Youth rugby: Springboard hope for Youth Cup

THE drive to improve youth rugby in Scotland and provide a better springboard to the professional and international levels for Scotland’s teenagers has been backed by RBS.

Now owned mostly by the UK public, the national team sponsor has worked to enmesh itself into the community through sponsorship rather than merely plough millions into the top end of the sport. There are rumours, as yet unsubstantiated, that it may go further when the current Six Nations contract is up next year and walk away from the title sponsorship, but for now the bank is keen to continue its push into the lower reaches.

Scottish rugby continues to struggle to compete with the top nations largely through its lack of strong nationwide competition, but the newly sponsored RBS National Youth Cup, which kicks off this weekend, is one vital platform.

Colin Thomson, the SRU’s head of community rugby, said: “The RBS National Youth Cup brings together the top young club teams from each region in