Scottish Rugby donate kit to The Clan

Scottish Rugby has donated items of kit to a team that will represent Scotland in a world championship later this summer.The Clan will take 32 players plus 17 supporters to compete in the 12-team Mixed Ability World Tournament in Vitoria-Gasteiz in the north of Spain from August 22-24.Two years ago, The Clan finished unbeaten in fifth place in the previous world championship held in Bradford.Mixed ability or unified rugby enables players with a learning disability or autism to play alongside those who do not.The Clan, operated by charity, Trust Rugby International (tri), which is an official partner of Scottish Rugby, have their roots in Ayrshire but are already spreading to Edinburgh, Glasgow and beyond.The work they are doing to champion social inclusion has also won recognition from World Rugby and its Chairman, Bill Beaumont.Stephen Main, Development Team Leader and player and coach in The Clan, said: “It’s fantastic that Scottish Rugby has provided us with this surplus kit. It makes a big difference going into a competition like this.It will underline team unity and there will be a lot of pride at having this kit.”The Clan are undertaking fundraising events in Fraserburgh, Haddington and Portobello over the next few weeks before they fly to Bilbao two days before their first game.Scotland and Edinburgh Rugby centre, Mark Bennett, who is continuing in his recovery from a knee injury, is an ambassador for The Clan and came along to BT Murrayfield to hand over the kit.He said: “The impact unified rugby is having on people who would not normally have the support, which they then get through rugby, is huge.”They make friends for life and are a tight-knit group. Unified rugby does exactly what it says on the tin in terms of social inclusion. If rugby can be a catalyst for that, so much the better.”