THREE young players have been awarded a scholarship which will see them spend five months in South Africa, based at the high-performance training facility at Stellenbosch University.

The trio are aiming to follow in the footsteps of previous recipients of the scholarship including internationalists John Barclay, Finn Russell, Grant Gilchrist and Jonny Gray.

FOSROC Academy players Mikey Heron, Cole Lamberton and Adam Scott have been awarded the coveted John Macphail Rugby Scholarship for 2019 and leave on Monday for South Africa.

The programme funded by the Robertson Trust is in its 15th year and allows players to benefit from a longer period of time, while keeping aligned to the northern hemisphere season.

“The partnership allows us to send some of our most promising young players to other parts of the world where they can immerse themselves in new environments, with different coaches, fresh challenges and at world-class facilities,” said Scottish Rugby Technical Director, Stephen Gemmell.

“This year we will again send our selected U19 players to the home of the recent World Cup Winners, South Africa, to be based at the world class Stellenbosch Academy of Sport.

“Their development will be accelerated by experiencing a different culture, undertaking an intense programme, and training and playing alongside players from different countries, all as part of their own individual development plans.

“The scholarship has played an important role in a number of our current professional and international players’ careers and will, I’m sure, provide a launch pad for these players to develop as part of the FOSROC Scottish Rugby Academy.”