Edinburgh Napier University

Born and bred in the Scottish Borders, rugby’s heart and home, rubbing shoulders with some of Scotland’s best rugby players was a normal part of Mark’s life. Mark grew up watching his rugby-playing father Keith Robertson earn forty-four caps for Scotland and at the tender age of six Mark began playing the sport himself. He joined the youth team of the world-renowned Melrose RFC before graduating to their XV side in addition to playing in their Sevens squad.

As a young player, Mark’s mental approach to the game was inconsistent and proved to be a weakness. Taking some time out at around the age of eighteen, he went travelling through Australia. Rugby was never far away though and he enjoyed playing for a couple of clubs whilst on his travels. After returning to Scotland, Mark went to watch a game at Melrose Sevens – the oldest rugby sevens competition in the world. Mark was asked by the Club Secretary why he wasn’t out on the pitch. He told Mark, “You have the talent to do well in the game if you knuckle down and work hard. Make sure you’re out there playing next year.” It was the push Mark needed to kick start his playing career once again. The following year Mark scored a hat-trick in the final at the Melrose Sevens.

Mark wanted to enhance his knowledge of sport but continue to play rugby, so he chose to study Sport and Exercise Sciences at Edinburgh Napier University. The course allowed him to study at his own pace whilst playing rugby full time. As a third-year student, Mark signed for Border Reivers and the flexibility of the course relieved a lot of the pressure of juggling both responsibilities.

Shortly after graduating in 2007, Mark suffered a horrendous pelvic injury that put him out of rugby for the next couple of years. He eventually travelled to the USA for treatment but unfortunately it exacerbated the injury, and hugely affected his mental as well as physical health. 

“I couldn’t cope with the feeling of physical failure and how it was affecting me mentally. Because I couldn’t work on the physical game, I decided to work hard on the mental aspects of the game. Like anything, when you work hard on an area, it becomes stronger. How you perceive a situation, how you focus, concentrate, and adapt to that situation in your mind makes you stronger. After a lot of hard work, reading, and trial and error in finding out what worked for me, I ended up with a lot more belief and confidence in myself.”

Having worked hard on his rehabilitation, Marks efforts were rewarded, and he played rugby for the Scotland 7s team for 5 years from 2012-2017. In 2016 he was selected to play Rugby Sevens for Team GB in the Rio Olympics and came home a silver medallist. 

He admits though, that his real high points were beating England in the final of the World Series, and in his last ever game his team beat New Zealand. At the time no Scottish team at any level had beaten the All Blacks.

Retiring from rugby in 2017, Mark became the Lead Academy strength and conditioning coach for the newly opened Borders SRU Academy, coaching children from the age of 14 to stage three professional players. At the same time, he spent two years working as the strength and conditioning coach for the national team whilst they trained for the Six Nations, summer tour and autumn tests.

In 2019 Mark joined French rugby team ASM Clermont Auvergne. This was the fulfilment of a long-held desire to experience a different culture and learn a difference language while remaining in the world of rugby. He admired the coaching facilities and huge budgets available to the French teams, enabling higher performance levels for their teams compared to other countries.

Now back in Scotland, Mark will be working with Edinburgh Rugby until summer 2024 and is excited to be involved with a team that has high aspirations. He is using his knowledge and experience to enhance the conditioning of the current team and has the confidence that the team can compete well.