Girls Aim for Manchester Games

For the third year in succession a girls’ under-19 sevens squad will be representing Scottish Rugby at the Sainsbury’s Schools Games in Manchester (3 to 6 September).pic: Rhona Lloyd, who took part in the 2013 Games, has been a prolific try scorer for Scotland Women U20 this seasonThe School Games have already proven to be a great stepping stone for players aiming to represent Scotland in both 15s and 7s, with a number of players going on to win full international caps in the season following the games.  Scottish Rugby’s Head of Women’s and Girls’ Rugby, Sheila Begbie MBE said: “The Sainsbury Games provide our young talented players with a positive development opportunity, playing against some of the top young players from the other home nations. “This, for many of the players, is their first experience of competition at a Performance level which allows them to benchmark themselves against their peers from the other nations.”Coaching the team this year will be two players – Megan Gaffney and Lindsey Smith – who have progressed through the women’s game to be capped for Scotland at national level and, with Megan, also for Scotland 7s and GB Student 7s.Begbie said: “Both Megan and Lindsey have coaching experience and it’s great to see national team players transition into coaching roles – they will be great role models for the young players in the team.”Players have two routes to be selected for the under-19 squad this year. There will be talent identification opportunities at the National 7s on Sunday 14 June at Stirling County and they can also be nominated by their club or school. Those identified through both opportunities – players must be living in Scotland and born between 01.01.1997 and 27.06.1998 – will then be invited to attend a trial day on 28 June at BT Murrayfield Stadium.For further information and application forms click hereAbout the GamesThe 2015 Sainsbury’s School Games is a multi-sport event for the UK’s elite young athletes of school age.  The event will take place from 3 to 6 September 2015 in Manchester.Competition will be held in twelve current and future Olympic and Paralympic sports: athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, rugby sevens, swimming, table tennis, volleyball and wheelchair basketball.Around 1,600 young sports stars are expected to take part.  The ethos of the Games is aligned to the Olympic values and experience.  This creates, for the vast majority of athletes, a vital first experience of a major multi-sport, high level, international event that will stand them in good stead as they aspire to become the Olympians or Paralympians of the future. For some this experience of personal and squad responsibility, representing their nation on and off the pitch, the athlete village environment and balancing competitive and down time will be an essential step on their sporting journey.