Scotland team show their thanks to the NHS

The jerseys – autographed by the squad that recorded a 14-10 success at Llanelli on Saturday, enabling Scotland to finish the 2020 Guinness Six Nations Championship with three successive victories – will be delivered to hospitals throughout the country that continue to provide care and dedication in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The hospitals will be free to choose whether they display the jerseys in public areas or auction them off to support fundraising projects to enhance patient care.

Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend, today presented a jersey to Borders General Hospital near Melrose.

He said: “As a squad and management we wanted to do something tangible to show our thanks for the tireless commitment of our NHS staff who for eight months now have been the real heroes working away at the sharp end of the pandemic.

“We are in a very privileged position, being able to play and coach a game that we love and we know from the messages we’ve received on social media that the result at the weekend brought a smile to the face of many Scots in these tough times.

“At Scottish Rugby our slogan is #AsOne. It’s a massive team effort, both on and off the pitch, to win for Scotland and we know the NHS and the whole country is engaged right now in a battle against the pandemic.

“The NHS, through local hospitals and GP surgeries, are always there for us. Our captain, Stuart Hogg, was born at the BGH, so, for us, it was important we showed our gratitude by donating the match jerseys.”
Scotland Head Coach, Gregor Townsend.

Dr Tom Fardon, consultant chest physician at NHS Tayside, who is part of the team leading the treatment of COVID-19 at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said: “This is an amazing donation from the Scotland team and one, I’m sure, that will mean a lot to our teams in the NHS.”

Sarah Horan, Associate Nursing Director at NHS Borders, said: “Staff across NHS Borders within the BGH, Primary & Community Services and Mental Health have worked incredibly hard and with real dedication since the global pandemic arrived in the Borders.

“This gesture of recognition from the Scotland rugby team means a great deal to us. We live and breathe rugby in the Borders and are very grateful to the team for this jersey which we will display in the Borders General Hospital to remind us of the support and of a match played and won under conditions that we couldn’t have imagined in the last Six Nations.”

Jerseys will be sent to the following 15 NHS hospitals:

Greater Glasgow and Clyde: Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley

Ayrshire and Arran: Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock;

Dumfries and Galloway: Dumfries Royal Infirmary

Borders: Borders General Hospital

Lothian: Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Western General Edinburgh, St John’s Livingston

Fife: Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy

Tayside: Ninewells, Dundee

Grampian: Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

Highlands: Raigmore Hospital, Inverness

Forth Valley: Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert

Lanarkshire: Wishaw General Hospital

Scottish Rugby will also look to make donations of remaining jerseys from the match set to NHS hospitals in the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland, and to recognise the work of the Scottish Ambulance Service and the social care sector.