Edinburgh stars Blitz schools from Kelso to Perth

All available players were divided into groups to visit the schools - stretching from Kelso in the Borders to Perth - to help with skills sessions, answer the youngsters questions, share their knowledge and pose for hundreds of photos.

This underlines the GUINNESS PRO12 club's determination to become embedded in the roots of the region's youth rugby and to become part of the growing rugby cultures.

By helping to motivate and inspire, Edinburgh is looking to encourage lifelong participation of the future generations of potential professional and club players.

"Thanks to Edinburgh Rugby for sending the players, it's been an inspiration to the first year pupils," said Lasswade HS head teacher Alan Williamson, of Matt Scott and Neil Cochrane's visit, to help pupils with their skills, answer their questions and pose for photos.

"We're really pushing the school of rugby, it's superb for the pupils' discipline, motivation and mindset, and rugby has really taken off at Lasswade High School."

Among the other schools visited, scrum half Grayson Hart headed to Kelso, hooker Stuart McInally to Peebles, lock Fraser McKenzie to Glenwood in Glenrothes and stand-off Carl Bezuidenhout to Knox Academy in Haddington.

Meanwhile, team mates lock Anton Bresler and centre Phil Burleigh paid a visit to Edinburgh's Trinity Academy to share their knowledge.

Bresler said: "There were quite a few guys showing good skills. One guy - they said he was a prop but he ran like a fly-half and his skills were really good. The kids were really getting stuck into it which is always good to see."

Funded from the proceeds of crime, through the Scottish Government's CashBack for Communities initiative, the CashBack Schools of Rugby initiative provides schools with a package of resources which enables more staff to deliver a structured rugby programme in their school, including a focused programme for a number of S1 to S3 pupils.

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