Pete Horne, Pieter de Villiers headlining CGC guest speakers

Headlining the plethora of talented rugby professionals delivering on the day are Pete Horne and Pieter de Villiers, Scotland men’s national team assistant coaches.

The conference will be hosted by Caroline Blair – host of the official Scottish Rugby Podcast – which will include sessions for club, school, society coaches, match officials, leaders and volunteers.

Pete Horne said he was looking forward to the day as it was getting closer, and that he’s keen to share some attacking principles which have been on show for Scotland men’s in recent tournaments.

“I’m really excited to be delivering at this year’s Community Game Conference. It’s a great opportunity for me to share some of the attacking principles we’ve been working on with the national team.

“I’m also looking forward to demonstrating some simple activities that can be embedded with the club and school game,” Pete said.

Scottish Rugby Director of Rugby Development Gav Scott said:

“We’ve worked hard to create a huge array of workshops and sessions for coaches, volunteers, office staff – opportunities that anyone involved with a rugby club in Scotland will greatly benefit from.

“I know I learned a lot from the likes of Greenock’s club development planning session and the transition and retention workshop last year. The conference is a great opportunity to upskill and share your own learning with other likeminded people,” he said.

“We’re excited to be having the likes of Pete and Pieter involved this year. A great chance for coaches around the country to connect with professional coaches and glean some valuable tips,” Gav said.

Further conference and awards evening details will be confirmed closer to the time. Attendees can sign up to attend the conference now on SCRUMS.

The conference will also raise money through voluntary donations to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and Murrayfield Injured Players Foundation.

GUEST SPEAKERS
Pete Horne – Scotland Men Assistant Coach: A former Glasgow Warriors professional and Scotland international, Peter joined the Scotland coaching staff in 2023 ahead of the Guinness Six Nations.

Pieter De Villiers – Scotland Men Assistant Coach: A former France international prop, Pieter de Villiers joined the Scotland coaching team ahead of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations, in the role of Scrum Coach.

Claire Cruikshank – Edinburgh Rugby Women Head Coach: Claire is a former Scotland international, Swedish Women’s Head Coach and Scotland U20 Head Coach, she is currently Head of Performance Ladies’ Rugby at Edinburgh University.

Ben John – The Rugby Trainer: Ben is a former Ospreys and Dragons professional, Ben runs an established online rugby coaching platform boasting over 150k subscribers on YouTube alone.

John Fletcher – Head of Pathways & Elite Coach Development: A former Newcastle Falcons Director of Rugby and RFU Head of Performance Pathways, John joined Scottish Rugby in 2021.

JP Doyle – High Performance Match Officials Head Coach: JP is a Scottish Rugby and former international referee.

Stuart Ferrier – Performance Pathway and Talent Manager: Stuart is a sportscotland and active youth coach.

Jared Deacon – Academy Strength & Conditioning Coach: Jared is a Scottish Rugby employee and former Olympian.