Eight Borderers in expanded academy squads announced by United Rugby Championship sides Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors

In a bid to fill the career development gap left by semi-professional competitions being kicked into touch, the two teams are including older players in their academy squads, up to the age of 23 rather than under-20, as was the case previously, and they’ll be going up in size by over half again to just short of 50 between them.

Both squads were previously 15-strong but Edinburgh’s has now gone up to 23, with potential for further expansion, and Glasgow’s to 26.

Those 49 youngsters will play for A teams for their clubs and they’ll also be farmed out to Scottish Premiership sides in drafts each August, starting this month, in a bid to secure them more game-time.

Edinburgh have retained 13 players from last season and Warriors are keeping hold of 17.

Hawick’s Hector Patterson, a scrum-half, and Melrose’s Harri Morris, a hooker, are among those being kept on by the capital club.

They’re being joined by ten new faces including two from Gala, lock Mac Rutherford and winger Nairn Moncrieff, plus Peebles and Southern Knights fly-half Ross Wolfenden.

Head coach Sean Everitt is pleased to have more up-and-coming talent at his disposal, saying: “I’m incredibly excited about the expansion of our pro-academy group.

“It’s a testament to the talent coming through our system and a clear indication of our commitment to developing home-grown players.

“With a larger group, we have a fantastic opportunity to nurture these young players and prepare them for the challenges of professional rugby.

"The recent World Rugby U20 Trophy showcased the potential of our young players. Many of them excelled on the international stage, and it’s thrilling to see them return to Edinburgh with a hunger to develop further.

“This expanded pro-academy group will provide them with the ideal environment to progress their careers.“We’re looking forward to giving our best young players more opportunities to shine by increasing the number of A team fixtures this season.

“Playing against top-level opposition is invaluable experience, and it will undoubtedly accelerate their development.

“This is an exciting time for Edinburgh and we believe these young players will play a crucial role in our future success.”

Gala’s Kerr Johnston and Selkirk’s Callum Smyth, a winger and prop respectively, are among the academy players Warriors are hanging on to.

They’re joined by nine new recruits including Melrose and Southern Knights winger Aidan Cross.

Edinburgh’s other academy players are Jerry and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, Jack Brown, Isaac Coates, Tom Currie, Freddy Douglas, Ollie Duncan, Jack Hocking, Mikey Jones, Sam Leweni, Christian Lindsay, Hamish MacArthur, Conor McAlpine, Liam McConnell, Euan McVie, Jamie Stewart, Findlay Thomson and Lewis Wells.

Making up the rest of the Glaswegians’ academy squad are Tom Banatvala, Ollie McKenna, Callum Norrie, Joe Roberts, Jake Shearer, Ryan Burke, Dan Halkon, Jare Oguntibeju, Macenzzie Duncan, Archie McMichael, Jonny Morris, Rory Purvis, Brent Jackson, Richie Simpson, Mathew Urwin, Alex Bryden, Duncan Munn, Ben Salmon, Johnny Ventisei, Kerr Yule, Amena Caqusau, Harry Provan and Fergus Watson.