Scotland plan restructure 'to be competitive at the top end of the game'

Scotland and its two professional clubs will reinstate ‘A’ teams as part of a new performance strategy for men’s rugby union which will also see the disbandment of the Super 6.
Both Glasgow and Edinburgh will also develop their academy structures and provide more access to professional training environments and playing opportunities to under-23s.
An increased focus will go to Scottish-qualified players in the Warriors and Edinburgh squads as part of the new Male Performance Pathway, which is designed to retain the country’s position in the world’s top five nations.
Although Scotland have broken into the top five with wins over the likes of England, Wales, France and Australia in recent years, their under-20 side has struggled, losing 15 consecutive matches before beating Wales in last year’s Six Nations tournament.
The Scottish Rugby Limited and Scottish Rugby Union boards have both approved the new approach, which will put more focus on developing home-grown players and better alignment between the domestic and professional game.
Super 6 licence agreements will not be renewed beyond November this year and a consultation will now take place with clubs to determine a new structure. Ayrshire Bulls, Boroughmuir Bears, Heriot’s, Southern Knights, Stirling Wolves and Watsonians are the six semi-professional teams in the series.
The principles of the new structure will be around fairness to all clubs and minimal disruption to existing leagues.
There will be minimum quotas for Scottish-qualified players in the Edinburgh and Glasgow squads but the details of the pathway programme will not be finalised until after a new Scottish Rugby performance director is recruited to replace the outgoing Jim Mallinder.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: “It’s clear that we must do better at creating more opportunities for our best young players to gain experiences and develop through playing rugby at higher levels.
“The game is often the best teacher and we need to provide more games at pro-level and above for those in our under-20 and academy environments.
“Increasing the number of pro team A games and reinstating Scotland A fixtures are two important pathways for achieving this.”
The SRU’s technical and operations director, Stephen Gemmell said: “The professional and international game continues to develop at a pace, and for us to be competitive at the top end of the game we need to ensure that our current and future international players are developed and able to play more often in the professional environments that we have.”
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Pep didn’t win the ECL in 2009. It was 2008 with Barca. The gap between wins ignores the finals contested. 2 in 2 years with his City Triumph. The most recent put him in the elite company of managers to have won it with multiple clubs. Yet more late career success and history.
His time with City - a lower win ratio compared to Bayern Munich as you say - includes a 100 PT season. A feat that will likely never be surpassed. I appreciate you don’t follow soccer too closely but even casual fans refer to the sport in ‘pre and post Pep’ terms and all because of what he has achieved and is continuing to achieve, late career. There is a reason that even U10’s play out from the back now at every level of the game. That’s also a fairly recent development.
How refreshing to return to rugby on a rugby forum.
Ireland won a long over due slam in 2009. The last embers of a golden generation was kicked on by a handful of young new players and a new senior coach. Kiss was brought in as defence coach and was the reason they won it. They’d the best defence in the game at the time. He all but invented the choke tackle. Fittingly they backed it up in the next world cup in their 2011 pool match against… Australia. The instantly iconic image of Will Genia getting rag-dolled by Stephen Ferris.
His career since has even included director of rugby positions. He would have an extremely good idea of where the game is at and where it is going in addition to governance experience and dealings. Not least in Oz were many of the players will have come via or across Rugby League pathways.
Gatland isn’t a valid coach to compare too. He only ever over-achieved and was barely schools level without Shaun Edwards at club or test level. His return to Wales simply exposed his limitations and a chaotic union. It wasn’t age.
Schmidt is open to staying involved in a remote capacity which I think deserves more attention. It would be a brain drain to lose him. He stepped in to coach the ABs in the first 2022 test against Ireland when Foster was laid out with Covid. They mullered Ireland 42-19. He was still heavily involved in the RWC 2023 quarter final. Same story.
Look at the talent that would be discarded in Schmidt and Kiss if your age Nazism was applied.
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