Player Pathways

FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academies

The FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academies contain the nation’s most promising male rugby players, with four regional centres in Aberdeen, Cumbernauld, Edinburgh and Galashiels.

Week in, week out the FOSROC Academies focus on three pillars of player development: high performance behaviours, rugby skills and athletic capacity. Training is combined with opportunities to compete and hone match skills in a competitive environment. Athletes might also combine studies with training and opportunities to play, with a tailored programme, mentoring and support.

The main objectives of the programme are:

• Raise the standard of elite players flowing into pro rugby, international rugby and the top level of the club game
• Increase the speed at which elite players progress through the system
• Support the development of the person as well as the player
• Improve the standard of performance coaches within Scotland
• Increase the number of home grown coaches able to progress to the highest levels of the game

Find out about each of our academies and the associated squads – Borders, Caledonia, Edinburgh and Glasgow and the West.

Regional Training Centres

In July 2023, Scottish Rugby established three new Regional Training Centres for the performance pathway as part of its continued investment in the women and girls’ game.

This initiative, in partnership with sportscotland and alongside the already existing Highland & Islands performance development programme, will see Scottish Rugby delivering high-performance training across the country for women and girls.

As outlined in the Women & Girls’ Strategy 2022-2026, the three new Regional Training Centres based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen will offer enhanced support to 60 players such as access to; performance rugby, strength and conditioning, medical and analysis.

The centres are located at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Scotstoun Stadium and Aberdeen Sports Village, providing bases for upcoming talent to develop and hone their skills, while gaining a greater breadth of knowledge about high performance rugby.

Performance Development Coaches Chris Laidlaw, Lindsey Smith and Stuart Corsar will be responsible for the East, West and North regions respectively and will deliver enhanced training sessions to develop the next generation of female players.

Scottish Qualified

Scotland Internationals Ali Price, Hamish Watson, Leah Bartlett & Lisa Cockburn all came through the Scottish Qualified system. This programme identifies and tracks the potential of players living and playing rugby outside of Scotland, but who qualify for Scotland through defined eligibility criteria of being born in Scotland, or having parents or grandparents who were. Find out about the Scottish Qualified Programme, how to get involved and the nomination process.