Hibs and Hearts in Scotland’s capital have the greatest concentration of top-flight Australian men’s talent of any city
hen the first Edinburgh derby was played between Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian – a 1-0 win for Hearts on Christmas Day 1875 –wouldn’t exist as a nation for 25 years. It was only months prior that one of the first confirmed games of association football took place down under when the Brisbane Football Club clashed with a combined squad of inmates and staff of the Woogaroo Lunatic Asylum under rules which stated the ball “should not be handled nor carried”.
Nearly 150 years on from those divergent origins, it could be said the ties that bind Edinburgh and Australian football have never been stronger. Eight Australians call Scotland’s capital home this season, after the Central Coast Mariners’ championship-winning coach Nick Montgomery became the latest to arrive in the city as Hibs’ new permanent boss last week.
Across town, Kiama-born Kye Rowles, Sydney-born Cameron Devlin and Launceston product Nathaniel Atkinson were all in the starting lineup as the Jambos snapped a four-game losing run through a 2-0 win over Aberdeen, with former Manly United junior Calem Nieuwenhof adding to the Australian flavour off the bench in the 50th minute.
Historically there has been plenty of connection as well. Jack Reilly, who kept goal for Australia at their first World Cup in 1974, spent a number of years with Hibs’ reserve team before emigrating to Australia by way of the US. Patrick Kisnorbo, Mark Milligan, Jamie Maclaren, Ryan and Dylan McGowan, Jason Cummings, Oliver Bozanic and Jackson Irvine are former or current Socceroos that have played in the city.
Former Mariners coach Nick Montgomery is now heading up Hibernian where Jason Cummings has previously played.And though England remains the most popular destination – Sam Silvera and Tom Glover’s moves to Middlesbrough are among the most notable this off-season – Scotland continues to provide a reliable home for Australian players looking to strike out abroad.
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