A homecoming for Nova Scotian rugby star Cooper Coats

Cooper Coats has come full circle.

Coats will play for Canada in an international rugby 15's match on Saturday afternoon against Belgium at Halifax's Wanderers Grounds. Coats, the lone Nova Scotian on Canada's team, had his first rugby practice just down the road.

He will play for Canada for the first time in his hometown.

"Representing Canada in any match is an incredible honour, but being able to do it just a stone's throw away from my high school where my career started is quite special," said Coats, who attended Citadel High.

Coats writes the letters NS on his wrist tape before every game so everyone knows where he's from. 

"I'm definitely proud to be Nova Scotian and I bring that around the world with me anywhere I go."

Coats didn't start playing rugby until his senior year of high school.

He was a prolific soccer player. But his International Baccalaureate program required another sport. He decided to give rugby a try.

He captained Citadel High to a provincial championship in 2014.

Chris Sutton, his coach at Citadel High, said rugby came easy to Coats and it was evident from the practice.

"Myself and the other coaches watched from the sidelines as he went through a couple drills and we kind of just looked at each other and smiled," Sutton said. "We said this kid has something, he's going to go far."

Sutton said many of soccer's fundamentals — running and kicking among them — translate well to rugby. 

Within six months of starting his rugby career, Coats donned the Maple Leaf patch playing for Canada's under-18 team in Romania.

"That trip fuelled my hunger to make it back on the national team," Coats said.

He played varsity soccer for Acadia University, fulfilling a dream.

He continued playing rugby during the