{"id":744540,"date":"2026-08-20T23:41:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/744540\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T23:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:41:24","slug":"ex-scotland-skipper-stuart-mcinallys-post-rugby-career-takes-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/744540\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Scotland skipper Stuart McInally&#8217;s post-rugby career takes off"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>  Published: 12 hours ago | 20 August 2026 07:08 EDT  <\/p>\n<p>mens<\/p>\n<p>united-rugby-championship<\/p>\n<p>    EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND &#8211; MARCH 08: Stuart McInally of Scotland celebrates after he scores his sides third try during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations match between Scotland and France at Murrayfield on March 08, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images) <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand\" src=\"https:\/\/eu-cdn.rugbypass.com\/images\/common-svg\/select-arrow.svg\" height=\"6\" width=\"11\"\/>      <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rugbypass.com%2F\" onclick=\"GATracking.sendDataLayerEvent(&#039;preferredsourcegoogle&#039;);\" aria-label=\"Google Prefered Source\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/google_preferred_source_badge_light.png\" alt=\"Google Prefered Source\" width=\"141\" height=\"44\" class=\"google-source\"\/> <\/a>     <\/p>\n<p>Stuart McInally made a career out of launching Scotland\u2019s lineout ball skywards but now the former hooker is sending something considerably bigger into the air after swapping professional rugby for a career in the cockpit.<\/p>\n<p>The 34-year-old, who retired from professional rugby in 2023 following a decorated career with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rugbypass.com\/teams\/scotland\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Scotland<\/a> and Edinburgh, has realised a lifelong ambition by joining Jet2, where he\u2019ll be piloting 40 t0nne 737s around Europe\u2019s skies.<\/p>\n<p>Flying had remained firmly on McInally\u2019s radar throughout his rugby career, with the former front-rower beginning to build flight hours as far back as 2014 while still competing at international level.<\/p>\n<p>The day after completing his final season in professional rugby, McInally began studying for his Airline Transport Pilot Licence.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the transition, McInally said: \u201cThe training programme gave me real insight into every part of the operation and showed how many people work together to deliver those fantastic customer experiences Jet2 is known for. It was clear from day one that Jet2 genuinely lives its values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_5402-rotated.jpeg.webp\"  class=\"lazy\" alt=\"Stuart McInally\" width=\"766\" height=\"1021\"\/>Stuart McInally alongside a Jet2 737.<\/p>\n<p>McInally\u2019s route into aviation was helped by a chance connection made during his rugby career.<\/p>\n<p>Piloting airliners first came onto his radar through captain Mike Stewart, who invited him to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rugbypass.com\/teams\/edinburgh\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Edinburgh<\/a> Airport to spend time on a flight deck and meet pilots after learning of his passion for flying.<\/p>\n<p>The experience reinforced his desire to pursue aviation full-time once his rugby days were over.<\/p>\n<p>According to McInally, the similarities between elite rugby and aviation are greater than many might think.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile it\u2019s a world away from the rugby pitch, there are more similarities than you might think.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTeamwork, preparation and staying calm at all times are just as important in aviation, so I\u2019d like to think my rugby career has helped me in pursuing my dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jet2 chief customer officer David Hills believes McInally\u2019s sporting background has equipped him well for his new profession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStuart\u2019s journey is a fantastic example of the incredible people we have across our business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis achievements in rugby speak for themselves, and we\u2019re just as proud to see him succeeding in his new career with Jet2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s clear that the qualities which made Stuart such a successful athlete have carried through into aviation, and we\u2019re delighted to have him as part of our team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published: 12 hours ago | 20 August 2026 07:08 EDT mens united-rugby-championship EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND &#8211; MARCH 08: Stuart&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":744541,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-744540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}