Another young Scot heads south

Confirmation that Worcester have signed Scotland U20 outside centre/wing Sam Atkin - the lad featured in all 5 games at the recent JWC in Italy, playing both on the wing and also at outside centre.

Is there any way to stop the player drain?

Once upon a time this would have concerned me. Now however I'm happy a team like Worcestor have signed him up. He'll get a lot more exposure to the professional game down south than he will up here.

As I said in another thread I'm happy for our youngsters to ply their trade abroad. If we want Glasgow and Edinburgh to be competative Atkin would have to displace the likes of King/Houston/Cairns/NDL/Visser/Thompson for game time at Edinburgh. He perhaps could have been used at Glasgow though especialy during the world cup......

In conclusion fair play to the lad, he'll learn a lot more down there than he proabably will up here.

Agreed Radge

I actually agree with Radge on this to an extent.

I don't want young top talent to leave Scotland unneccesarily, and I think in the cases of MacKenzie and Bennett them staying in Scotland would have been best for all parties (because they would have been starters in their respective teams), however in cases such as this, where Edinburgh are well stocked with relatively young and established players in the positions in which Atkin plays, then I can see some sense in the move.

To be honest whilst their young, and inexperienced I don't really see much harm in letting them head 'south' to learn the trade in the Jeff along side a varied rugby community (most nationalities are represented in the Jeff), and then returning 'north' when they are a bit more established. In theory it should be good for them as players and the future for Scottish rubgy in general.

The only problem is if they decide they like it in England and decied to stay there (or even get capped for them) as opposed to just using it as a developement tool (if you will).

The only way to stop the player drain Stag I would imagine is to invest heavily in Scottish rugby.

For the national team, they will get to play in better academy's and teams and therefore this will only benefit the national side.

I could see it going the way of Irish football. nothing in their own country to keep them improving. That said, with the changes that will hopefully be made, this won't need to happen as I don't think they are too far off competing regularly

Is it not a safe haven for a young Scottish lad who if he's any good will come and bite the Albion on the bum?

The only way to stop player drain is to have a third pro team. There are enough players abroad to easily have another team and with younger players coming through from the clubs it would only be beneficial but let's only worry about saving money...

The topic of a third pro team has been done to death on other threads by all the Scottish posters. At this moment it exists as nothing other than a fantasy. Furthermore we don't even know if a third pro team would work or have a sufficiant support to be workable.

In the meantime I would not call it a player drain, since their services will almost certainly not be required by either Glasgow or Edinburgh. Hence them moving down south is the best thing for their careers and hopefully for Scotland in the long run too.

Mind you the pretence that Scotland has a sustainable professional system is disillusional.

That'll go down well.

There is a "player drain" of sorts, it's mainly been established international players leaving for higher salaries (Hamilton, Hines, Brown, Evans et al). I don't think there's anything we can do to stop that sort of player drain, and in many cases, Brown being the best example, it's been a good thing for Scottish rugby, as the likes of Harley can come through.

There's a balance to be struck. This summer I'd say in MacKenzie and Bennett leaving we've lost two that shouldn't have got away. But I care less about Vernon and Atkin going, as there are good arguments to be made for a positive outcome for Scottish rugby.

radge

I wasn't attempting to open the debate on a 3rd pro team but I do think that having that third team and some investment in it would mean we are developing more players who are exposed to higher levels of rugby.

in my opinion

Don't get me wrong mate, I agree a third team is needed in Scotland even if just as a development channel, I just can't see how it could be sustainable.

well with the SRU in control it probably couldn't be...

Great news for Sam, will learn way more down at worcester and get more chances than if he stayed up here. Definitely in need of a 3rd pro team especially with some pretty talented players coming through now. On Sam Atkins he is a really good player. Before he went to accies he was playing for my club team and stood out from an early age along with alex spence. Seems a similar style player to Mathew tait with great acceleration and a great eye for the try line.

Majestic, that's great inside info - really hope it works out for the lad. If Worcs A play Exeter United, I'll try and catch the game and report back on progress

Yeah i reckon he should do well down there, he has a good attitude and trains really hard so hopefully will make an impression. The other guy I reckon deserves a crack is alex spence, unlucky with injuries after he damaged his knee playing for the gael force but is an outstanding prospect. Played against tauranga from nz at colts level when they were nz champions and outplayed them all.

I feel bad that I didn't notice him at the recent JWC in Italy - at 91kg he's got the mass to be a useful blindside, but 6'1" seems short in the land of giants that we've become accustomed to. Does he have the pace for openside?

I am not that worried. If we are being honest, he probably wouldn't get past too many of the incumbent 143 centres and 15 wingers that Edinburgh have so he woud just be kicking his heels up here.
At least England have a good inter-academy/A team league that he will learn a lot more in that holding tackle bags on the back pitches at Murrayfield.

Yeah spence definitely has the pace for openside, it's what he normally plays but seems to have been shifted to 6 by the u20s. He started the first game against south africa but came off after half an hour injured and was a sub in a few of the other games. Definitely has the skill set though for openside and pace in abundance. He used to quite often play in the backs at u18s as well so has a great passing game too.