Angus Scott-Young has revealed he is estranged from his Wallaby father Sam, and was “horrified” by social media comments made by his dad in the aftermath of a pre-season training fight with Waratahs teammate Miles Amatosero.
Scott-Young has spoken for the first time about his turbulent first few months at the Waratahs, after joining the club this summer following three years in England, and the Queensland Reds before that.
Though it involved swapping the maroon for the sky blue of an old rival, Scott-Young’s move to Sydney was driven by a desire to be closer to family and to push for a spot in the Wallabies ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
But just a month into his time with the Tahs, Scott-Young became the subject of headlines and controversy, following a training ground scrap with Amatosero. The 28-year-old suffered a fractured eye socket and his NSW teammate was suspended for two matches.
With emotions already running high, Scott-Young also had to deal with his father, Sam, weighing in on social media, challenging Amatosero to a fight and using a term many regard as a racial slur.
“To be honest, I’m not on speaking terms with my dad. I don’t support what he said,” Scott-Young says. “I don’t condone it in any way, and I was horrified to hear it.”
In his first interview since joining the Tahs, Scott-Young also opened up on his move to Sydney, the longer impacts of the training ground skirmish, the relief at finally starting for the Tahs last week and Scott-Young’s array of interests away from the game, including art, motorbikes and science.
The Waratahs way
Scott-Young arrived in Sydney after a few years of globetrotting in rugby boots. After a five-season stint with Queensland, Scott-Young spent a season with Bay of Plenty in New Zealand in 2021 before accepting a deal with Northampton, a leading club in the English premiership, in 2022.
A hard-working, abrasive back-rower schooled under Brad Thorn, Scott-Young was embraced by the Saints and became a mainstay through several successful years; Northampton won the competition in 2023-24 and made the European Cup final in 2024-25. The years abroad were all part of a grand plan.
“The main reason was to get over there and upskill, and I feel like I definitely did that because the system over there, the Saints is pretty impeccable,” he says.
“I looked at it like I’d gone to New Zealand – I got some awesome experience. It sort of changed how I approached the game. It kind of opened my eyes to what high-performance environments could be like.
“So when Northampton tabled an offer, I was like, that’s a really exciting opportunity. Go over there, upskill and hopefully use it all to come back to Australian rugby and play for the Wallabies.”
When Waratahs coach Dan McKellar reached out last year selling a move to Sydney for the 2026 season, the stars aligned.
“His vision excited me, and a main motivation of mine to come back to Aus was I wanted to be closer to my family,” he says. “Living in Sydney is a great place, close to family and a big motive of mine was to come back and give Wallabies a crack leading into the World Cup. Ultimately, it was a pretty easy call.”
The training brawl
In the enervating heat of early January, and in fourth week of training with NSW, Scott-Young and Amatosero became entangled. Video later showed Amatosero throwing five punches in two separate moments, and after an RA investigation, he was subsequently stood down for a fortnight in the trials.
“It was full contact block and things get heated sometimes,” Scott-Young recalls. “Obviously it was a tough way to start my stint here, getting the facial fracture and then subsequently a week later I sort of tore my calf. So just a really tough start.
“I was emotional at the time, but I just tried to process it. The main thing for me, my mindset was the best thing for my career and for the Waratahs was just get on with it – keep playing, work your way back into the squad and move forward.”
Amatosero said in February the pair had put it behind them, and as No.5 and No.6, they now work closely in scrums and lineouts.
“We had a few chats – obviously it was a difficult situation for both of us,” Scott-Young says. “We’re at a stage now, you saw on the weekend that we’re packing down next to each other, and we have a collective goal we’re trying to achieve at the Tahs. So we’re both just focused on that. We’re able to work together, we’re good.”
Father’s fight
Two weeks after the incident, internal training footage emerged and Scott-Young’s father, Sam, controversially weighed in.
Sam Scott-Young, who played seven Tests for the Wallabies between 1990 and 1992, responded to a social media post on the footage by former Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell, and along with challenging Amatosero to a fight, he labelled him “fresh off the boat”. The term is regarded by many as a racial slur.
In a subsequent interview with this masthead, Scott-Young denied the phrase was a racial slur and doubled down on the challenge to fight the NSW lock, and his father.
“Yeah, I don’t support them, obviously,” Scott-Young says of his father’s comments. “It was pretty out of the blue when my mate sent it to me. I had some conversations. I chatted to Drew Mitchell and just cleared the air.
“I had some conversations around the Tahs just to make sure that everyone knew that that relationship is a bit estranged and that I don’t want … any connotations sort of passing down to me from what was said. I had to front-foot it.”
The fallout
Adding to the facial fracture, Scott-Young’s calf injury meant he missed a training camp with the team in Mudgee, trials and then the first five weeks of the Waratahs’ Super Rugby season as well.
“I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty tough,” he says. “I just wanted to get sorted and start playing and get along with the guys. That was a bit disjointed at the start. But now I’ve had a few games off the bench, and the start on the weekend was pretty big for me, to be honest. It kind of felt like I was officially part of a team.”
After making his Waratahs debut off the bench in a win over the Brumbies, Scott-Young made his starting debut in game three, in a win over Moana Pasifika last week. As advertised, he was the Tahs’ hardest working forward, topping the tally for combined tackles, carries, turnovers and ruck entries.
“I feel like I’ve actually provided some quality work to the team and I feel like I’m part of it now, which is good. But yeah, not gonna put it lightly, it was pretty tough to integrate,” he says.
Scott-Young held his starting spot at No.6 for the Waratahs’ clash with the Crusaders on Friday night.
Art v science
Scott-Young is enjoying life in Sydney, living in Potts Point but spending plenty of time getting reacquainted with his surfboard at Bondi. He is also enjoying the open road on a prized Royal Enfield motorcycle.
But the Queenslander is far from a one-dimensional footballer. Scott-Young is also very bright and was accepted to study medicine after school. He deferred, and ultimately had to let go of the place, due to rugby. But he has since completed a double degree in science and commerce, plus a Masters in Biotechnology, and he even did a post-graduate certificate in philosophy at Cambridge while playing in nearby Northampton.
Scott-Young was even short-listed for a Rhodes scholarship in 2022.
But while he admits he is a “science nerd”, Scott-Young has also built a profile for his right-brain passions. He is a prolific artist and illustrator, and has popular social media accounts featuring his work, and a clothing brand under the pseudonym “Saint Gustaf”.
It has been a valuable outlet for the last few months.
“I’ve always needed something outside of rugby. I’ve got a pretty active mind, so it’s definitely a good way to calm down,” he says.
“It’s very cathartic. It is something that you can sort of channel emotions into.”
