Devonport United (North Shore Albions) Len Scott made his senior debut on the wing for
Devonport United in the first match of the season on 24 April 1926 when aged 19. He played alongside
Allan Seagar who was at centre. His cousin Alfred (Alf) Henry Scott was playing in the forwards. Another cousin, Matthew Scott, Alf's brother, had retired the season prior.{{cite news He scored another brace of tries in a 19-16 loss to
Ponsonby United. Scott's form was so good in his debut season in first grade that there was speculation that he was close to Auckland squad selection.{{cite news Scott then returned to the Devonport side and scored a try in a 24-0 win over
Richmond Rovers. His try was set up by his cousin Alf, and later in the match the
Auckland Star described some action: "the Scott trinity showed up well for Shore when A. Scott, L. Scott, and K Scott combined well, a family affair that carried play into the Richmond twenty-five" with K Scott scoring soon after.{{cite news Scott's final 2 appearances for
Devonport came in the semi-final win over
Marist in the
Roope Rooster where he scored a try, and then in the 16-15 Roope Rooster final loss to Richmond on 16 October. He scored a first half try which gave Devonport a lead when his "speed carried him over near the corner".{{cite news The
1927 season saw Scott as the leading try scorer on his own for senior competitions. He scored 14 tries in 15 matches for Devonport. He scored in the opening game of the season in a win over City when he charged down a kick.{{cite news
Auckland selection The 1928 season was arguably the most significant of Scott's long career. He scored 19 tries in 16 games for Devonport to once again lead the competition in try scoring. He also played 5 matches for Auckland and another for Auckland Province. It would also see him make his
New Zealand debut, along with an appearance for a New Zealand XIII. He scored 2 tries in a round one win over City and a week later 2 more tries in a 12-11 win over Newton. The first came after he "raced on a short diagonal line and dived through a tackle by
Hardgrave to score wide out".{{cite news Scott was indeed named in the Auckland side to play
South Auckland (northern Waikato) on 16 June. He was picked on the wing with
Craddock Dufty at fullback,
Allan Seagar at centre, and
Claude List on the other wing. It was said that "Dufty,
Gregory,
Wetherill, and
List were certain of selection, and L. Scott, by reason of sheer achievement has won his place".{{cite news Scott then returned to club football where he scored a try in an 8-6 win over City, and then 3 tries in a 23-16 loss to Newton, before another try in a 14-13 loss to Marist in round 10. His try came after he received the ball "on the right flank, and the winger cut in-field beautifully to outstrip the opposition and score in a handy position".{{cite news Scott was then named in the reserves for the Auckland side to play
Canterbury on 21 July but was not required to play. Four days later he was again picked for Auckland, but this time to start in their match with South Auckland at
Carlaw Park.{{cite news
New Zealand selection On August Scott played in the New Zealand trial in the NZ Probables side against the NZ Possibles at Carlaw Park. His side won 27-24 and at the conclusion of the match
New Zealand selectors Edwin Fox, W. J. Mitchell, and William Murray, selected Scott to play on the wing in his New Zealand debut against the touring
England side in the first test.
Craddock Dufty was at fullback, with
Roy Hardgrave on one wing and Scott on the other. The centre was
Claude List, with
Maurice Wetherill and
Stan Prentice in the five eighths positions, and
Frank Delgrosso at halfback. It was an all Auckland backline. The
Auckland Star said that "Hardgrave's selection was a foregone conclusion, and in choosing L. Scott, the next best win in New Zealand has been found".{{cite news The first test was played at
Carlaw Park before a crowd of 25,000 on 4 August. Scott was playing opposite
Alf Ellaby on the English side. He scored 2 tries in an upset 17-13 win for the New Zealand side. In the first half
Claude List punted behind the England backs and Scott "beat
Askin and
Sullivan in a follow through, but the ball went over the dead line".{{cite news Scott was then chosen in the Auckland Provincial side to play a midweek match against England at
Carlaw Park. The Provincial side went down 14-9 before 15,000 spectators. Scott scored a try and "was the most impressive [in the three-quarter line], and has more than justified the chance he has been given in big football".{{cite news Scott was then named in the second test side to be played in
Dunedin, though in a 4 man three-quarter selection including List, Hardgrave, and
Hec Brisbane with one to be omitted. Scott did ultimately play in the test which was to become infamous for the violent play throughout the match. The game was played at the
Caledonian ground before a crowd of 9,000. With the score 2-2 in the first half
Brisbane "picked up the ball and cleverly evaded his opponents, and passed to Scott, who, although tackled, rolled over and scored". Burgess the English prop was sent off following a scrum incident, though he himself was bleeding from the nose. The Press Association coverage of the match said that "the game was played in a spirit not seen in Dunedin in the memory of the present generation. At times it almost developed into a brawl. The spectators were far from being favourably impressed, and expressed their disgust in no uncertain manner".{{cite news The teams traveled south to
Invercargill to play a midweek exhibition game between a New Zealand XIII and the English side. The New Zealand XIII team won 27-26 thanks to a try at the end of the match to Scott. The try came about after
Maurice Wetherill kicked across to the corner, "and Scott, gathering up the ball in great style, scored the winning try".{{cite news The third test was relatively uneventful compared to the second, with England winning the match and the series with a 6-5 win. The test was played at
English Park, home of
the football association after they were refused the use of
Lancaster Park.{{cite news Following the third test Scott went back to club football with Devonport. He played 5 more matches, the first was the final round robin match against
Ellerslie. A 33-16 win saw
Devonport secure the first grade championship for the third time in their history after previous wins in 1913 and 1914. Scott scored 2 tries in the win, with the first coming early in the match when he kicked a loose ball through and scored by the posts, then later he got on the end of a passing movement and "on the right wing, the New Zealand representative showed pace and going across at the flag before the defence could converge".{{cite news Scott also played 2 further matches for
Auckland. The first was in a 42-22 win over
Otago. He scored a try after receiving the ball in the open field and easily ran the last 50 years to score between the posts.{{cite news
1929 Devonport, Auckland, and North Island Scott played 17 matches for Devonport in 1929, scoring 11 tries. In their round 1 win over Ponsonby "L. Scott, the Shore greyhound accepted a beautifully timed pass and sailed across wide out".{{cite news In July he was selected to play for
Auckland against
South Auckland. The match was played on 27 July with 10,000 in attendance. He scored a try in a close 11-8 victory for Auckland. His try came after
Hec Brisbane engineered a movement which enabled Scott to "fly across wide out" to make the score 8-3.{{cite news A week later he received an injury to his mouth in a match against Marist that needed stitches, and he had to wear a mask in their following match with Ponsonby.{{cite news On 31 August he returned to some form in a Roope Rooster round 1 loss to Richmond with the Auckland Star saying he was "in great fettle".{{cite news
Move to Fiji Early in the 1930 season it was reported that Scott had "gone to
Suva,
Fiji. The winger was not at his best last year, but he played some rattling good games at times. His determined dashes along touch will be missed by supporters of the code". It was also said that his cousin Alf would not be able to play the season for "business reasons".{{cite news
Return to Devonport and Auckland Colts In 18 matches for Devonport Scott scored 14 tries in the
1931 with 12 coming in senior competition which placed him first for senior try scorers once again. Curiously in his first match back against
City Rovers on 2 May he played in the forwards and "acquitted himself well".{{cite news In the first round of the Roope Rooster competition Devonport thrashed Newton by 41 points to 8 with Scott running in 4 tries. It was said that "Scott was right on form and had the defence bewildered at times with his brilliant dashes down the line".{{cite news Following the match Scott was selected in the Auckland squad to play
Northland at Carlaw Park on 26 September.{{cite news
New Zealand selection v England The
1932 Devonport season for Scott was relatively quiet. He missed their first 5 games and did not reappear until round 6 on 11 June against Ponsonby. There was no reason given for his absence with the New Zealand Herald merely stating that "L. Scott made a reappearance for Devonport and showed all his speed".{{cite news Scott was joined in the test side by his Devonport team mates
Albert Laing and
Dick Smith. Unfortunately all three would have a match to forget and were dropped for the second test. The first test was played at
Carlaw Park before a crowd of 25,000 and saw New Zealand comprehensively outplayed, losing 24-9. New Zealand won very little scrum ball (just 12 out of 50 scrums were won by New Zealand) and the backs were starved of possession.
Allen St George the New Zealand hooker who was also on debut was also dropped from the side following the match. Scott and
Dick Smith on the wings "never saw the ball in orthodox attack. That was not their fault, but in individual effort neither ... was up to the standard that one expects in big league football".{{cite news Scott was chosen as a reserve for the
Auckland team to play
England on 6 August but was not required to take the field.{{cite news
Break from the game (1933-34) and return in 1935 It is unclear what Scott's intentions were but in May of 1933 he applied for reinstatement into rugby union to the
New Zealand Rugby Union.{{cite news
Return to New Zealand test side The
1936 season saw Scott play 18 matches for Devonport and a return to try scoring form. He scored 13 tries in total and 12 in senior club competitions which placed him third highest try scorer behind
Lou Brown and Roy Bright. Against
Mount Albert in round 2 he scored "a grand try", when he "ran half the length of the field to score". The try proved to be the difference in a 10-5 victory.{{cite news Scott's form had been good enough to see him chosen in the Auckland side to play New Zealand Māori.{{cite news He played in matches for Devonport against Newton and City, scoring a try in each and then picked in the New Zealand side for the 3rd time in his career to play his 5th test. The
Auckland Star said that his "form on the wing justified his inclusion in the test match next Saturday, and the crowd will be looking for the characteristic try which he seems to gather in every match as the result of sheer opportunism".{{cite news The match saw
New Zealand defeated in a hard-fought match 10-8 before 22,000 spectators at
Carlaw Park on 8 August. Scott was slightly injured early in the match when he received a kick which "appeared to put him off his usual game".{{cite news Scott then returned to his Devonport side 2 weeks later after recovering from his injury and played 5 further matches. The first against
Richmond on 22 August saw the debut of Len's cousin
Verdun Scott in the Devonport side. The
Auckland Star erroneously reported "A likely, tall young winger, V. Scott, brother of Len Scott, made his debut on one flank".{{cite news
North Shore Albions In
1937 the Devonport United club decided to revert to their original name which was
North Shore Albions. They had adopted the name ‘Devonport United' many years earlier after a merger with their neighbours Sunnyside. In 14 matches for them Scott scored 5 tries. His first two came in a match against Marist on 24 April and the first was significant as it was the 100th try of his career for his club. He became the first player in the history of Auckland Rugby League to achieve this feat. The Auckland Star remarked after the match that "two fine tries by Len Scott, one of the most prolific scoring wingers in the code, turned the scales in favour of North Shore".{{cite news The
1938 season was to be the beginning of the end for Scott's time on the field for North Shore. He played 10 matches and scored 3 tries. He played intermittently throughout the year with his first game coming in round 2 against
Manukau. He played in the forwards and "was responsible for a try that was full of merit" in a 26-21 loss.{{cite news The 1939 season saw Scott fail to make an appearance for North Shore. Then in
1940 he came out of retirement to assist the North Shore side as they struggled for senior playing numbers due to so many of their players having enlisted in the military for
World War II. He turned out in one match against
City Rovers on 10 August in round 15. North Shore won the match 17-8 with Scott said to have "harassed the opposition" along with Wilkie and Donaldson. And he apparently "showed dash on the wing".{{cite news ==Personal life==