Scotland A national rugby union team

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

Not to be confused with Scotland A national rugby league team.

Scotland A
UnionScottish Rugby Union
Emblem(s)the Thistle
Coach(es) Shade Munro
1st kit
2nd kit
First match
Scotland XV  20–3 Argentina
(13 September 1969)
Largest win
Scotland XV  85–3  Spain
(5 December 1998)
Largest defeat
Scotland A  3–60 Ireland A
(01 March 2002)

History
See also: History of rugby union in Scotland

Scotland's status as one of the leading rugby nations in the Northern Hemisphere, made the SRU look 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: 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 (1989-06-20) 20 June 1989 Glasgow Warriors
Kevin Bryce Hooker (1988-09-07) 7 September 1988 Glasgow Warriors
Ed Kalman Prop (1982-12-07) 7 December 1982 Glasgow Warriors
Gordon Reid Prop (1987-03-04) 4 March 1987 Glasgow Warriors
Grant Shiells Prop (1989-09-23) 23 September 1989 Newcastle Falcons
Jon Welsh Prop (1986-10-13) 13 October 1986 Glasgow Warriors
Ollie Atkins Lock (1988-08-12) 12 August 1988 Edinburgh
Jonny Gray (c) Lock (1994-03-14) 14 March 1994 Glasgow Warriors
Kieran Low Lock (1991-01-27) 27 January 1991 London Irish
Rob Harley Flanker (1990-05-26) 26 May 1990 Glasgow Warriors
Ally Hogg Flanker (1983-01-20) 20 January 1983 Newcastle Falcons
Tyrone Holmes Flanker (1986-04-15) 15 April 1986 Glasgow Warriors
Blair Cowan Number 8 (1986-04-21) 21 April 1986 London Irish
Grayson Hart Scrum-half (1988-06-19) 19 June 1988 Edinburgh
Henry Pyrgos Scrum-half (1989-07-09) 9 July 1989 Glasgow Warriors
Tom Heathcote Fly-half (1992-02-11) 11 February 1992 Bath
Mark Bennett Centre (1993-02-03) 3 February 1993 Glasgow Warriors
Alex Grove Centre (1987-11-30) 30 November 1987 Worcester Warriors
Byron McGuigan Centre (1989-04-20) 20 April 1989 Glasgow Warriors
Dougie Fife Wing (1990-08-08) 8 August 1990 Edinburgh
Richie Vernon Wing (1987-07-07) 7 July 1987 Glasgow Warriors
Jack Cuthbert Fullback (1987-09-03) 3 September 1987 Edinburgh
Greig Tonks Fullback (1987-05-20) 20 May 1987 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.

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References
  1. Munro to lead Scotland A

See also

Men's National teams

Senior

Development

Age Grades

Women's National teams

Senior
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