4 days ago
EXCLUSIVE Cut adrift! Anger as Scottish Rugby 'brutally' axe youngsters as part of new strategy
Scottish Rugby have been accused of showing 'disrespect' and a 'lack of care' towards young players after announcing major cuts to their academy system.
As part of the new restructure and pathway system designed by SRU performance director David Nucifora, some age-grade teams have seen their number of official academy players cut in half.
Whilst the SRU insist the overall academy structure will be improved and better funded, it has left dozens of young players across the country fearing they have been cast adrift.
The players who have been cut from the academies and released back to domestic club rugby were notified last week via a standardised email, with no personal feedback as to why they have been let go.
Players and parents were invited to join a Zoom call on Tuesday night with Kenny Murray, Scotland Under-20s head coach and head of player transition, and Neil Graham, the SRU's head of game development.
The plans were laid out more formally and in greater detail by Murray and Graham, but concerns have been raised to Mail Sport about how the whole process has been handled.
'The whole thing has been brutal,' said one source, whose anonymity has been protected due to their continued involvement with Scottish Rugby.
'I know a boy who left school in S5. He wanted to focus on rugby full-time and pursue a career. From the feedback he had from coaches, he felt it was achievable.
'Now it's just kind of been ripped away really unexpectedly. If he had known this would happen, he would probably have stayed in school and focused on his education.
'From what I can gather, this has come from the very top of the SRU. Even our coaches have been dumped into the s*** as well. They didn't know this was happening until last week.'
In an off-the-record briefing with journalists last week, Nucifora laid out his vision for how he wants to revamp the pathway system.
Despite still being based in Australia and only visiting Scotland during certain periods of the year, he has been entrusted to set the new structures to improve player development.
Nucifora will rely on coaches and talent-spotters in the SRU to help inform decisions of which players are promoted through the system.
After players are initially identified in the domestic club game, they will then embark on a six-year pathway towards playing for Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh and, ultimately, the national team.
The National Talent Pathway will consist of players aged between 16-19, with another three-year academy block outlined beyond that.
Nucifora was reluctant to commit to exact numbers, but sources have indicated to Mail Sport that it could be around 15 players at each level when numbers were previously closer to 30.
These players in the academy system have access to various support structures which aim to improve their physical and technical development. But the numbers will now be greatly reduced to align with Nucifora's masterplan, essentially a streamlining of the existing academy system.
Nucifora, who previously worked in a similar role for Ireland, has been criticised for overseeing the project from afar.
With the SRU currently cutting back on foreign imports in a bid to get more Scottish youngsters playing for Glasgow and Edinburgh, there is also concern that they are cutting too many players adrift.
'How can you possibly be trusted to improve player pathway and development when you're not even in the country? He should be on the ground and going out in the field to watch these players,' another source told Mail Sport.
'You are dealing with young boys at the start of their career in rugby. They are 16, 17, 18, 19 years old. Because they are so young, a lot of them haven't really developed the resilience yet to deal with stuff like this.
'They have been told to go back into the club system and keep performing. They have been told the SRU will still be watching and there's always a way back for them, but I don't buy it.
'They have just been binned. The whole process has been poorly handled. The SRU have shown disrespect and a lack of care towards these young guys by just tossing them aside.
'I've seen guys like Henco Venter at Glasgow being cut because they don't want so many foreign players in Scotland, but they are making huge cuts to the academy. It doesn't really make sense.'
A spokesperson for Scottish Rugby said: 'If any of our recent communications with age-grade players hasn't been appropriately delivered, that was never our intention and we will look at improving this area in the future.
'Our new High Performance approach will deliver more focused individual support to players with genuine professional or international-level potential. This will be complemented with additional support delivered locally to identified clubs and schools.
'Whilst no one is guaranteed a place, the talent pathway opportunity remains open to all players with potential and it will be normal for those with the right aptitude to leave and re-join the programme, at times, as they develop.
