Scottish hooker James Malcolm played in Major League Rugby between 2021-2023. He represented the Seattle Seawolves for his entire MLR career.

A Glasgow native, Malcolm began playing rugby at age 9 at Hutcheson’s Grammar School. He represented Scotland at U17, U18, and U20 levels and played with Ayr RFC in the Scottish Premiership from 2013-2017 and again in the 2018/19 season. While with Ayr he was part of the Glasgow Warriors Elite Development Program in 2014/15, graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering while a part of the Elite Athlete program at the University of Strathclyde. He signed a pro contract with the Glasgow Warriors and earned his PRO 12 debut (later PRO 14 & now URC) in March 2016 and ha earned 25 apperances for the Warriors. He was a member of Scotland’s wider Six nations squad in 2018 and was loaned to the Doncaster Knights for the 2018/19 Championship season in England, before joining London Scottish for the 2019/20 Championship Season.

Malcolm initially signed with the Dallas Jackals for the 2021 MLR season, but when they postponed their entry to the following year, he signed with the Seattle Seawolves. He scored 8 tries in 12 games (11 starts) in his debut MLR season, including a hat trick from the bench in a span of only 9 minutes! The following year he appeared in all 18 of Seattle‘s games as they advanced to the Championship Final, falling 30-15 to Rugby New York. Malcolm completed 229 tackles that season, finishing 6th league-wide. Through his 3 seasons with the Seawolves, Malcolm scored 14 tries in 46 appearances (32 starts), carrying for 1193m and completing over 400 tackles as a front row.

Despite being signed with Seattle through the 2024 season, Malcolm returned to his native Scotland following the 2023 season, and has been playing with Ayr RFC once more, winning the FOSROC Super Series Sprint in 2024.

achievements:

• 2022 MLR Runner-Up: Seattle Seawolves
• 6th in MLR Tackling: 2022 (229)