TWO Peebles players have been included in the 22-man Scotish Rugby Academy squad.

The promising youngsters travelled to Valladolid in Spain on Monday to be fully immersed in a high performance player development camp for a fortnight.

Forwards James Walpole and Roderick Guiney from Peebles High School are both included in the camp.

And they are jopined by three other Borderers - Finlay Scott and Gary Munro from Jed Thistle and Hawick Wanderers’ Kyle Brunton.

Erasmus+, a programme run by the European Union, provides funding for the camp and is in place to provide opportunities for individuals in vocational and educational training to improve their skills, and enhance their employability and cultural awareness.

Scottish Rugby’s Head of Academy and Performance Programmes, Stephen Gemmell, said: “We are delighted that through our continued partnership with Erasmus +, New College Lanarkshire and Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club in Spain we are once again able to take a group of players away for the two week development camp.

“The focus of this camp is to allow players to be exposed to a performance environment and behaviours, whilst experiencing a new culture which will develop them on and off the field.

“With the recent announcement of our new BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy, it is an exciting time to be a young player in Scotland and this camp highlights our commitment to providing additional opportunities to help develop the next generation of players” Valladolid will form part of the identification process for potential future inductees to the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy, with today’s news coming in light of the recent induction of 87 players into the new development pathway.

Players travelling to Valladolid have the chance to promote themselves for BT Sport Scottish Rugby Academy and national age-grade selection to an experienced coaching group, headed up by Academy specialist skills coaches Eddie Pollock and Alan Tait, along with Academy skills coaches Ross Miller and Colin Philips.

Currie 1XV Head Coach Ben Cairns – who has recently returned from the John Macphail Coaching Scholarship in New Zealand – and Ayr 1XV Head Coach Calum Forrester will also join the team to provide their expertise whilst enhancing their personal coaching experience.

This is the ninth year in which Scottish Rugby has hosted a group of the country’s young talents in Valladolid, with the continued support of New College Lanarkshire and Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club.

Outwith the planned 22 rugby-based sessions, players will enjoy downtime at various cultural hubs in the area with a focus on nurturing their values and behaviours in alignment with the Erasmus+ programme.

The players will also work closely with partner and local club, Valladolid Rugby Asociación Club, to develop their understanding of the global rugby family and the different cultures that exist within the game worldwide.