Talent scouts to scour the world

Murrayfield chiefs have launched a search for foreign-born but Scottishqualified talent as they look to offset the threat posed by World Rugby’s new stricter rules on residency eligibility.

The Scottish Rugby Union says it will scour the world to find players eligible to play for Gregor Townsend’s national team as part of its new Scottish Qualified programme.

But England is expected to be the main battle ground as the Scots look to prise talented youngsters north of the border.

It comes after World Rugby voted to increase the required residency period to be eligible for international rugby from three to five years.

The Scots have used the three-year rule to their advantage in recent years, recruiting the likes of South Africa-born duo WP Nel and Josh Strauss as well as Holland-born Tim Visser.

But with the stricter rules coming into force on January 1, the SRU now realises it needs to increase its network of spies in order to sniff out the next batch of Anglo or foreign-born Scots.

Now the SRU has hired a team of talent scouts – including former Scotland internationals Rory Lawson, Alan Tait and Ian Smith – to ensure its reach goes further than ever before.

The SRU has also linked up with a number of coaches based in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France and even Japan to ensure it has a “network of trusted eyes and ears on the ground”.