Soccer wasn’t really on my radar! There was always a rugby ball in our backyard. I was lucky to have a brother, so we played rugby every day. Rugby kind of found its way into my life at a young age, and I ended up loving the game!
What position did you end up playing?
I’m a wing fullback, part of the back three. I’m the guy on the wing who scores tries, that’s my role.
Did your dad ever suggest, “Hey, why don’t you give center a shot”?
I don’t think I had the size for the center position, to be honest. If my dad were playing in today’s rugby, he might have been a wing like me because he wouldn’t be big enough for the center either. I’m pretty content in the back three.
What level did you reach in school, and where are you now in your rugby journey?
Back in Scotland, I played age-grade Scottish rugby. After that, I made the move to Sydney, where I’ve been playing for Eastern Suburbs. The goal is to keep moving forward and see where my performance takes me.
Now, let’s chat about night lenses and eyesight. When did you first notice you needed glasses? When did they enter the picture?
Around the age of 14 or 15, I realized that my eyesight wasn’t as sharp as I’d hoped, and I thought I might need glasses. I tried them out for a bit, wore them at school to see the whiteboard from a distance, but I didn’t like wearing glasses, especially for sports.
How did your friends react when they saw you wearing glasses at school?
Oh yeah, I got teased quite a bit for wearing them! Some people just don’t look good in glasses, and I guess I’m one of them.
As you progressed in rugby, did you notice your eyesight affecting your performance on the field?
Certainly, especially when playing in the back three at a high level. There’s a lot of high ball catching and scanning the entire pitch. As you move up the ranks, those small differences start to matter even more.
As a fullback, going for those high balls in rainy and muddy Scottish conditions, and sometimes in the dark—did night lenses make rugby easier?
Exactly, it gets pretty dark out there!
So, did wearing night lenses improve your rugby experience?
My eyesight wasn’t terrible, so I could manage without night lenses. But once I started using them, the difference was massive. At that point, I only had to use them about once a week, and they covered me for the entire week. As a somewhat lazy teenager, that was ideal.
Did you notice improvements in other sports you played while wearing night lenses?
Absolutely. The most noticeable difference was in family tennis. Without night lenses, everything felt like it was happening a split second too slowly, especially when reacting to a fuzzy green tennis ball flying at me. But with night lenses, my ball-hitting definitely improved. I wasn’t quite Nadal, but there was a clear improvement.
Knowing your dad’s competitiveness, I can picture him serving at full force. Was it an all-out, no-holds-barred approach in the Lineen household?
No mercy in the Lineen household! Back in the day, it used to be my brother and me versus my mom and dad. But now, it’s my mom and me against my dad and my brother, and they usually target my mom. No mercy! My dad still serves at 100%. He uses drop shots and lobs against her 😊.
I can imagine! So, would you recommend night lenses to young rugby players, or any rugby players, and why?
Absolutely, I’d recommend them! They’re so convenient. You don’t have to deal with the hassle. I’ve seen players on the field dealing with their lenses, poking their fingers into their eyes. That’s not something you want to worry about during a game. Night lenses make a huge difference, and they’re simple to use.
We talked earlier about a rugby player caught on camera fiddling with his lenses for minutes during a game. The last thing you want is to deal with a lens issue while performing at any level. Night lenses solve that problem, which is why they’re considered a game-changer for shortsighted athletes. Have they been a game-changer in your life?
I’d say so. If I didn’t wear night lenses and had to deal with glasses and day lenses, it would be a different story. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. I’ve grown so accustomed to night lenses that I don’t even think of myself as a person who wears lenses. I put them in at night and take them out in the morning—it’s that simple.
Long-term night lens wearers often say they don’t feel like they have an eyesight problem anymore because they don’t have to constantly think about their glasses or day lenses…
Exactly! During the day, you don’t have to worry about any of this. It becomes second nature, just part of your 30-second morning and evening routine.
Thank you so much for this interview. Enjoy your time in Sydney! Best of luck with your rugby journey—we look forward to seeing your progress.