Scottish Rugby makes £6.5m fund available to help community clubs

Scottish Rugby has made £6.5 million available to support its community clubs as the sport emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The cash comes from the £20m emergency funding the SRU received from the Scottish Government. The funding, which was announced last December, was split between a £15m grant and £5m of low interest loans.

The announcement from Scottish Rugby comes after a rugby club official lodged a Freedom of Information request about how the grant would be used.

Scottish Rugby said: “In the package £1.5m is earmarked for immediate club recovery needs and a safe, sustainable Return to Rugby programme. A further £5m will go towards stimulating growth and participation over the coming five years.

“The existing club support payments allocated by Scottish Rugby which amounted to £2.9m in financial year (19/20) will rise to £3m per annum and will be index linked for the next five years.”

Clubs will be given details on how to apply for funding.

John Jeffrey, the chairman of Scottish Rugby, said: “This is a massive boost to clubs across the country and we are delighted to be in a position to fund programmes and activities designed to stimulate the game in Scotland following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on club activity and finances.”

Scottish club rugby was suspended in March last year at the start of lockdown and no matches have been played this season below elite professional level.