Scotland A national rugby union team

Not to be confused with Scotland A national rugby league team.
Scotland A
Union Scottish Rugby Union
Emblem(s) the Thistle
Coach(es) Scotland Shade Munro
1st kit
2nd kit
First match
Scotland XV Scotland 20–3 Argentina Argentina
(13 September 1969)
Largest win
Scotland XV Scotland 85–3  Spain
(5 December 1998)
Largest defeat
Scotland A Scotland 17–52  Māori
(17 June 2006)

The Scotland A team are the second national rugby union team behind the Scottish national side.

History

Scotland's status as one of the leading rugby nations in the Northern Hemisphere, made the SRU to field a second team, first known as Scotland XV, and currently as Scotland A, which can play at the same level, sometimes even superior, of many second and third tier nations first sides. Before the professional era, Scotland A played against touring national sides from the southern hemisphere. Scotland XV represented Scotland during the 1999 Rugby World Cup – European qualification, easily defeating Portugal by 85–11, and Spain by 85–3, in Murrayfield.

Unlike association football, where the main team is supposed to be the "A" team, Scotland A in rugby union is actually equivalent to the Scotland B football team.

Current squad

The 23-man squad to face the England Saxons on January 31 2014.[1]

Head Coach: Scotland Shade Munro

Note: Bold denotes players that have played internationally for Scotland and Italics denotes players that have not played for the Scotland A side previously.

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Club/province
Fraser Brown Hooker 20 June 1989 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Kevin Bryce Hooker 7 September 1988 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Ed Kalman Prop 7 December 1982 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Gordon Reid Prop 4 March 1987 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Grant Shiells Prop 23 September 1989 England Newcastle Falcons
Jon Welsh Prop 13 October 1986 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Ollie Atkins Lock 12 August 1988 Scotland Edinburgh
Jonny Gray (c) Lock 14 March 1994 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Kieran Low Lock 27 January 1991 England London Irish
Rob Harley Flanker 26 May 1990 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Ally Hogg Flanker 20 January 1983 England Newcastle Falcons
Tyrone Holmes Flanker 15 April 1986 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Blair Cowan Number 8 21 April 1986 England London Irish
Grayson Hart Scrum-half 19 June 1988 Scotland Edinburgh
Henry Pyrgos Scrum-half 9 July 1989 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Tom Heathcote Fly-half 11 February 1992 England Bath
Mark Bennett Centre 3 February 1993 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Alex Grove Centre 30 November 1987 England Worcester Warriors
Byron McGuigan Centre 20 April 1989 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Dougie Fife Wing 8 August 1990 Scotland Edinburgh
Richie Vernon Wing 7 July 1987 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Jack Cuthbert Fullback 3 September 1987 Scotland Edinburgh
Greig Tonks Fullback 20 May 1987 Scotland Edinburgh

Competitions

They used to compete in the Churchill Cup alongside the full national teams of Canada and the United States as well as Ireland A, England Saxons, Argentina A and the New Zealand Māori.

They competed in the IRB Nations Cup, winning the competition in 2009 and ending last in 2010.

References

  1. ↑ Munro to lead Scotland A

External links