After narrowly losing to Bedford Blues U19s Academy, the Rampant Lions won their final 15-a-side fixture 25-17 at neighbouring Ealing Trailfinders (Academy U23) last weekend on the same day their first team earned promoted back into the Championship.
It meant a winning record of three from four matches against their local rivals which represents a fine return for the Scots.
Last Sunday the Academy went up to Bedford Blues to play in the inaugural Invitational Under 19s Rugby 10s Tournament.
London Scottish took a good mix of Young Lions (Junior Academy) and Rampant Lions (Senior Academy) to the tournament and did the club proud by reaching the Plate Final – just missing out by one try in their pool to qualify for the Cup final.
The results in the pool games were a 26-7 win over Cambridge University, followed by a 21-5 loss against Nottingham before finishing the pool by beating Ealing 27-12 to secure second spot.
This meant a short rest period before the Plate final against a well-rested RFU funded Worcester Academy.
Worcester won 47-5.
The Academy will now take part in two 7s tournaments, Middlesex and Rosslyn Park Floodlit, before the season is completed.
Hard work paying off
The Academy had a great season with both the Young Lions and the Rampant Lions producing some fantastic rugby.
The exciting part of the Academy model is that if you are good enough you’ll get your chance to train and play with the club’s First team.
Academy players, Alex Brown, Todd Gleave, Charlie Dockery, Harry McCartney and Alec Coombes all represented the 1st XV this season and we are looking forward to seeing the next stage of their development and for others to follow.
A number of Junior Academy players also stepped up into the Senior Academy in the latter part of the season and impressed with their ability and maturity.
The Academy is now ready to move into the off-season and the next group of talented players are applying to join in the pre-season trial period starting on the 8th of July.
The 2015/16 season with the RWC on our doorstep will be an exciting one but for young talented players, not in a Premiership Elite Academy, the place to be would be in the London Scottish Academy.
We have put the next level of structures in place to give players the best opportunity to achieve their goals.
Many applications have been received since January 2015 for the 2015/16 season and we expect more talented players to take the opportunity.
It’s an exciting time as we continue to produce a model that will develop and produce rugby players for the higher levels of the game.
For more information on The London Scottish Academy, email Academy Director Corne du Rand on Corne.duRand@londonscottish.com
