Cruikshank thrilled to take on new National Academy Manager role at Scottish Rugby

The newly introduced National Academy Programme (NAP) will support the development of players aged 18 to 23, following on from the new National Talent Pathway, which is made up of three phases at U16, U17, and U18 level.

These aligned structures, alongside the National Central Programme that was first established in August 2025, are designed to grow the women’s game and develop world-class talent to see success at grassroots, domestic and international levels.

A five-cap Scotland international and a proven developer of players, Claire brings a wealth of experience from previous roles such as Head of Women’s Rugby at Edinburgh University, her prior involvement in the Scottish Rugby’s pathway, and most recently as the first-ever professional Edinburgh Rugby Women’s head coach in the Celtic Challenge.

She has also enjoyed international appointments, having served as the head coach of Sweden Women.

With all her expertise at her disposal, she is looking forward to taking the next step in a role that reflects the ever-evolving landscape of women’s rugby in Scotland.

“It’s an exciting time,” Cruikshank said. “It’s providing more support around the players – a more professional programme.

“There are dedicated coaching staff, athletic performance, and medical – and a lot of it is around the wraparound support. It’s about developing players both on and off the field.

“We continue to develop the performance behaviours, looking at nutrition, sports psychology and equipping them with all the skills that every young athlete needs to learn and develop.

“If we can accelerate that with the National Talent Pathway and the National Academy Programme, it means when they go into the senior national team environment, which is the aspiration, then they’re more adept to cope with that.”

As National Academy manager, Claire will work alongside other stakeholders in the pathway, including clubs, universities and those operating at international level.

Playing a pivotal role in helping players gain the skills and knowledge to develop both as individual athletes, but also to progress to potentially becoming a senior internationalist is a hugely exciting opportunity, she says.

“There are a couple of key elements to it,” Cruikshank said when asked what success in this role would look like for her. “One is aligning the pathway, so making sure there is an alignment between the performance and the community and club game.

“We will work closely with the Celtic Challenge clubs, the clubs in the Arnold Clark Premiership and BUCS Super Rugby because that is where a lot of these players will be playing a lot of their rugby, so that will be a really important part.

“The other part is around the individual development plan piece. So, how do we develop these athletes and ensure they have a clear plan that they are working for over the next 12 months and beyond.

“It is making sure that a plan is designed with them and with collaboration from our clubs, so that everybody invested in that player is bought into what we’re trying to do.”

With a smooth transition to those who become involved with Scotland Women being the aim of the pathway system, Claire is excited to work further with people like Head Coach Sione Fukofuka.

She was part of the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations as skills coach, working with Fukofuka, Senior Assistant Coach Ioan Cunningham and Forwards Coach Dave Butcher.

It was a worthwhile experience and something she believes has helped build solid foundations as she begins in her new post.

“Working with Sione and the rest of the Scotland Women staff during the Women’s Six Nations period has given me a good grounding,” she said. “It has allowed me to see what they are after and implementing and then I can transfer that to the young players coming through the system.”

“Six Nations is an intense period, so there is obviously the performance side of things and getting an insight into that, but even just the ability to spend time with the staff and to have those informal conversations and get to know them as people was invaluable.

“Coming into this new role, I don’t have to establish those relationships with people like Sione because I’ve spent a lot of time with them, so that’ll definitely help going forward.”

Scottish Rugby’s Women’s Pathway is proudly supported by Vodafone. Since 2024, Vodafone has supported the growth of the women’s game in Scotland through technology, connectivity and landmark events.