Scottish Rugby announces its 30 academy players for the new season

Scotland’s Alex Samuel in action against France during the Under-20s Six Nations. He is part of the academy intake for next season and will play for Ayrshire Bulls in Super6.

They will be split evenly between the two pro sides, with Glasgow and Edinburgh taking 15 each but they will also play for a Super6 club.

The idea is that exposure to a professional environment and training with full-time pro players and coaches will speed up their development.

Eighteen of the players have been retained from last year’s academy outtake, while 12 are new.

Sixteen of the 30 were part of the Scotland Under-20 Six Nations squad, including stand-off Christian Townsend, son of national coach Gregor, and U20 captain Alex Samuel.

The pandemic meant there was no Super6 last season but Scottish Rugby’s director of performance Jim Mallinder believes the academy players still benefited from training with the pro teams.

“Last year was the first time that the contracted academy players were aligned with the professional teams,” he said.

“Even with the challenges that Covid-19 has provided, a number of young players were able to gain valuable experience in the pro-team environment.

“To have 12 new additions who will be able to benefit from the support that the FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy provides is fantastic.”

Academy intake for 2021-22 season and their Super6 club

Glasgow Warriors: Jamie Drummond (Ayrshire Bulls**), Alex Samuel (Ayrshire Bulls*), Rory Jackson (Ayrshire Bulls*), Christian Townsend (Ayrshire Bulls**), Finlay Callaghan (Ayrshire Bulls*), Robbie McCallum (Boroughmuir Bears*), Gregor Brown (Boroughmuir Bears*), Michael Gray (Boroughmuir Bears*), Rhys Tait (Boroughmuir Bears**), Euan Ferrie (Boroughmuir Bears**), Murphy Walker (Stirling County*), Angus Fraser (Stirling County*), Max Williamson (Stirling County*), Euan Cunningham (Stirling County*), Ross McKnight (Stirling County**).

Edinburgh Rugby: Ben Evans (Heriot’s Rugby**), Matt Russell (Heriot’s Rugby**), Michael Jones (Heriot’s Rugby**), Dan Gamble (Heriot’s Rugby*), Jamie Campbell (Heriot’s Rugby**), Nathan Sweeny (Southern Knights*), Jacob Henry (Southern Knights*), Cameron Scott (Southern Knights*), Patrick Harrison (Southern Knights*), Harri Morris (Southern Knights**), Harry Paterson (Watsonians Rugby*), Cole Lamberton (Watsonians Rugby**), Rudi Brown (Watsonians Rugby**), Matt Currie (Watsonians Rugby*), Roan Frostwick (Watsonians Rugby*).

* Retained FOSROC Scottish Rugby Contracted Academy player from 2020/2021

** New FOSROC Scottish Rugby Contracted Academy player