Scottish International John Barclay was born in Hong Kong and educated at Dollar Academy in Scotland. Upon leaving school in 2004, John went straight into the Glasgow Warriors Academy as an apprentice. Within a month of joining Glasgow, John was selected as part of the Scotland squad, before playing a game of professional rugby. Months later a debut for Warriors followed making him their youngest debutant to date at 18 years old.
Nine years followed at Glasgow and 154 appearances spread across the Heineken Cup and the Pro12 Championships, scoring 15 tries and captaining the side on many occasions. A successful five year spell at Llanelli Scarlets followed during the course of which John captained the team to victory in the 2017 Guinness Pro12, and as runners up in the tournament in the 2018 final. A versatile back row forward, throughout his five year term at Scarlets, John made a comprehensive 104 appearances scoring 10 tries.
On the international stage, John won 76 caps for his country, captaining them on 15 occasions and won the last of his caps at his third Rugby World Cup in Japan in 2019.
During his career, John has spoken at various events using his leadership experience to assist businesses with their own leadership issues and strategies. Dealing with adversity, toxic environments and managing pressure and expectation are areas that have resonated with organisations throughout the business world both at home and abroad.