BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy finals to be held at national stadium

Scottish Rugby today, Monday 5 October, announced the finals of the under-20 BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy are to be played on the international pitch at BT Murrayfield this weekend.  The announcement was made as the next round of the BT Cup was drawn by two of the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy players, Ben Robbins and Matt Smith, who will compete in the competition with their respective clubs, Currie and Glasgow Hawks.   For the full BT Cup draw, please visit scottishrugby.org or click here. The Academy under-20 final will be played between Edinburgh and Glasgow & the West, following the women’s Donna Kennedy Cup match, on Sunday 11 October at the national stadium. The third and fourth place under-20 play-off between Caledonia and The Borders & East Lothian, will be played on the back-pitches at BT Murrayfield as part of the same finals day.  Scottish Rugby listed the Academy as one of its five key policy initiatives, and the reinstatement of a regional championship final, to be played at BT Murrayfield, stands as a landmark in the progress of the programme.Stephen Gemmell, Scottish Rugby’s Head of Academy and Performance Programmes, said: “We’re delighted the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy finals are to be played on the main pitch at BT Murrayfield. It’s a privilege to play at the national stadium, but a fitting reward for the players involved in the Academy system. “This finals day will form as a showpiece for the talent which exists in Scottish rugby with the players involved vying for a place in the international age-grade or professional system, or, having already competed at that level, looking to retain their spot. “This is the future of Scottish Rugby and these players will populate the top-tier of the domestic game, our professional sides and represent the thistle on the international stage in years to come.” The under-20 finals day is a culmination of the initial three rounds of the regional round-robin, which took place throughout August for under-20s, and concludes later this month for the other age-grades.The under-20 group, the oldest of the Academy age-grades, is the first of the three finals to take place at BT Murrayfield.The fixtures for the under-16 and under-18 finals – also taking place at BT Murrayfield – will be determined following the last round of games taking place at Gala Fairydean on Friday 16 October (kick-off from 10.30am).