Most talented U16s in the country put to the test in St Andrews

Scottish Rugby coaches cast their eyes on the players over the course of the two-day camp where they assessed their physical and playing abilities. The selected players will then form the National Talent Pathway 1 group for the 2026/27 season. The NTP acts as the start of the journey to professionalism and gives players across Scotland access to the best facilities, resource and playing opportunities in the country.

Since joining the organisation last year Head of Athletic Performance Alex Ross has developed a ‘combine day’ concept where NTP players are tested against their peers and in St Andrews Kenny Murray, National Talent Pathway Lead, was in attendance to scout the talent on show and gauge who will be next to embark on their NTP journey.

Players from across Scotland, from the highlands to the borders and even as far afield as Islay converged on St Andrews for the testing days where they all were educated on nutrition and analysis best practice in sessions led by Head of Nutrition Richard Chessar and National Talent Pathway Analyst, Euan Crawford. All players were selected after impressing within their inter-district programme and club programme which takes place throughout the year.

National Talent Pathway Lead, Kenny Murray said: “The purpose of the camp was to bring the best players at this age group together and use it as a chance to select who will come into the first stage of the National Talent Pathway.

“We had just under 20 players in last year’s intake and this year will depend on the talent on show. David Nucifora’s strategy is to let our talent dictate the numbers. Once they enter the NTP we’ll make sure they have access to resource across nutrition, athletic performance, medical and they’ll be supported throughout their performance plan.

“Not everyone will be selected for the NTP but those players will continue their club and school programmes but there will be continued entry points throughout the upcoming years where they can enter back in when they’re ready.

“We have a high calibre of staff that work within the programme. Ross Ford is the most capped men’s internationalist and for the players to have the chance to work closely with a guy of his experience will be hugely beneficial for them.”

During the camp in St. Andrews there were players from across Scotland and Murray is of the belief that they need to extend their reach as far as possible to ensure they don’t miss anyone.

He said “There is a false belief across Scotland that the best players come from four or five certain schools but they don’t. The players we work with come from across Scotland and that is an important message as there is so much talent coming from the length and breadth of the country.”

At the start of the day the players were exposed to intense physical testing but Scottish Rugby’s Head of Athletic Performance Alex Ross believes it will stand them in good stead regardless of whether they have earned selection to the NTP at this stage.

He said: “The players coped with the challenges really well and everyone who comes through the camp will get individual feedback which they can work on. As we know with this programme they will have the opportunities to earn selection again. No-one is ever excluded and there’s always a way back in so even the people who haven’t been selected will hopefully have gained value from it in terms of getting a taste of the level we’re looking for and gives them something to aim for back in their own local environments.”

During the camp, Directors of Rugby across Scotland attended a conference and in the afternoon they watched some of their pupils being put to the test.

Head of Rugby at Stewart’s Melville Stuart Edwards said: “Our aim is to produce as many players as possible into the National Talent Pathway and hopefully kick-on into age grade squads and beyond.

“We have four current guys in the NTP 1 so it gives a lot of our younger players something to aspire too.

“There are different opinions on what the right approach is but I believe Scottish Rugby are taking the best route. We are a small nation so putting the best resource we have into our most talented players will only help those guys. This is the best it’s been in my experience. There is an open door and kids will come in and out as and when they’re ready. I’ve seen that first-hand this year. The coaches in the academy are always asking us ‘who are we missing’. We had a player who missed out on the U16s but has then come into the U18s as he was a late developer. There is a clear pathway where they’re constantly tracking kids and we’ll always aim to work with them on that.”