SCOTTISH RUGBY
THE WAY FORWARD
The Council and Board of Scottish Rugby Union have recently approved new policy
initiatives in 5 key areas intended to support the Union’s ongoing strategic plans and
objectives and continue to grow the game in Scotland. Each of these initiatives has been
considered fully by the Board and Council in recent months, supported by independent
consultants Collinson Grant. Further work will follow on various aspects of implementation.
These initiatives are seen as an important step in enabling Scottish Rugby to meet its long
term goals of growing the game at all levels and extend beyond the timeframe of the
current strategic plan.
This note provides a summary of the key points in each of these areas and the initial steps
that SRU is taking to progress them.
The 5 policy initiatives relate to the following:
 Academies
 Coaching Pathways
 Clubs
 Schools
 The Women’s Game
These proposals, if implemented fully, would represent a significant additional annual
investment on the part of SRU, for which funding has not yet been fully sourced.
Implementation is therefore in some cases subject to additional funding being secured.
Further discussion with government, local authorities and interested parties, will commence
in the early part of 2014.
Wherever possible existing resources will also be reorganised and allocated to assist in
making a start, including a phased approach, as soon as possible and in some cases for the
2014/15 season.
ACADEMY
Core proposals
 The creation of a new Academy structure to raise the standard of elite play by providing
a strong and reliable flow of the best young talent into three key sectors where the
health of the Scottish game is most visible:
 the professional clubs
 the Scotland national teams, including age grade and club international sides
 the upper reaches of the club structure.
 SRU will own and operate the Academy and will appoint an executive coach as Head of
Academy, reporting to the Director of Rugby.
 4 Regional Centres: Caledonia, Borders & East Lothian, Edinburgh, and Glasgow & West.
Locations will be identified taking account of a number of factors including available
facilities – indoor and outdoor, gymnasiums, physiotherapy and medical, classroom/
lecture facilities and welfare areas.
 Three stages within the Academy, working with players over a potential 8-9 year
period:
 Stage 1 – skills camps for 1,600 Under 14 and Under 15 players, from which 40 new
Academy entrants will be selected
 Stage 2 – 120 members across 3 levels and based in four regional centres.
o Level 1 - U16 , 10 per region, total of 40
o Level 2 – U17 and U18, 15 per region, total of 60
o Level 3 – likely U19 and U20, nominally 5 per region, total of 20
 Stage 3 – professional stage replacing the Elite Development Programme. 32
members on professional contracts based at Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby
clubs, to include those progressing from Academy Stage 2 and others meriting
inclusion.
 Selection will depend on the promise shown on the pitch but members will have other
obligations: to their school and parents in educational matters; and to the Academy in
adhering to a code of conduct and for their general behaviour.
 Membership of the Academy is open only to players who do or could qualify to
represent Scotland.
 The Academy will also serve the Women's Game.
 The Head of Academy, working with clubs and schools as required, will direct the day-today
coaching and playing of Academy members and look to advance their rugby careers
generally.
 Professional support at Stage 2 in each region through head of region, a skills coach, a
strength and conditioning coach and a physiotherapist.
 Individual player development plans (IPD) to improve performance and for reviewing
developmental progress.
 Academy teams will play regular representative fixtures against peer groups at home
and internationally.
 Stage 2 members to play a significant number of games for their school or club each
season, although the Academy's programme and IPD considerations will take
precedence.
 During or after several years in Stage 2 of the Academy, through the performance
review process the majority of members will return to the domestic club game with
improved skills and knowledge.
Implementation:
One Academy Regional Centre will be established during financial year 2014/15 with others
then following, as the proof of concept and infrastructure are established.
Locations will be subject to various factors and take account of existing facilities available in
the 4 regional areas. Work will begin early in the New Year on an implementation
programme, with the location of the first centre being identified as part of that process.
COACHING PATHWAYS
Core proposals
 Development path for high performance coaching linked with the Scottish Rugby
Academy.
 Oversight from the Head of Academy.
 Greater opportunity for the professional advancement of coaches in Scotland and so
increase the coach population qualified to the standards required by professional
teams.
 SRU to work with Stirling University to qualify programme members to UKCC Level 4,
recognised also by the English and Welsh rugby unions.
 Practical, experience-based training within the professional rugby environment of
the SRU's own pro clubs.
 Programme will be in three parts:
 coaching individual players
 exposure to coaching and managing in a professional club
 responsibility for coaching and managing a team.
 The academic course at Stirling University will be a diploma in rugby coaching
designed to complement the assignments performed within the programme.
 The coaching pathway commences prior to joining the programme - designed to
advance and develop the careers of professional players, head coaches of top tier
clubs, and coaches in equivalent posts who aspire to professional coaching jobs at an
elite level.
 Candidates enrolled into the programme will sign fully funded SRU contracts of two
years duration.
 Two enrolments each year making a total school of four coaches within the
programme when fully operating.
 Existing pathways for UKCC Levels 1 -3 to continue.
Implementation
Arrangements for 2 posts will be progressed meantime. Additional posts will be added as
the Academies are rolled out and financing permits. Current programmes for UKCC 1-3
coaching qualifications will continue.
CLUBS
Core proposals
 Increased focus on the domestic club game, and strengthening of SRU support for the
league clubs.
 Development of a semi-professional club game that bridges gap between current
Premiership clubs and their counterparts elsewhere in the UK (B & I Cup) and our pro
teams.
 Objectives of:
 restoring the competitiveness of Scottish clubs with those English, Welsh and Irish
clubs which play at a level just below full-time, professional rugby
 making better use of the investment that has been put into the SRU's two
professional clubs by spreading some of the benefits they get from the SRU in ways
that can raise the standard of play elsewhere in the club game.
 SRU to fund an elite game group (EGG) of clubs that will use some contracted semiprofessional
players, who will also provide coaching services.
 League of eight clubs, to be called the Scottish Super League (SSL), to be governed by an
advisory committee made up of members of the SRU Board and representatives of the
clubs.
 EGG clubs would remain self-governing and autonomous but would enter into an
extended participation agreement that recognised the close relationship with the SRU
and its investment in them.
 5 tiers in the club game:
 Professional – Edinburgh Rugby & Glasgow Warriors
 Semi Professional - Scottish Super League – 8 clubs
 Senior Amateur Club Game – National League 1 – 12 clubs
 National Amateur Club Game – National Leagues 2 & 3 – Linear, 2 x 12 clubs
 Regional Amateur Club Game – all clubs below National League tiers unchanged
 Development funding - existing and new - to be conditional on clubs using it to build
sustainable bases for their on- and off-field activities, including development of the
women’s game.
 Specialist advice to be made available, together with additional administrative support
and sustainability programmes for clubs at all levels.
 Roadmap to be created for National and Championship club investment giving broad
timetables for downstream funding.
 Future income generation by the SRU, and other support from which clubs will benefit:
 new sponsorship deals
 proposals to help clubs generate income and reduce cost through better use of their
membership lists for marketing and merchandising;
 expansion of the RBS Rugby Force seminars to support clubs.
Scottish Super League (SSL)
National League 1
1 Promotion (subject to play off)
8 clubs - about 22 fixtures including top 4 play offs
with Grand Final, and cross-border games
National League 2
National League 3
1 Relegation (subject to play off)
12 clubs – about 26 fixtures including Scottish Cup
2 Promotions (one subject to play off)
2 Relegations (one subject to play off)
12 clubs – about 26 fixtures including Scottish Cup
2 Promotions
2 Relegations
12 clubs – about 26 fixtures including Scottish Cup
3 Relegations (as now)
 To qualify for development funding, clubs would be assessed against formally scored
criteria for activities and investments that contribute to their sustainability as healthy
and well-founded clubs.
Implementation
The intention is to implement in time for the beginning of Season 15/16, subject to funding
being available at that time and the outcome of further discussions with clubs. Following on
from the initial briefing meeting on 4th December, further discussions will take place early in
the New Year.
SCHOOLS
Core proposals:
 Sport, including rugby, is engaged in a struggle to survive in state schools. Only 57 out of
340 state secondary schools in Scotland playing extra-curriculum rugby are able to field
four or more age grade teams, in addition to 25 independent schools where the strong
rugby tradition continues.
 The SRU will continue to support youth sections of clubs through its development work
but it is also determined to expand rugby in schools. The Rugby Champions scheme will
continue as presently as the introductory tier.
 As a second tier, SRU will seek to expand the Schools of Rugby scheme but to make
membership of it more rigorous in terms of promoting rugby culture and match play,
including the following:
 Rugby as a curriculum subject within the Physical Education (PE) faculty
 playing representative matches outside curriculum time
 matches played to an SRU supervised regular fixture list
 Saturday morning fixtures, or something equally regular, to be encouraged
 field at least four and if possible five age grade teams and are supported with a
sufficient number of registered players to do that
 each age grade team to play a minimum of ten fixtures each season, and the school
not less than 50 including cup games
 ready access to an SRU standard of youth rugby coaching
 strong, formal links with a local club.
 The first stage of planned growth will seek to increase the number of enrolled schools
from 26 to 40, with 60 as the ultimate target number.
 Additional investment in each school to pay for more coaching and the cost of travel to
more matches.
 A 'Super' School of Rugby initiative through which conclusions could be drawn, formally
and informally, about the effect of more intense exposure by pupils in a school to rugby
culture. Outputs hoped for would be measureable improvement in behaviour, physical
well-being and scholastic attainment.
 The Super School would ramp up sharply the time that groups of pupils give to sport and
rugby activity, and would be supported to do so by funding for extra staff time and
coaching for rugby.
 When the first phase of expansion of the Schools of Rugby scheme is complete, the SRU
will propose, and introduce subject to funding, a third tier to the schools structure with
a limited number of schools linked with the Academy whose purpose will be to
cooperate with the SRU in hot-housing pupils showing the promise of elite rugby talent
with the possibility of assisted or scholarship transfers for particularly gifted young
players.
Implementation:
This has a wide application that also involves significant input and support from teachers,
schools, local authorities and national government to make it work. The rugby community
cannot implement this on its own. It therefore needs to be presented appropriately, taking
account of socio-economic factors, welfare and education policy issues to obtain the
backing of the authorities - both in terms of the principles and investment.
A specific and detailed business case is to be prepared for the purpose of approaching local
and national government for approval and support, including financial support.
Existing Rugby Champions and Schools of Rugby programmes will continue.
THE WOMEN’S GAME
Core proposals
 New initiatives needed to recruit new players and teams and improve the performance
of the international teams.
 Increase in annual investment in the women's game with a further review in 2 years’
time.
 A new body, the Scottish Women's Rugby Advisory Board (SWRAB), to be created to
advise the SRU's Board and Council on policies and strategies that support the health of
the game.
 A new Head of Women's Rugby to report to the Director of Rugby.
 Staff members working on development to be tasked with inducing more of the top 40
league clubs to set up women's sections.
 The current regional development arrangements to be kept and strengthened.
 The mechanisms already proposed for reforming financial support to clubs to be
employed to provide incentives for clubs to start women's rugby sections, with a target
that, within about three years, two thirds of the top 40 clubs should have women's
sections.
 The Schools of Rugby scheme to be used as the means of growing girls' rugby.
 Continuing support for university liaison.
 The SRU, led by the Board, to give loud and persistent voice to the cause of women's
rugby in the wider public domain as well as directly to clubs and their members.
 The pathway for developing talent to be constructed around the new Academy
framework and its policies and organised activity led from there.
 Increased focus on improving fitness with greater support for nutrition and strength and
conditioning for women up for selection to the national teams, and for girls on the
pathway.
 A tougher stand should be taken with those unwilling or unable to achieve what is
needed for international play.
 The fixtures for Scotland Women should be carefully managed and be aligned precisely
with the relative competitiveness of the team.
Implementation
Work on this this initiative will begin immediately, with the new support structure intended
to be in place at the end of the current (13/14) season.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Why not just fund all of these in full?
These initiatives represent long term commitments which currently exceed the resources
available to SRU. The initiatives have therefore been prioritised, with phased
implementation in certain areas. Sportscotland and the Scottish Government though the
Cashback scheme are already major contributors and discussions with them and local
authorities will also be needed, particularly in relation to schools. The proposals for the club
game require further discussion, with implementation not planned until season 15/16.
Academy
Where will the Regional Academy centres be based ?
The Academies will use existing facilities in the 4 geographical regions identified. The
process of identifying suitable facilities is underway.
Will participants have to travel a lot?
There will be some travel involved and support provided for that. But the Academy staff are
intended to be mobile so where there are concentrations of academy members in one area
it should be possible for the staff to move around, rather than have large numbers of young
people travel.
How often will they have to meet up?
This will depend on the stage and level within the Academy but members will be based at
home as normal with their usual schools and clubs, and then meet up regularly. Individual
Development Programmes will be provided to enable the participants to continue training
locally, with assessment being carried out regularly.
Will this stop players playing for their local clubs?
There may be occasions when an Academy member is not able to play for his local club – eg
Academy fixtures but this will be managed in conjunction with the local club. Those who do
not progress to the next level or stage in the Academy would be expected to return to their
clubs, much improved from their participation and the extra support they will have
received.
Why only one to start with?
This represents a long – term and significant investment in the development of young
players. The first centre is intended to be a pilot with others then following as that template
is established and a transition made from the existing academy arrangements. We will also
look for additional funding to help with the expansion programme, although we are
committed to having 4 centres eventually.
What will happen to players already in the existing structure?
They will be assessed and transfer over into the new structure as it develops. Similarly,
existing staff will also be redeployed as necessary.
Coaching Pathway
Why only 2 posts just now in the Coaching Pathway?
Each post is fully funded by SRU and will link in with the work of the Academy. As the
Academy regional centres are developed then the high performance coaching aspect should
follow, although it should be noted that these posts are intended to be the very last step
before a professional coaching job.
Would this not lead to coaches from this programme leaving to go somewhere other than
Scotland if we don’t have jobs for them?
That is a risk but we will see these coaches having an impact here and elsewhere. Eventually
we would like to think that with some additional professional experience gained around the
world they would become serious candidates for senior roles in Scottish Rugby in the
future.
Do those involved have to give up other work?
Yes. This will be an intensive, full time role mixing serious academic work with significant
practical element but the participants will be paid during it.
Why not just send the candidates to another union?
Places are very limited on other UKCC Level 4 courses (where run) and also tend to be
restricted to those proposed by member clubs from those nations.
Clubs
Why the focus on the Premiership clubs in your Club proposals?
The new approach is not focussed solely on the Premiership - a significant element of the
proposals will assist national and regional leagues with refocused development funding,
specialist advisory services and greater attention to sustainability. However, we also need to
concentrate on where the gap is largest and will then work our way down.
How much extra is available?
This would vary. For Premiership clubs there would, for example, be a direct contribution to
the costs of semi-professional players, as well as the benefit of players from the pro teams
through the draft. They would also benefit from participation in other funds made available
generally, although those would be subject to conditions on sustainability and development.
A more focused approach may also see improved sponsorship and other commercial
revenues available.
For other clubs it would depend on their own level and aspirations. Direct funding would
likely be more selective than at present, with improvements in facilities, teams playing, and
the women’s game being linked with support from SRU through participation agreements.
Is this not an SRU takeover of the Premiership ?
No. The clubs would remain autonomous but the current situation is not working – the gap
in the quality of play has widened and it is clear the clubs need more help if standards are to
improve. In return that does mean that SRU would require more influence, if the clubs are
to benefit from additional SRU support. This would be managed through the participation
agreement.
Some clubs will lose out though?
There will be winners and losers. 2 clubs would initially be demoted from the Premiership.
Promotion and relegation from Premiership to National would occur, with parachute
payments to assist with the transition from semi-professional back to the amateur game
after the initial year. Play-offs at certain levels should assist in keeping the leagues
competitive.
What if a club can’t meet your requirements straight away?
We recognise that some clubs will be able to meet minimum standards more quickly than
others. Hence why there is a lead in time until season 2015/16 (at least) and a need to
discuss this with clubs in more detail. We may also need to allow for phased
improvements within clubs as part of the process.
Why pay players?
This will improve the standard of player available. Players from the draft would also be
available, as now. The players would have to undertake coaching services – in essence the
payment is for coaching rather than playing, with a subsidiary objective being improvement
in coaching within clubs as well, and the clubs seeing the benefit of that.
Schools
Are your existing programmes not working ?
We are not reaching as many schools as we would like, particularly in the state school sector
and we therefore wish to expand on the schools of rugby, with an increased level of support
but also seeing schools incentivised to participate. As the Academy programme is rolled out
we would also like to see more partnering with local schools to fully integrate educational
attainment within a player’s development programme.
Why delay implementation?
This initiative builds significantly upon existing programmes that are already supported by
Government and local authorities and are successful. However, additional funding will be
needed for that expansion but we need to recognise that this is not entirely within our
control and the issues are quite complex, taking account of socio-economic factors and
education policy - the co-operation and support of local and national government is
therefore fundamental. We will need to spend some time preparing our case to take to the
authorities.
The Women’s Game
You are implementing this in full. Why do this before other things?
The issues with the women’s game are such that we need to rebuild, with staff and
resources deployed specifically to help develop rugby for women and girls. With resource
that we already have redeployed, the cost of new personnel is manageable and will make a
difference almost immediately. We will be able to utilise a great deal of our existing
infrastructure to assist.
The game is under–developed for women and we see this as a major area for growth.
Is this only a 2 year programme?
No. We will review progress in 2 years but we are committed to developing the women’s
game as part of our overall plans. You will see that the Academy proposals also involve
young women, and further development of the club game through additional funding will
also include requirements in relation to women’s teams and facilities. The Schools of Rugby
scheme is also something that we wish to see expanded for the benefit of girls interested in
playing rugby.
We also need to increase the pool of players available for selection for the national team
and that cannot happen overnight.

This article was posted on 5-Dec-2013, 12:33 by Hugh Barrow.