Dublin University and USA Eagles international Scott La Valla last week made his debut for The Ulster Ravens. La Valla is no stranger to Ulster; he captained the USA team during the U19 Rugby Would Cup which was hosted by the province in April of 2007. At 6’5” and weighing 110kg his bulk and speed has caused Ravens coach Gary Longwell to introduce the Eagle into the Ulster setup.
From Olympia in Washington, USA, the 21 year old has represented the USA at U19, 20s and Senior level winning his first cap for the Eagles against Argentina in the Churchill Cup last summer. At present Scott is an under graduate at Trinity where he has played for the 1st XV for the past two seasons in the AIB League.
Commenting on Scott’s selection, the Ravens Manager Gary Longwell said, “We have a very good working relationship with Trinity and Scott has been highly recommended to us for possible inclusion into our Academy system, so we are taking this opportunity to have a look at him in action. He has been involved in training with us this week and has fitted in very well.”
It was a wet and soggy Navan that greeted the Leinster A and Ulster Ravens as they took to the pitch at 6.30pm, the Ravens playing into the wind in the first half.
Despite being down to 14 men for large parts of the game, the Ravens managed to hold the Leinster men out to claim a notable and well deserved 9-0 victory away from home.
There were a number of excellent performances to record. Up front the pack went well with Willie Faloon, Scott La Valla and the front row trio of McAllister, Kyriacou and Macklin catching the eye.
La Valla made some very solid tackles, he had an impressive appetite for work, and with this being his first Ravens start his contribution certainly deserved applause.
This was a useful work out for the Ravens ahead of the British and Irish Cup rounds, which get under way again next week.
LaValla’s performance has raised speculation that his debut may not be the only time we will see the athletic lock in the white of Ulster. For now though his Trinity team-mates will be glad to have him by their side in their next outing in Donnybrook against Bective this Wednesday night.