Squads announced as Girls’ Regional Game Series gets underway this weekend

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MARCH 27: East Lothian and Stirling girls take part in a scrum during the 2022 Youth Cup finals at the BT Murrayfield Stadium, on March 27, 2022, in Edinburgh, Scotland (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Beginning this Sunday (22 January), teams representing Caledonia Midlands, Caledonia North, East, Glasgow North and Glasgow South at U16 and U18 level will now meet over the next five weekends.

Each weekend there are two fixtures, with one team having a bye week.

The selection process saw more than 600 players nominated by clubs and schools, with players invited to attended assessment sessions resulting in the selection of 200 players across the 10 teams.

The Caledonia North sides have named an extended squad, with the team set to be trimmed this weekend after a final assessment session.

Players who were nominated to attend the assessment sessions and have not been selected for a Regional team will continue to participate at Player Development Hubs, which form Scottish Rugby’s Girls Player Development Pathway.

The Series, which is an extension of the Development Pathway, was created as part of Scottish Rugby’s Women’s & Girls strategy, and has been developed jointly by Sottish Rugby’s Rugby Development and High Performance departments.

It is hoped that the Series will provide a competitive development environment which improves the readiness and transition of youth female players from the community game to the Scottish Futures Programme, whilst also increasing opportunities for aspirating youth female players to access enhanced game play opportunities and the national coaching programme.

Each region has been appointed a Team Manager, Lead Coach and a team of coaches.

Performance Pathway Programme Manager Robbie Lavery said: “The Regional Game Series will provide some of our best young talent an excellent platform to enhance their game play opportunities and develop game skill at an intensity higher than they have experienced within their local environments to date. Further to this, it provides a key step within our pathway for players, coaches and match officials to progress on their journey in rugby.

“I’d like to thank all those clubs, coaches and players that nominated and attended the assessment days across the country, with special thanks to our Scottish Rugby staff and volunteers for their work in getting us to this point.

“We hope the series will be a positive experience for the 200 girls selected, and the opportunity it provides them as they look to move up into our U16 Pathway and U18 National Age Grade Programmes.”

To view the U16 squads, click HERE.

To view the U18 squads, click HERE.

To view the U16 fixtures in full, click HERE.

To view the U18 fixtures in full, click HERE.