Last updated 21:59, Wednesday, 06 August 2008

LANGHOLM teenage rugby players Russell Anderson, Adam Park, Edward Turner and Joe Dickinson joined the top-rated young rugby talent from the under-15 to under-17 age groups under the watchful eye of the SRU coaches at the Struan rugby camp in Perthshire last week.

From left, Joe Dickinson, Adam Park, Edward Turner and Russell Anderson who all enjoyed the recent camp

The successful Struan performance rugby camp is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has catered for a host of Scotland internationalists in their formative years, including Mike Blair, John Barclay, Ben Cairns and Nick de Luca.

Scottish rugby union president Jim Stevenson visited the camp as did Glasgow Warrior players Stevie Swindall and Mike Adamson, along with Scotland coach Frank Hadden.

The president said it was a good opportunity for the players to get to know each other and it was amazing the amount of work and effort put in by the coaches and admin staff.

Stevenson said nine boys sleeping in each tent for a whole week and having to look after themselves taught them a lot of life skills and at the end of it they would come away with many new friends.

The intense performance camp put the young players through a gruelling week-long schedule which started with a wake-up call and morning run at 8am, followed by breakfast.

There was rugby coaching, aquatic recuperation and team building before lunch, followed by specialist coaching clinics up until the evening meal and expansive rugby games until 9pm.

Grant McKelvey, senior performance development manager and ex-Scotland internationalist, was in charge of the camp.

He said that those who attended were the best 175 home-based and exile players who had been identified through the performance development framework.

It was a great chance for the under-17 and under-18 groups, who started off their respective national programmes, to promote themselves in front of the national selectors and coaches Bryan Easson, Grant McKelvey and Gordon Henderson.

For the younger under-15 and under-16 groups, which included the Langholm contingent, it was a chance for them to develop themselves, improve their rugby, social skills, team-building skills and working together.

Despite the intensive nature of the camp coaching sessions, hard graft on the pitch was just part of what went on at Struan camp.

The boys were in tents with no fancy trappings and had to do all their own washing and had to get on with things and be part of a team.

The development managers hope to have installed good social and team-working skills in the teenagers.

LANGHOLM 1st XV Fixtures: Scottish Hydro Electric National League Division One 2008-09

Saturday, Aug 30 – Dalziel v Langholm Saturday, Sept 6 – Langholm v RHCSaturday, Sept 13 – Annan v LangholmSaturday, Sept 20 – Langholm v East Kilbride Saturday, Sept 27 – Langholm v Preston Lodge FPSaturday, Oct 4 – Cambuslang v Langholm Saturday, Oct 11 – Langholm v BerwickSaturday, Oct 18 – Murrayfield Wanderers v LangholmSaturday, Oct 25 – Langholm v DumfriesSaturday, Nov 1 – Edinburgh University v LangholmSaturday, Nov 8 – Langholm v Howe of Fife Saturday, Nov 22 – Langholm v DalzielSaturday, Nov 29 – RHC v LangholmSaturday, Dec 6 – Langholm v AnnanSaturday, Dec 13 – East Kilbride v Langholm Saturday, Jan 17 – Preston Lodge FP v Langholm Saturday, Jan 24 – Langholm v Cambuslang Saturday, Jan 31 – Berwick v LangholmSaturday, Feb 7 – Langholm v Murrayfield WanderersSaturday, Mar 7 – Dumfries v LangholmSaturday, Mar 14 – Langholm v Edinburgh UniversitySaturday, Mar 28 – Howe of Fife v Langholm.