Seven Borderers allocated to their old clubs in this rugby season’s premiership pro and academy drafts
This rugby season’s Arnold Clark Premiership pro and academy drafts have now been confirmed and they could see seven Borderers returning to their old clubs.
United Rugby Championship sides Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors are making 131 players between them available to premiership clubs for potential extra game-time or as part of post-injury rehabilitation programmes, with their academies accounting for 47 of that number.
All of the four top-flight Borders clubs drafts are from Edinburgh, with their Glaswegian rivals’ players mostly being allocated to outfits from their home city and Ayr.
Clubs will be allowed to field a maximum of two pros per game to prevent them from potentially gaining an unfair advantage over opponents.
Kenny Murray, Scottish rugby’s head of player transition, said: “The Arnold Clark Premiership represents a valuable opportunity for the best young players in the country to get game minutes at the top domestic level.
“Along with their involvement with their pro teams, as well as national age-grade representation for a lot of the pro-academy players, the premiership will be a good platform for them to play in a high-pressure environment.
“In order for our academy players to continually improve, they need to play regularly, so getting them playing in high-level matches when they are not involved with their pro clubs is great for their development.”
Hawick, Kelso and Melrose have been allocated 11 players apiece, with the ten on Selkirk’s list being the smallest contingent in the country, just over half the size of the biggest, Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians’ 19.
Currie Chieftains, Heriot’s and Watsonians have been allocated 11 players too, with Ayr and Glasgow Hawks being assigned 18 each.
Scotland right-winger Darcy Graham and erstwhile Knights scrum-half Hector Patterson could be in line to return to Hawick as they’re among the Mansfield Park club’s allocation for the second year on the trot, along with Jedburgh’s Glen Young, plus Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, Sam Byrd, Wes Goosen, Mikey Jones, Charlie McCaig, D’Arcy Rae, Pierre Schoeman and Fin Thomson.
A Kelso comeback for hooker or back-rower Jack Utterson, named as Scotland’s national league player of last season, is also a possible prospect as he’s on the Poynder Park outfit’s list, together with former Gala winger Nairn Moncrieff and Jack Brown, Rob Carmichael, Isaac Coates, Ben Healy, Rhys Litterick, Liam McConnell, Harry Patterson, Dylan Richardson and Mosese Tuipulotu.
Lock Dylan Cockburn, winger Ross McCann, hooker Harri Morris and prop Ben White could all be on their way back to Melrose and also drafted to the Greenyards club are former Peebles full-back or fly-half Rory McHaffie, Tom Dodd, Freddy Douglas, Fin Doyle, Marshall Sykes, Ross Thompson and Lewis Wells.
Fly-half Ross Wolfenden and lock Mac Rutherford, formerly with Peebles and Gala respectively, are allocated to Selkirk, along with Matt and Tom Currie, Oliver Duncan, Callum Hunter-Hill, Ross McKnight, Ben Muncaster, Malelili Satala and Ben Vellacott.
Ayr’s draft includes former Southern Knights flanker Rory Darge.
Former Peebles hooker Patrick Harrison, ex-Gala winger Kerr Johnston and Melrose-born Edinburgh scrum-half Charlie Shiel feature in Currie’s.
Warriors and Scotland props Rory Sutherland and Jamie Bhatti, formerly at Hawick and Gala and at Melrose respectively, are allocated to GHA, along with one-time Knights No 9 Ben Afshar.