part of the EcoAthletes Champions community will certainly help me grow my impact within my team and among our sport’s supporters.

¹ A ‘try’ is scored in rugby when a player crosses the goal line with the ball. It is worth five points

You can follow Jamie on Instagram and Twitter