U20 sides go head to head in national first

Scotland’s best home-based U20 players will go head-to-head in the first competitive indoor rugby match to take place in the country on Sunday 27 November (kick-off 4pm).The 15-a-side match, which will take place on the synthetic surface at Oriam – Scotland’s sport performance centre – is the final fixture in a new representative series that lead to international age-grade selection for the 2016/17 season.The top performers from the four BT Sport Academy Regions of the Borders & East Lothian and Edinburgh (representing East), and Caledonia and Glasgow & the West (representing West) will be selected to run out for the combined sides, following on from their U16 and U18 counterparts.The fixture is FREE to attend however a limited number of seats are available at the facility, which can be secured online at Eventbrite.Head of Academy and Performance Programmes, Stephen Gemmell, added: “This match is an excellent example of the how the world-class Oriam facility will benefit all levels of performance sport in Scotland.”The senior Scotland squad have been making good use of Oriam preparing for the forthcoming Autumn Tests, as have our Women ahead of their Rugby World Cup qualifier against Spain, however the fact that we can access the centre for a full blown, indoor 15-aside match presents a fantastic environment for our coaches to assess the players, and our players to promote themselves for selection.The games are a development of the successful 30-match regional series played earlier this year, which exposed more than 400 players and 49 domestic coaches to the intensified, competitive environment of BT Sport Academy rugby.New to the performance calendar, these game will provide yet another competitive test bed for potential young Scotland players to prove themselves ahead of the respective squad selection, alongside those identified through Scottish Rugby’s exile player programme.Gemmell added: “These combined sides present more opportunities for our talented players and to promote themselves for places both in the BT Sport Academies and in our Scotland U20 squad ahead of the forthcoming Six Nations”FIXTURESSunday 16 October at Scotstoun StadiumEast U16 (24-12) West U16East U18 (0-24) West U18Sunday 23 October at 4G Pitch, NetherdaleEast U16 (19-5) West U16East U18 (18-15) West U18Sunday 27 November at Oriam, EdinburghEast U20 v West U20 (kick-off 4pm)