Scottish Rugby Academy plans to be advanced

Scottish Rugby is hastening the development of its new Academy structure as part of its desire to raise the standard of play in Scotland.The implementation of a new Academy structure was announced in December as part of a wide-ranging review of Scottish Rugby that saw the creation of five new rugby development plans for the game in Scotland. More information on these plans can we found on this website.The Scottish Rugby Board has recently committed to funding for all four academies – which are to be based regionally in Caledonia in the North, the Borders; Glasgow and the west; and Edinburgh – with a view to the first regional academy centres being identified and going live during the 2014-15 season.Scottish Rugby’s Chief Executive Mark Dodson said: “I am delighted to be able to announce that we have committed funding for the establishment of four new Academies spread across Scotland to improve the development of our players.”We anticipate that the academies will be located in our four regions of Caledonia and the North; the Borders; Glasgow and the West; and Edinburgh and the east. We also intend to enhance our links with London Scottish and are currently engaged in dialogue with them around their academy plans.”We are currently looking at various locations around Scotland which offer strong support for our plans to provide an environment in which a robust and reliable flow of the best young talent, boys and girls, can be developed,” Dodson added.”The plans for our academies are being crafted with the full support of our rugby performance staff and those within our professional teams who are responsible for nurturing our Elite Development Players at present. We have established an implementation working group comprising Scottish Rugby staff and members of our Council and clubs.”The key is that our structures must accelerate the opportunities for our best young talent to thrive and be ready to compete for Scotland on the world stage.”This significant step change has received positive support from both our clubs and our wider stakeholders as we seek to enhance our game and widen the base.”The Scottish Rugby Academy initiative is the first paper to be implemented from a wide-ranging review undertaken into the game in Scotland. Other rugby development initiatives to be implemented are in the following areas:• Club rugby development• Schools rugby development• Women’s rugby development and • Rugby coach development.Further information on these documents can be found on this website and further details on their implementation  will be conveyed in due course.