Scotland Scrap A International Side.

Following on from the withdrawal of the Wales A side earlier this season, the Scottish Rugby Union have followed suit by announcing they will not be fielding an A side next season. This decision and the intimation from the French Union that they may also dispense with their A side, almost certainly means that the A international series will disappear from the fixture list.

Explaining the decision taken by the SRU General Committee to withdraw the Scotland A team for season 2003-04, SRU Chief Executive Bill Watson,said:
“The decision was taken primarily for financial reasons but also in the aftermath of Wales’ decision to dispense with their A team this season and in the light of the French Federation’s intimation that post Rugby World Cup they did not wish to participate in an A tournament shadowing the RBS Six Nations Championship.

“Discussions are continuing at Celtic League level and one option that is being seriously considered is playing Celtic League matches in and around international weekends thus ensuring players on the fringe of the Scotland squad would still be getting high intensity matches,” he added.

The decision to withdraw the A team from competition – at this stage for one season – will save approximately #250,000.