About Elite Rugby Scholars

Benji is a highly accredited and established teacher and coach out in Dubai. Currently involved with The English College, UAE Rugby National age grade, Dubai Hurricanes and DASSA School Sport. Benji came through the English school set up, graduated from University of Buckingham before completing internships at Millfield and coaching with Bath.  

About Bennie: Coaching experience: 15 years. School Attended: Grey College Qualifications: Coaching Science Diploma , World Rugby Level 2 Very passionate about rugby and identifying talent with scouting, also been part of UFS Varsity Cup Young Guns for 3 years as skills coach and team manager, helping with the recruitment. In charge of Team Next Gen since 2024 that is competing in the Global Schools Challenge, 2024 South Africa, 2025 Spain and 2026 Thailand. Currently coaching Hamiltons SPRFC u20s and at Bishops u16s Bennie has already been busy connecting us with top calibre SA players interested in the U.S route and we are delivering lots of free 1-2-1 consultations to point them in the right direction.

Brendan has worked in managing talented international student-athletes through the American Collegiate system for several years. Within this role, rugby has always been his main area of expertise and he has built a large network and credible reputation in the States with many of the top rugby programs and schools. To date, Brendan has successfully worked with over 200 student athletes helping earn over $10,000,000 in academic and sporting scholarships.

As a player himself Brendan has represented Scotland Club XV, Glasgow Warriors ‘A’, various touring select sides and played many years in the Scottish Premiership captaining Glasgow Hawks, where he is now player coach. He knows what is required to be successful at an elite level. As a World Rugby Level 3 performance coach and an experienced coach educator, he also delivers courses to upskill players & coaches across the country.

Graduating from University of Glasgow (top 100 Times University World Rankings) with a degree in Accountancy & Finance Brendan also understands the benefits of a world class education and qualification to benefit you in later life as well as providing top career prospects.

“I fully believe that integrating a quality education alongside your rugby ability can produce outstanding opportunities in the United States and set you up for life”

A dedicated coach in the UK who runs his own performance coaching pathway, check out CS Performance Coach. As well as this he is involved in Esselles Sport.

Conner will hopefully come across talented players with an interest in something different and we can discuss how ERS can make the American College rugby system a reality for them.  

Welcome aboard James Batt who will be aiding our efforts to connect with talented rugby players around Singapore and Southeast Asia. James currently has had a variety of key rugby roles in the area and we are proud to get his nod of approval to work with players in his network. His background so far includes - - Centaurs Rugby Development Manager - Singapore U17s Girls Assistant Coach - Bedok Kings 2nd XVs coach - Singapore American School As a young coach he has already achieved a lot and we hope sharing our news on opportunities overseas will help us make more dreams become reality.

Nick is an experienced rugby coach and administrator with a proven track record of developing young players across schools, academies, and club environments. Known for building strong fundamentals, fostering player confidence, and creating high-performance pathways for developing athletes.

With extensive experience working with youth and emerging talent, he understands how to identify potential, develop skills, and guide players through structured development pathways from grassroots participation to elite performance levels.