Scotland rugby squad touch down in Blairgowrie

Scotland’s rugby stars have been training in Perthshire ahead of their summer tour to South Africa.

The 31-man squad visited Blairgowrie RFC for a training session, which was open for members of the public to watch. The Scotland squad also brought with them a scrummage machine, which they demonstrated for the onlookers.

One of the players on the pitch was local lad Sean Lamont. Sean, and his recently retired brother Rory, grew up in Perth and his grandparents still live in the area.

He said: “It’s nice being home even though I’ve not been in Blair village for a while it’s all very familiar. There’s been a good little turn out today, which is great.

“Getting the children involved has been great — they are the future. Getting more of them involved means you hopefully find those who can make it at the top level.

“This kind of event is great awareness for the profile of rugby in Scotland, it is what we need and it’s very important because we need these sort of events to draw interest. The more interest you have the chances are you get more people playing rugby in Scotland, which is a good thing, you need that filtering through to senior level.”

Hundreds of locals turned out to watch Sean and the rest of Gavin Scott’s men show off their skills, with dozens of school-children taking part in training activities.

Among them was five-year-old Fergus Gordon, a player with the Blairgowrie Rams junior rugby team. Fergus, whose grandmother is from New Zealand, said his favourite part of the day was taking aim at a miniature set of posts.

He said: “I like throwing the balls through the inflatable goalposts. My favourite Scotland player is Sean Lamont, because he’s fast but when I grow up I want to play for the All Blacks and be like Jonah Lomu.”

As well as the training in Blairgowrie, the team have planned sessions at Grantown Grammar School and a new community facility in Aviemore.

Team manager Gavin said: “At this stage of a physically arduous season the coaches were keen that we did something different in our pre-tour activity.

“We’ve always received tremendous support from the north of Scotland and the enthusiasm for the game there and desire to improve is inspirational.

“We hope to show our appreciation for the work that is going on in communities in Perthshire and the Highlands to give young people the opportunity to catch the rugby bug.

The camp takes place until Wednesday, with the squad departing for their quadrangular tournament involving Samoa, South Africa and Italy, on Friday.

Scotland rugby squad touch down in Blairgowrie