Schools of Rugby U16 win one on Nagasaki tour
13 Aug 2018
Scottish Rugby’s Schools of Rugby U16 squad completed their tour to Nagasaki with one win and one loss against their Japanese counterparts.
The squad of 24 players, from nine Schools of Rugby across Scotland, won their first game, 43-12, before losing out to Nagasaki, 29-0, in the second fixture.
The tour, which is part of Scottish Rugby’s ongoing relationship with the city of Nagasaki, saw the players experience a new culture as they tried their hands at calligraphy and archery, as well as taking part in Nagasaki’s traditional Kunchi autumn harvest festival.
On Thursday 9 August the group took part in a peace ceremony marking the anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Tour player, Jack Chelley from Hawick High School, said: “We listened to songs and speeches about the bomb and heard them talk about getting rid of nuclear bombs in the world.
“It was interesting to see and we learned a lot about the bomb and really saw the impact on the people of Nagasaki and the world.”
The tour party was led by ex-Scotland captain, Al Kellock, while Scottish Rugby’s Gordon Lyon was Head Coach for the tour.
Lyon was joined by Assistant Coach Stephen Raby from Auchinleck Academy as well as Tour Manager, Steve Turnbull, and Team Medic, Mike Proudfoot, both from Scottish Rugby.
The squad of 14 to 16-year-olds travel home tomorrow (14 August) a week after first embarking for Japan for their two matches.
Scottish Rugby marked the start of its partnership with Nagasaki with the signing of a Strategic Alliance at BT Murrayfield in August 2016, and has seen a Japanese age-group touring side visit Scotland in 2017.
Support for the tour, which is taking place just over a year before the Scotland national team undertake a two-week pre-World Cup training camp in Nagasaki, came from the Scottish Government, the Bill McLaren Foundation and Friends of Scottish Rugby.
Schools of Rugby U16 Squad
Nathan Field (Ayr Academy / Ayr)
Frazer Littlejohn (Auchinleck Academy / Cumnock)
Jack Lorimer (Auchinleck Academy)
Jo Paterson (Auchinleck Academy / Cumnock)
Alasdair Rogers (Auchinleck Academy / Cumnock)
Lewis Young (Auchinleck Academy / Cumnock)
Luke Donald (Cumnock Academy)
Connor Haining (Cumnock Academy / Cumnock)
Jack Chelley (Hawick High School)
Stephen Cook (Hawick High School / Hawick Albion)
Elliot Stanger (Hawick High School / Hawick Albion
Connor Sutherland (Hawick High School)
Logan Hunter (Levenmouth Academy)
Harris McLeod (Levenmouth Academy / Kirkcaldy)
Logan Aitken (Lornshill Academy / Alloa)
Ethan Palmer (Lornshill Academy)
Alexander Summers (Lornshill Academy / Alloa)
Robbie Warnock (Lornshill Academy / Alloa)
Billy Douglas (Maxwelltown High School)
Thomas Jones (Maxwelltown High School)
Ryan Steele (Maxwelltown High School / Dumfries Saints)
Szymon Szewczyk (St Andrew’s Secondary School)
Brodie Buchanan (St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School)
Luke Cameron (St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School / West of Scotland)
