Scottish U20 Futures Programme | Developing players for International representation
The Scottish Futures U20 Programme is the second tier of the age grade girls programme at Scottish Rugby.
It is a continuation of the U18 Programme in which it has the main aims to be a performance development programme with a focus on the tactical decision making, technical skill underpinning performance, physical attributes and characteristics that are needed to succeed in a high-performance rugby environment.
Within the U20 Programme, players attended a number of camps throughout the year, culminating in a training game with the British Army. This provided an excellent opportunity for players to demonstrate their development that they have made throughout the season
A few weeks later, they also had the opportunity to travel to Darlington Mowden Park (DMP) for a training match. These training sessions didn’t just provide opportunities for players to showcase their improvements, they also created a chance for coaches to see what level players were in terms of their rugby development against opposition from outside Scotland.
The work that the players have been putting in this season is in a hope for the players to be selected in the Scotland Women Performance Group at some point. This has already proved successful with several Scottish Futures players having had the opportunity to step up and be part of the Scotland Women squad this season.

Anne Young with Scotland Women in South Africa
Anne Young, 20, joined the Scottish Futures Programme on its launch in 2018. She has been a part of both the U18 and the U20 programme. In September 2019 she was selected to be part of the Scotland Women squad that travelled to South Africa for their first ever tour.
Talking about her experience, she said: “The futures programme has been an integral part of preparing me for being away with Scotland Women. The values and standards held by the futures programme mimic those of the senior squad so has really prepared me for the transition.”
The training weekends that she has been involved in with the Scottish Futures Programme has really helped cement these skillsets and help with further opportunities. She said: “The recent training weekends with Scottish Futures against the Army and DMP have been great experiences for the whole group and have really demonstrated how far the programme has come.
“I think it shows how well players are developing and hopefully how many more can make the step to the senior squad.”

Rachel Law with Scotland Women in the 2020 Women’s Six Nations
Rachel Law, 20, has also been part of the Scottish Futures Programme since its inception. She has had the opportunity to be part of the match day squad for this year’s Women’s Six Nations Championships.
She said on the programme: “The skills, conditioning, understanding and speed of the game was much more developed in the seniors than in the futures. With that being said, there were a lot of similarities in both programs which eased the transition process for me.
“The overall aim of the futures programme is to create an environment for young players to drive their own development, encouraging them to identify areas they need to work on and facilitating their progress as much as possible.”
It instilled the importance of high-performance values and helped me develop some the skills and attitudes needed to keep improving each day.
Rachel Law
“The senior squad is much the same, everyone is striving to better themselves individually and as a collective, and I’m using some of the tools I’ve learnt to continue this development.
The Scottish Futures also allowed me to get familiar with the camp environment, something that can be rather challenging and daunting as a new member of the squad. Getting used to the way things ran and the professionalism that comes with it, was something that helped me fit into the senior camp life.”
Scottish Rugby is looking to continuously evolve these programmes, in order to best provide players with opportunities that will maximise their performance development and reach their goals of representing Scotland.
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Scottish Futures players for 2019/2020
Elliann Clarke Edinburgh University Eva Donaldson
Edinburgh University
Issy Drexler
Watsonians RFC
Neve Finlay
Ayr RFC
Evie Gallagher
Edinburgh University
Lily Glendinning
Annan RFC
Nicola Howat
Edinburgh University
Aimee Johnstone
Hillhead Jordanhill RFC
Ciara McCulloch
Edinburgh University
Emma Turner
Corstorphine Cougars
Nikki Simpson
Cartha QP RFC
Eve Thomson
Hillhead Jordanhill RFC
Niamh Woods
Stirling County RFC
Anne Young
Edinburgh University
Nikki Chalk
Garioch RFC
Anya Foxworthy Bowers
Stirling County RFC
Katie McLaren
Stirling County RFC
Evie Wills
Stirling County RFC
Shona Campbell
Montrose RFC
Meryl Smith
Edinburgh University
Grace Stocks
Loughborough Town
Elliann Clarke Edinburgh University
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