Scotland’s top young prospects line up for Junior 1872 contest

For the first time this season, the best young players from the east and west of Scotland will compete for the Junior 1872 Cup.

The top performers from the four FOSROC Academy Regions of Edinburgh and The Borders & East Lothian (aligned to Edinburgh), Caledonia and Glasgow & the West (Glasgow Warriors) will sport the senior club colours at U16 and U18 level in fixtures to be played at West of Scotland’s Burnbrae ground tomorrow (Saturday 13 October). This follows on from the U20 fixture played in August at Netherdale where Edinburgh ran out 23-7 winners.

Now in their third year, the fixtures are a further development of the 20-match regional series played earlier this year, which exposed more than 400 players and coaches to the intensified, competitive environment of representative rugby.

The matches will provide another opportunity for players outside their club and school programmes to promote themselves ahead of the respective international age-grade selections at Scotland U18 level, as well as the Scotland U16 Reds & Blues squads. It also promotes stronger links and associations with the professional clubs as part of the pathway designed to get the best out of everyone.

Grant McKelvey, Scottish Rugby’s Performance Projects and Talent ID Manager, said: “The level of support for this season’s FOSROC Academy programme has been excellent and I’m sure the players and coaches are determined to represent their respective pro team’s age grades with pride. It’s always good at this time of season to see how the players have developed after the first phase of their school and club games and note how they react to some intensive squad sessions with their respective Academy Coaching Teams.

Scottish Rugby Head of Academies, Sean Lineen, added: “Once again these pro team-aligned sides present more opportunities for young home-based players to play in increasingly intense environments and promote themselves within the FOSROC Academy structure and international age-grade programmes.”

Both fixtures are free to attend.