With player welfare a clear priority and to enable timely communication with competing teams to allow for travel arrangements to be changed an early decision has been made to postpone the seven planned finals on Saturday.

The freezing weather conditions bring an increased injury risk to players alongside team, spectator and volunteer safety regarding travel, which were also factors taken into consideration.

Despite measures taken to prevent pitch freeze following the School’s Cup Finals this week, the minus temperatures and recent snowfall has already frozen the back pitches at BT Murrayfield which had been scheduled to host both matches and team warmups on Saturday.

It is not expected that the pitches will be in a safe, usable condition by Saturday.

Losing the back pitches would directly impact on the running order for the day’s scheduled games, which accommodate sufficient warm-up time, matches and post-match presentations across seven finals.

Participating clubs have heard directly from Scottish Rugby this morning (Thursday 8 December) to advise of this postponement and that a new date will be set and communicated in the New Year.

This weekend there are Regional Youth Finals scheduled to take place at clubs across the country.

For these fixtures appropriate decisions on whether the fixture can go ahead will be based on the local conditions and contingencies available. Should any of these matches be cancelled alternative dates will be found to reschedule the fixture following normal weather call off processes.

Gav Scott, Director of Rugby Development said: “We know that this postponement will come as a disappointment for the players and volunteers who have put in so much hard work both on and off the field to reach the Finals day event, we equally are disappointed to have to make this call, but it is important that we put the welfare of those involved first, both from a playing and travel standpoint.”

The post National Youth Cup Finals 2022/23 | Update appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

The other first round fixture saw Caledonia come out on top against Borders & East Lothian with a 10-7 win. Ollie Stoops and Joseph Roberts scored tries for Caledonia, and Gregor Hoggan scored a try for Borders & East Lothian which was converted by Ben Burton.

In the second round, Edinburgh won 24-14 against Caledonia. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Rory Brogan and Caleb Thomson (2) scored Edinburgh’s tries, with Hamish MacArthur converting two of them. For Caledonia, Emmett Bunney and Matthew Fryer scored tries, and both were converted by Angus Crockett.

The final fixture saw Glasgow & West pick up a second win, this time beating Borders & East Lothian 31-10. Harry Provan (2), Connor Murray, Aiden Orr and Campbell Waugh got the tries for Glasgow & West, three of which were converted by Gregor Munn, and Oliver Furness and Jason Talac dotted down for Borders & East Lothian.

Click here to view the U17 regional academy team sheets

Last weekend, some of Scotland’s best U18 talent was on show at the Merchiston National School Festival.

Teams from Ayr RFC, Boroughmuir RFC, George Watson’s College, Merchiston Castle School and Peebles RFC took part in the competition hosted by Merchiston, alongside a number of schools from England.

Merchiston finished as runners up, losing 19-5 in the final to Ipswich School having beaten Mount St Mary’s College 10-0 in the semi-final.

Boroughmuir RFC finished fourth, having won their group with three wins from three before losing out in their semi-final.

In the bowl, Peebles RFC finished third, losing their semi-final before beating Uppingham School 10-7 in the 3^rd/4^th play off.

In the shield, Ayr RFC finished third and George Watson’s College were fourth.

For a full list of results, click here

Coming up, the U19 and U20 1872 cup matches take place at the homes of Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.

The U19 1872 Cup game is first, taking place at Scotstoun on Tuesday 1 November (kick off 3pm).

Then on Tuesday 22 November, the U20 1872 Cup match takes place at DAM Health Stadium (kick off 7pm).

The post Future stars in inter-regional action and national youth festival held at Merchiston appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

Ben played his club rugby at Currie Chieftains before signing with Edinburgh Rugby in 2004 becoming a club centurion in the 1872 Cup against Glasgow Warriors in December 2010.  He earned eight full Scotland International caps including appearances in the 2008 November tests against the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa.

His coaching career began at Currie where he was instrumental in driving a successful period for the club before joining Stirling in January 2019 when all Super6 Head Coaches became full-time.

On his appointment he said: “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to come in and lead Heriots’ Super6 side. The club has a rich, successful history and I am looking forward to the challenge of adding to this.

“I was clear when I left my role with Stirling that I wanted to look for coaching opportunities closer to home which made this role so appealing. It feels like the perfect fit for myself and my young family, I cannot wait to get stuck in and we are all really excited about getting to know everyone involved at Goldie.”

Heriot’s Rugby Club Director of Rugby, Neil Meikle said: “We are proud to appoint a coach of Ben’s experience and calibre. We have long admired the way he has constructed rugby environments and playing squads which have delivered success. We are excited to see him working with Stuart and Fin and the rest of the Super6 management team”

Ben will start with Heriot’s on Tuesday 1 November following the completion of the FOSROC Super6 Championship.

The post Ben Cairns appointed Heriot’s Rugby Super6 Head Coach appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

Scotland Under-18s were recently in action in August when they took on Wales and Italy in a three-day festival with a number of the players who featured in those games expected to turn out at Merchiston.

Head of Pathways and Elite Coach Development John Fletcher expressed the importance of giving Scotland’s young players more opportunities to play. He said: “The upcoming festival at Merchiston Castle School will be invaluable for all the players who take part as it provides a different competitive environment which is crucial at this stage of their development.

“Scotland Under-18s will next come together for a training camp in December before the 6 Nations next year so festivals like this are important and allow all players on the day to face opposition that they don’t normally play against.

“Tournaments like this will help expose our players to different challenges and take them out of their comfort zone.”

Roddy Deans, Merchiston Castle School Director of Rugby said: “We are delighted to have built our tournament up to sixteen teams.

“The main goals of the weekend is to help grow the game in Scotland, bring the clubs and schools closer together and more importantly give our players in Scotland the opportunity to compete against tougher opposition who will play a variety of different styles.”

The festival kicks off on Saturday, 15 October where 24 matches will be played across four pitches in the group stage games, with all the action on pitch one being live streamed from 10am-3.30pm across the two days.

Groups

Group 1: Merchiston Castle School, Norwich School, Peebles RFC, Wycliffe College

Group 2: Ayr RFC, Barnard Castle School, Bedford School, Mount St. Mary’s College,

Group 3: Canford School, Ipswich School, St. Benedict’s School, Uppingham School

Group 4: Boroughmuir RFC, Collegiate, George Watson’s College, Seaford College

On Sunday, 16 October, the 4rd and 4^th placed teams will play the Bowl Quarter Final and the 1^st and 2^nd placed teams will play in the Trophy Quarter Final.

Each match will last 30 minutes.

Fixture list

Watch the matches live here

The post Scotland’s best young players to take to the pitch at Merchiston appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

The match will be broadcast live on FreeSports with commentary from Jamie Lyall and Lee Jones, presented by Dougie Vipond.

Completion of the FOSROC Super6 Final will round off the first non-covid impacted year of Super6 rugby. With the inaugural 2019-2020 year being curtailed by the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and 2021 year only having a Championship competition whereas 2022 has brought the Sprint Series in the Spring and now the main Championship.

The FOSROC Super6 trophy will be contested for by the two teams who win their respective semi-finals. On Friday 21 October when the team who finished in first position at the end of the 10 regular rounds of competition will host those who finished fourth (kick-off 7:45pm, live on FreeSports) with the winner of this competition classed as the home team for the final.

Saturday 22 October will see second place host third place in a fixture live on the BBC Sport Scotland website, BBC iPlayer and the Scottish Rugby website (kick-off time tbc by home club).

Champions Ayrshire Bulls currently sit in second place behind 2022 Sprint Series winners Watsonians and will be aiming for spots at the Final given that they have been the two most consistent teams in the league each winning seven games from eight so far.

City sides Boroughmuir Bears, and Heriot’s Rugby are the other two sides who will be in contention for a spot in the Final as their places in the top four (and semi-finals) are secure as neither Southern Knights or Stirling Wolves can earn enough league points in the last two regular rounds of competition to catch them.

UP TO 4 KIDS GO FREE WITH EVERY ADULT TICKET TO THE 2022 FOSROC SUPER6 FINAL.

After eight rounds of competition across the 24 games played, there has been a total of 161 tries and 1174 points scored.

FOSROC Super6 Tournament Director, Grant McKelvey, said: “It’s great that we’ve been able to complete a full year of Super6 rugby without the impacts of covid-19, first the Sprint Series earlier in the Spring and now the Championship.

“This year’s Championship has been a great competition between teams and with an average of seven tries per game being scored there’s been some great attacking rugby played.

“The playing surface and professional facilities that DAM Health Stadium boasts will provide a great platform for the climax of the competition and as a destination final to which teams can aspire.

“It’s tremendous news the match will be once again broadcast live on FreeSports, for those inside the UK and Ireland, for those out with our shores it will be available at scottishrugby.org”

2022 FOSROC Super6 Semi-Finals
Semi-Final 1
Friday 21 October 2022
1^st v 4^th, kick-off 7:45pm
Live on FreeSports

Semi-Final 2
Saturday 22 October 2022
2^nd v 3^rd, kick-off tbc
Live on BBC Sport Scotland, BBC iPlayer and the Scottish Rugby website

2022 FOSROC Super6 Finals
Sunday 30 October 2022
DAM Health Stadium, kick-off 4:45pm.
Live on FreeSports from 4.30pm

Tickets for the 2022 FOSROC Super6 Final are on sale now, click HERE.
Adults cost only £10.00 and concessions (60 and over and U18) £5.00. Up to four U18s go free with a paying adult, thereafter £5.00

The post 2022 FOSROC Super6 Final details confirmed appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

Pat is no stranger to the Millbrae, he came through the Ayr set up and was part of the club 2009 squad who successfully won the Scottish Premiership trophy for the first time.

He went on to enjoy over a decade of professional rugby with Glasgow Warriors and in addition earning international honours with Scotland during that period.

He was part of the matchday squad that won the GUINNESS PRO12 Championship in 2015.

In his later playing years he joined the coaching team at Ayr, racking up a few more Premiership and Scottish cup honours to his name. Since retiring from playing he has been a key member of the Bulls coaching staff.

Last season he took the Head Coaching reigns for the first time and guided the Bulls to become inaugural FOSROC Super6 Champions. He took over the position of Bulls Head Coach at the start of this current Super 6 campaign, when Peter Horne departed to Glasgow Warriors.

The Head Coach selection process took place over a fourth month period and despite his work commitments as a Civil Engineer, MacArthur remained the best candidate for the job with his proven track record.

He will perform the role to the same specifications as other FOSROC Super6 Head coaches, with a unique schedule to support him and Ayrshire Bulls players. This model has been developed over the past three years taking into consideration how he has managed the role in the past.

MacArthur’s first job in his permanent position will be this Friday night when the Ayrshire Bulls host Stirling Wolves at Millbrae. The match gets underway at 7:45pm, live on FreeSports.

The post MacArthur signs two-year extension in charge of Ayrshire Bulls appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

As a result, the Super6 fixture was re-scheduled for Saturday 10 September however as a mark of respect, to acknowledge the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, all competitive matches in Scotland were suspended for that weekend.

Owing to the significant fixture congestion towards the tail end of the FOSROC Super6 Championship, together with player welfare considerations, internal discussions were had and a proposal was put forward by the Tournament Director that the original round 5 fixture be cancelled and this round 7 fixture is to act as a double header.

With all parties involved in agreement, the round 5 fixture will not go ahead at any point and all league and match points accumulated this Saturday will count for double.

Saturday’s fixture will be available to watch live on the Scottish Rugby website and BBC Sport Scotland at 5pm.

The post Update: Ayrshire Bulls v Southern Knights appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

Led by the Rugby Development department, the strategy aims to increase the volume of rugby activity for school pupils in Scotland, with greater diversity of players, whilst also improving the quality of game play. The strategy also aims to provide stronger links to clubs in both player and volunteer retention.

Looking at the current landscape, Scottish Rugby supports 154 state schools and 22 independent schools to participate in Conferences and Fixtures or Festivals. In addition, there are 82 clubs across the country who facilitate youth programmes (U13 upwards). It is Scottish Rugby’s aim that through the strategy, more state schools will participate in competition structures, and the number of clubs with youth programmes will grow.

The strategy encompasses six key areas which have a total of £540K brand-new budget allocated to support.

The first area of investment includes the recruitment of six School Rugby Officers whose roles will be aligned to working with schools to develop pathways and programmes for both curriculum-based and extra-curricular rugby, with scope to increase diversity of pupils involved in the game.

The recruitment process for three of the six roles is currently underway, with the following three roles to enter the market before the end of the year.

Investment will also be made to support schools with equipment provision and resources, along with development opportunities for teachers to build on coaching and officiating knowledge, skills and qualifications.

In addition to this, the strategy encompasses additional pathways for game play opportunities including expansion of formal schools’ competitions and conferences on a regional and national level, plus informal mid-week fixtures and the introduction of alternative rugby formats.

Schools of Rugby will also continue to be a focus for Scottish Rugby. This programme offers pupils the opportunity to engage in rugby activity during school time with the aim of not only developing young players, but also aiding them in their physical, social, emotional and academic development in their Secondary school.

There are currently 43 Schools of Rugby operating across the country, including 17 which are supported by CashBack for Communities. It is hoped over the duration of the strategy the number of Schools of Rugby will increase.

This well-established programme has been a catalyst for developing strong links between clubs and schools, and this will continue to be a driver for the programme moving forward.

Finally, Scottish Rugby Schools Week supported by Saltire Energy will also continue to run, and will be a cornerstone in the season calendar for development opportunities and increasing participation in the game, particularly at Secondary school level.

In the March 2022 iteration of the programme, more than 600 state primary and secondary schools engaged with rugby delivery. Moving forward, the programme will include more targeted support to engage Secondary schools and provide development opportunities for teachers and school staff.

Gav Scott, Director of Rugby Development said: “This strategy marks an exciting new chapter in Scottish Rugby’s work with the education sector. We recognise for many years now, independent education has been seen to be a leader in school rugby, and whilst they will continue to drive the game forward, it is our aim that with brand-new investment and directed support, Scottish Rugby can begin to bridge the gap between independent and state schools in rugby.

“Our strategy shows a clear statement of intent to enhance current offerings and develop new partnerships between schools, local authorities, clubs and other stakeholders, whilst also providing the necessary equipment, training and provision to enable state schools to deliver high quality programmes and rugby environments.

“The quality and variety of playing and training opportunities within state school settings has a significant influence on people’s lifelong engagement in rugby. We want to work collaboratively, and actively seek to engage with and include all members of our community to retain and grow the role of rugby throughout state schools, and support those within the education setting to see that rugby is a force for good which has inclusion, respect and wellbeing at its core.”

Work to engage state schools in rugby has been ongoing for a number of years, and one of the most recent areas of work has included a partnership agreement with Aberdeenshire Council to support and deliver increased rugby and physical activity for secondary school pupils across 17 state schools in the north of Scotland.

The programme is now providing enhanced opportunities for young people to focus on their health and wellbeing, and enjoy outdoor learning working in partnership with local communities.

Head of Education for Aberdeenshire Council Vincent Docherty said: “Scottish Rugby’s investment in our school communities offers a real boost for schools right across Aberdeenshire.

“With plans for dedicated rugby officers, offering more opportunities for our young people to play the sport, Scottish Rugby’s new strategy builds on our already strong partnership working.

“We are very pleased to be a part of delivering enhanced experiences for our young people, helping us develop all aspects of our curriculum for physical education.”

• State School Strategy 2022-2028
  1.50 MB
  Download

The post Scottish Rugby launches new State School Strategy to increase youth participation appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

The alternate shirt leads with purple, a colour synonymous with the country’s heather-laden hills and thistle flowers.

The design of the shirt, which has a navy blue polo neck, is identical to that of the home garment. The sleeve cuffs are also in navy blue, with a thin purple line in the centre. The backneck is customised with the same graphics as the sleeves, in the form of Scottish Rugby’s logo and #AsOne motto. The sweatband inside the neck is decorated with the word ‘SCOTLAND’ repeated at intervals and with the Scottish Rugby logo.

The Macron Hero and the badge of Scottish Rugby are embroidered in navy blue on the chest. On the shoulders and sleeves is a tone on tone, embossed graphic featuring the head of the thistle. At the bottom of the shirt is the old Scottish Rugby logo, next to the year in which the organisation was formed – 1873. The shorts are navy blue with purple bands at the sides containing the same graphics as the sleeves and shoulders. The socks are in purple with a navy blue band at the top containing a thin purple line.

Julian Momen, Scottish Rugby’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are thrilled with the alternate Scotland kit that Macron have designed for the season ahead, with a great deal of thought having gone into creating a striking shirt that really represents Scotland as a country.

“Having released our home kit a couple of weeks ago, the alternate version complements it extremely well and I’m sure players and supporters alike will really take to the emblematic colour scheme.”

The new Scottish kits are made from Eco-Armevo fabric with Eco-Boditex inserts, two lightweight, breathable and extremely tough materials. The kits are available from the Scottish Rugby Stores at the BT Murrayfield Stadium and in Queen Street, Glasgow. They can also be purchased online from shop.scottishrugby.org and in the SRU section of macron.com, and from authorised Macron dealers.

The post Scotland release new-look alternate kit for 2022/23 season appeared first on Scottish Rugby.

The alternate shirt leads with purple, a colour synonymous with the country’s heather-laden hills and thistle flowers.

The design of the shirt, which has a navy blue polo neck, is identical to that of the home garment. The sleeve cuffs are also in navy blue, with a thin purple line in the centre. The backneck is customised with the same graphics as the sleeves, in the form of Scottish Rugby’s logo and #AsOne motto. The sweatband inside the neck is decorated with the word ‘SCOTLAND’ repeated at intervals and with the Scottish Rugby logo.

The Macron Hero and the badge of Scottish Rugby are embroidered in navy blue on the chest. On the shoulders and sleeves is a tone on tone, embossed graphic featuring the head of the thistle. At the bottom of the shirt is the old Scottish Rugby logo, next to the year in which the organisation was formed – 1873. The shorts are navy blue with purple bands at the sides containing the same graphics as the sleeves and shoulders. The socks are in purple with a navy blue band at the top containing a thin purple line.

Julian Momen, Scottish Rugby’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are thrilled with the alternate Scotland kit that Macron have designed for the season ahead, with a great deal of thought having gone into creating a striking shirt that really represents Scotland as a country.

“Having released our home kit a couple of weeks ago, the alternate version complements it extremely well and I’m sure players and supporters alike will really take to the emblematic colour scheme.”

The new Scottish kits are made from Eco-Armevo fabric with Eco-Boditex inserts, two lightweight, breathable and extremely tough materials. The kits are available from the Scottish Rugby Stores at the BT Murrayfield Stadium and in Queen Street, Glasgow. They can also be purchased online from shop.scottishrugby.org and in the SRU section of macron.com, and from authorised Macron dealers.

The post Scotland release new-look alternate kit for 2022/23 season appeared first on Scottish Rugby.