Dollar’s Director of Rugby, Don Caskie, is named Joint Head Coach of Scotland U19s

The entire school community was very pleased to learn that our Director of Rugby, Don Caskie, was named the new Joint Head of Scotland U19. He will be working alongside of Calum Forrester, Head Coach of Ayr rugby. Caskie has been assistant coach of the Scotland U18 team for the past two seasons.

Sean Lineen, Head of International Age Grades for the Scottish Rugby Union, commented, ‘We want the best coaches possible from clubs, schools, academy backgrounds. We wanted someone like Don in there for his experience. We realise how important this programme is: it’s a smaller programme than the U18, but we need it to grow, and we need someone with Don’s experience and track record.’

Last year, the Scotland U19 side went to Romania and, in March 2016, they will be playing a double header against Japan. ‘Caskie has a great track record at Dollar and we really just want him to lead the way,’ added Lineen.

An article in The Scotsman about the revamping of the system commented that it had been ‘a positive year at age-grade level’, including best-ever finishes by the U-20s in the junior Six Nations and World Cup, and the rolling out of the BT Sport Scottish Rugby Regional Academy system.

The SRU described the announcement as “coordinated recruitment designed to maintain momentum and develop a unified national style of play’.

The organisation added, ‘We have good young players and now it’s all about skilling them up and playing in a more competitive environment. With the academy system we can get them better prepared and conditioned and geared to be ready to go pro. But enjoyment is key, too. We want to develop good players, who are also good people.’

Needless to say, Dollar Academy rugby will benefit hugely from Mr Caskie’s continuing involvement with academy rugby in Scotland.