PierreSchoeman

A powerhouse in the scrum and a carrying machine, Pierre Schoeman has made a sizable impact since arriving in Scotland in 2018 and is now set for a maiden Lions Tour.

The prop attended the same Pretoria school that has produced Springbok stars such as Fourie du Preez and RG Snyman, as well as cricketing legend AB de Villiers, and represented the Bulls before making the switch to Edinburgh.

It did not take long for a player wonderfully nicknamed ‘The Greatest Schoeman’ to make himself at home in the Scottish capital.

A man of the match performance against rivals Glasgow Warriors helped ingratiate himself with the club’s fans and there was no let-up in the quality of his displays, which led him to being crowned Edinburgh’s player of the year in his first season.

He qualified to play for Scotland in 2021 and scored a try on his debut against Tonga, before playing every match in the next two Guinness Men’s Six Nations campaigns.

Schoeman was part of Scotland’s World Cup squad in 2023 and crossed against Wales and Italy in the following year’s Six Nations, two of six tries he has scored for his country.

His trademark carries are met with cries of ‘Schooo’ from crowds at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, a tribal call now set to make its way into the Sea of Red this summer following his selection in Andy Farrell’s squad.

Off the pitch, Schoeman is a budding entrepreneur and is a co-founder of Against The Grain Ltd alongside Scotland teammate Duhan van der Merwe.

His stay in Edinburgh, meanwhile, is set to reach a decade’s worth of service with the prop – described as ‘world class’ by club coach Sean Everitt – last year putting pen to paper on deal lasting until 2028.