There will be 30 young players contracted to the FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy for the 2021/22 season, Scottish Rugby confirmed on Wednesday.

The 30 players are contracted evenly between Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby and are also equally aligned to the FOSROC Super6 club sides.

The players will be based in the pro-team environments, but available to their Super6 sides when not selected by the pro clubs and will continue to receive individual academy support through dedicated age-grade specialist coaches, strength and conditioning personnel, and physios.

18 of the players named are retained from last year’s group, with saw 12 player play at pro level, four for Glasgow Warriors and eight for Edinburgh, with five of the 12 signing pro deals for the forthcoming season.

That leaves 12 new players in the FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy, Jamie Drummond, Christian Townsend, Rhys Tait, Euan Ferrie, and Ross McKnight with Glasgow, and Ben Evans, Matt Russell, Michael Jones, Jamie Campbell, Harri Morris, Cole Lamberton, and Rudi Brown with Edinburgh.

Of those, Drummond, Townsend, Tait, Ferrie, McKnight, Jones, Morris, and Lamberton were a part of Scotland’s U20 squad in the recent Six Nations, where they failed to win a game. They are 8 of 16 players in the 30 that were in that squad, alongside the captain of that Six Nations squad, Alex Samuel, fellow Glasgow aligned players Rory Jackson, Finlay Callaghan, Michael Gray, Max Williamson, and Euan Cunningham, as well as Edinburgh’s Cameron Scott and Patrick Harrison.

Scottish Rugby’s Director of Performance Jim Mallinder said to www.scottishrugby.org : “Last year was the first time that the Contracted Academy players were aligned with the professional teams. 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.”

FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy Players for 2021/22

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

~ U20 Six Nations Squad Member