A Scotland rugby international who carried out a 20 month campaign of domestic abuse against his girlfriend has been banned from contacting her for 10 years.
Scotland star Rufus McLean used tracking systems on his partner’s phone and demanded passwords to her social media accounts during his period of abusive control.
McLean also left the 21-year-old victim with a burst lip and a black eye after pushing her off him, called her “a bi***” and “a sl**” and sent her abusive texts and social media messages.
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The 23-year-old winger repeatedly shouted, swore and acted aggressively towards his victim, controlled her movements, seized her on the body and repeatedly pushed her on the body to her injury.
He also insisted she enable location tracking services on her phone to allow him to track her movements, controlled who she could not meet with and what clothes she could wear.
McLean, from Gordon, Berwickshire, pleaded guilty to engaging in a course of abusive behaviour between April 2019 and January 2021 when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in December.
Following his guilty plea the disgraced rugby star was initially suspended and then eventually sacked by his club Glasgow Warriors.
The US-born winger, who has been capped three times for Scotland, was back in the dock for sentencing on Thursday where he was handed a community payback order and a non-harassment order.
Sheriff Matthew Auchincloss said: “You pled guilty to an amended complaint of engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive of your partner.
“Your behaviour included shouting, swearing as well as engaging in behaviour of a controlling type.
“Given the extended period of time and the nature of the behaviour, clearly you were reckless and you should have known about the harm you have caused.
“There can be no doubt your behaviour caused significant harm.”
Sheriff Auchincloss ordered McLean to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and banned the rugby star of contacting his victim for the next 10 years.
Solicitor Iain Smith, defending, said his client had “matured significantly” and was “remorseful” for his actions.
Mr Smith added McLean also now shows “a high degree of insight” in too his behaviour.
Fiscal depute Alan Wickham said on one occasion his victim was on holiday in Spain in 2019 when McLean saw a photograph of her on social media and “took exception” to what she was wearing.
He demanded she change her outfit saying “she looked like a slag” and when she refused he called and messaged her and her friends telling her to leave a club and go home to change.
Another occasion saw the woman suffer “burst lip” after she had woken McLean up and he reacted by pushing her off him at a flat in Glasgow in January 2021.
Mr Wickham told the court she was left “frightened” by the incident and had photographed her injuries to show her mother.
On March 11, 2020, McLean saw a photo on social media of her along with a man with whom she had previously gone out on a date and had become “irate”.
McLean was said to have pushed her over and “continued to shout at her and she pleaded with him to stop”.
After getting up, the victim was said to have followed him and he “grabbed her wrist and pushed her back”.
McLean left the Edinburgh flat and police were alerted to an “ongoing domestic incident”.
Officers attended and found the woman crying and suffering from redness to her arm.
She said that during the relationship McLean would message her friends requesting them to tell him where she was and “insisted” she have location services on her phone turned on.
A Glasgow Warriors statement read: "An internal disciplinary hearing, held in conjunction with Scottish Rugby, concluded McLean’s actions and subsequent criminal record through his admission of guilt to charges under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act constituted gross misconduct and breach of contract.
“McLean was informed of this outcome today and has the right to appeal.
“Glasgow Warriors fully acknowledges the seriousness of domestic abuse and recognises the impact it has on the mental and physical welfare of those affected by it.
“The club was already working with Police Scotland to support and promote its male education campaign ‘Don’t be that Guy’ and further workshops are planned in the coming weeks.”
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