Rhys Gourdie discusses his journey from Scotland and the US to Cobh Ramblers, his 2025 impact, 2026 ambitions, and the club’s promotion hopes.
Few Ramblers fans knew who Rhys Gourdie was when his signing was announced during the summer transfer window in July 2025. At the time the Rams were hot on the heels of Dundalk in the First Division title race and hopes were high that they could win their first title since 2007.
While ultimately this was not to be Gourdie quickly won over the fans with his combativeness and versatility. Many were pleasantly surprised when he was retained for the 2026 season with several other players moving on. Jonas Hakkinen, Cian Murphy and Cian Bargary all joined Kerry FC. 2025 First Division player of the year Barry Coffey left for Hartford Athletic in the US while midfielder Niall O’Keffee joined Cork City. Six games into the League of Ireland season I had the chance to speak with Rhys about his footballing journey so far and his hopes for the future.
Early Life and Football Development in Scotland
Rhys Gourdie was born in Greenock but grew up in Gourock. Both towns lie on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde in the west central lowlands of Scotland. Much like his adopted Cobh the area has strong maritime ties through fisheries and ship building. Cobh and Gourock are also roughly the same size with 15,000 and 10,000 residents respectively. The town mainly functions today as a residential area with a railway terminus and ferry services across the Clyde. Again, the similarities with Cobh are striking. Gourdie clearly enjoyed growing up in a small coastal town, ‘It was lovely to be fair. A big part of my life as well.’
Move to the United States and College Career
Rhys Gourdie started his football journey early starting with a boys’ club called First Touch at age 9. He was to stay with this club until 12 when he moved onto a pro youth academy, moving between Rangers and later Greenock Morton. His local club currently plays in the Scottish Championship.
At 17 he decided to make the leap to America. His parents were a big part of the decision who thought it would be good for him to try something new. His grandparents were also living in the US and he used to go there for summer holidays. During his summers there Rhys ended training with a local club under Brian Quinn, an Irish American coach his family knew. Rhys ended up going to the University of San Diego for four years where he got a degree in finance and mathematics, with a minor in real estate. He followed this with a year at the University of Washington before trying his hand at professional football with Detroit City in the American USL Championship.
“It didn’t really work out too much. I was obviously young and inexperienced. And they had a very experienced squad. And it probably wasn’t a right fit for myself or the team. So I left and I just told my agent, look, I quite fancy coming back to the UK at the time. I did say the UK. And he’s well, there’s maybe an opportunity in the Irish First Division. Would you be interested? I said, yeah, of course”.
Move to Cobh Ramblers and 2025 Season Impact
For Rhys it was a leap into the unknown. “Honestly, I probably knew three teams max in the whole country. No disrespect at all. I was like, all right, what team is it? And I looked it up and they were battling for the title. And obviously any player is going to be attracted to that. I called the manager last year and Richie Holland [Cobh Ramblers assistant manager at the time]. And they said we’d love for you to come in and see the place and see if you like it. And I did. And I was here for a week and negotiations happened. So I never looked back”.
Gourdie made an immediate impact. “I was kind of thrown in straight away. And to be fair, it was a tough start. But injuries helped me go straight in. Because obviously Shane Griffin was a massive part of this team last year and he broke his foot at Kerry away. So that was a kind of like-for-like switch. Pretty similar. And it went well until we just fell a wee bit short of the mark, unfortunately.”
Re-Signing for 2026 and Fran Rockett’s Influence
Rhys Gourdie played 13 times in the second half of the season scoring 2 goals. Having made such a big impression Rambler’s fan were delighted when Rhys signed up for the 2026 season. “Conor Meade [Cobh Ramblers Director of Football] actually approached me. I obviously enjoyed my time a lot. Conor called me. I enjoyed that call. I said, look, it’s really important that I talk to the manager because that’s massive”.
Rhys conversation with new Ramblers’ manager Fran Rockett went well. “Honestly, I’ve never had such a good conversation with a manager in my life. That really swayed me a lot, talking to Fran and his ideas and what he thought I was capable of and what he thought I could do this year. And his ideas for the club. And I was talking to other boys to see who was coming back. Because you’ve got to make sure that there’s a good squad around you. I was talking to the likes of Cian Coleman, Shane Griffin and Dylan McGlade. But I was buzzing to sign back. I think about our unfinished business”.
2026 Season so Far
After 9 games the Rams have really yet to get going. “We’ve had a slow start. We’ve got a young squad and we need to fix a few issues. I think there’s no denying that. It’s a brand new team. I think we’re really talented. We just need to put the tools together and get a run of games. The City game, just showed that we are capable”. Ramblers held Cork City to a 1-1 draw in March, the only team to take any points off the league leaders at that point. Gourdie excelled in that game scoring the equaliser from the penalty spot for a fully deserved draw.
Rhys had particular praise for Cian Coleman both against Cork City and the season as a whole. “We’re all so glad we’ve got him here, and he’s a massive, massive part of this dressing room. Yeah. Everyone looks up to him. I just can’t believe that a team would let someone of that calibre, and that stature, go. I mean he leaves everything on the pitch for us as well.”
In the recent game against Bray Wanderers, Rhys Gourdie once again showed his versatility playing as a right wing back in the first half before moving int his more accustomed midfield role in the second half. “I’ve actually played every single position for this club, apart from centre-back and goalie, which is actually some stat. But Fran knows that I’d play anywhere, so I think he can trust me in that way. Fran brought me in, and he said, your best position is a number eight, attacking eight, and I completely agree. This year, he’s wanting me to be more of an attacking threat, and it’s a responsibility that I’ve never really had. It’s pressure I’ve never felt before.”
Goals, Ambitions and Promotion Push
For the coming season Rhys has definite goals. “I just want to play well every game. Obviously, as for goals and assists, I wanted maybe five goals and five assists. But as the position I’ve been playing is more of a ten or a striker, then I’d probably want to get a few more than that. I just want to play well, and play well for the team, and work hard for the boys. As a team I think we are capable to really give Cork City a run, but we are struggling, there’s no doubt about it. Hopefully, we can turn it around, and if playoffs do come around, honestly, I’d back us to beat anyone. Prem teams included. We played Waterford in pre-season, and I thought we more than matched them”.
Looking to the future Rhys Gourdie is ambitious. “I just want to play at the highest level I possibly can. I don’t care about money. I just want to, test myself, I want to play at the highest level I possibly can and do whatever it takes to get to that”. Playing in Scotland at some point is still an option. Recent Cobh Ramblers players Justin and David Agabor are currently playing for Cove Rangers. “To be fair, I’d actually say that’s quite similar to first division level. I’d compare the First Division and League One in Scotland.”
For the moment Rhys Gourdie is thriving in Cobh, quickly becoming a central part of the squad and team. One of the first names on the team sheet, much loved by football fans in his adopted home on the south coast of Ireland. He will be crucial as Ramblers push for promotion in 2026.