Former Scotland hooker named head coach as new Future XV join Super Series

Former Scotland hooker Scott Lawson has been named as head coach of the part-time professional Super Series’ newest team which aims to bring through the best young talent.

The Super Series Championship for 2023 will run from late July until mid-November with the six core teams - Ayrshire Bulls, Boroughmuir Bears, Heriot’s Rugby, Stirling Wolves, Southern Knights and Watsonians - being joined by the FOSROC Future XV to battle it out for silverware.

Previously we had heard that a Scotland under-20-type side would be joining the competition in the second half of this year and that has now been confirmed as the Future XV.

The Future XV has been introduced to better prepare Scotland’s young players for the challenges of international under-20 rugby and beyond.

Former Scotland hooker Scott Lawson has been appointed head coach of the new Future XV which will compete in the 2023 Super Series Championship.

And the coaching team will be headed up by Lawson, now a specialist skills coach with Scottish Rugby who earned 47 caps for his country between 2005 and 2018.

He will assisted by Shade Munro, who earned seven Scotland caps in the second-row between 1994 and 1997, and up-and-coming young coach Euan Clark.

Following the return of the Scotland under-20 squad from the World Rugby Trophy in Kenya this summer, the wider age-grade coaching team will join the Future XV as support, including Scott Forrest and Fergus Pringle.

The induction of the new team will, according to Scottish Rugby, “not only help to ensure our aspiring future Scotland under-20 players can better compete and improve their performance at Six Nations and world level, but also provide an additional challenge for the six existing licenced clubs against an exciting new opposition”.

Scottish Rugby’s performance director Jim Mallinder said: “We are committed to providing more high performance opportunities for our players.

“After the inclusion of the two professional A squads in this year’s FOSROC Super Series Sprint, this is yet another exciting step towards bridging the performance gap between the amateur and professional game.

“Providing a higher level competition and increased time in high performance environments for our under-20 players ensures that we are best preparing them for the ever increasing demands of international rugby.”

The Future XV will play in red and black.