Emerging Scotland is a Scottish international rugby union team that represents Scotland in selected matches, tours and competitions. Composed of Scotland qualified players only, mostly uncapped or at the beginning of their careers, it forms part of the development pathway to the senior Scotland team. It is not to be confused with the Scotland 'A', the national 'A' team which competes and is a level below the national side but with no age restrictions, nor with the Scotland U-20s with strict age limits that competes in the Under-20 Six Nations and Rugby World Cup.
History
The Emerging Scotland side was part of the National Academy pilot programme which was launched in September 2024 to add increased value to the development of a selected group of promising players. It is part of the Scottish Rugby Male Performance Pathway.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said: “This fixture enables us to bring our best young players together, have a week of training with national team coaches, and take on a quality international side.
“Similar fixtures that will look to expose emerging talented Scottish players to high level competition will aim to be included going forward. Probably the most important element of a young player’s development is learning by playing at a higher level than you’ve previously experienced. The game has always been the best teacher and we believe that our players will reap the benefits from this experience."[1]
Current squad
An initial 31 man squad was first named.[2] A returning from injury Ollie Smith was later added, the only full international player in the squad. He had not played competitive rugby for 364 days.[3] There was named an Emerging Scotland 27-man squad for their opening match against Italy Under 23 side.[4]
