Joe Thomas – offensive lineman, Cleveland Browns; salary: $8.6 million.

Robert Beveridge – offensive lineman, East Kilbride Pirates; salary: £0.

There is a gulf between the highest paid player in his position in the NFL and what Robert Beveridge earns from his chosen sport but he is no less committed.

The 23 year-old, who crossed over from rugby five years ago, spends long hours in the gym building his body up for the rigours of a season.

“I didn’t really get into the sport until I was 18 as I was playing rugby but now I can’t get enough of it. I spend as much spare time as I can training and watch the NFL every Sunday night,” Beveridge states.

Having helped East Kilbride Pirates to their first Britbowl for six years at the end of last month (the British equivalent of the Super Bowl, but don’t mistake Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster, with Dolphin Stadium, Miami), the team narrowly lost out in the division one final to London Cobras.

This is strictly amateur. But had the Scottish Claymores still been around, then there may have been an opportunity for him to earn a crust from American football instead of merely the plaudits that come his way.

Cruelly, when Beveridge was joining Clyde Valley Hawks in May 2004, the Claymores were fast running out of time with their final game at Hampden just a month later.

“I never got to see a Claymores’ game but I did watch the weekly round-up show on television,” he recalls.

“There was a legacy for the sport as the Claymores left a lot of youth equipment but the funds to stage the annual Scotland v England youth game ceased.

“It was a great pity as the team did a lot of work with the grass roots in Scotland and they also held coaching camps.

“I was just a bit too late to benefit, but I did manage to get on the NFL Europe talent identification camps before the money dried up for them because of the recession.

“Hopefully, that will change and the NFL will start to put more money into the European game as it is an important market for them as they stage the international series at Wembley every year.

“Last year’s match between San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints had two British players involved on the practice rosters – one for each team. It is something that is needed if the game is to continue to develop here.”

Beveridge has never been tempted to chance his arm Stateside. The roads to the NFL have become blocked with no NFL Europe and the fact that teams themselves in America have been hit by the recession and have cut their rosters down to 55 players.

“I had a chance once of going to a Division Three college in Wisconsin but I worked out it was going to cost me £8,000 so it wasn’t feasible.

“I then had three offers from Finnish clubs at the start of last season which would have given me some money but I would have had to give up my job as an engineer at Rolls Royce and I’d have been out of pocket and out of work at the end of the season.

“My focus now is on the European Championships in Frankfurt next year and I’m working towards them.

“There are currently seven or eight Pirates’ players in the GB squad so we’re well represented in Scotland.

“The training camps have been good for Scottish players as they used to be based at Crystal Palace but that is being developed for the Olympics.

“It meant that training camps have been held throughout the country and a couple have been in Largs which is obviously easier for us to get to.

“We beat the reigning European champions Sweden at Loughborough this summer and we’ve also beaten France which puts us in a good situation as Sweden and France are in Group A with ourselves, Finland, Germany and another country from Group B.

“I actually went to the last European Championships in 2005 in Sweden when I was still a youth player. I didn’t see much of the field as there was a lot of competition for places but it gave me an idea of the standard I had to work to in order to play at this level.”

Beveridge will certainly be better prepared to make an impact this time. If the NFL is a pipe dream, a European title will go some way towards compensating.

RM
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