Glasgow and Edinburgh have announced their new intake of academy players for next season, with the Warriors recruiting 10 hopefuls and the capital club 11.

Having retained a small number from last year, both professional outlets will have squads of 15 in the coming campaign.

Three of the newcomers to the Glasgow academy - winger Amena Caqusau, centre Johnny Ventisei and back-row forward Jonny Morris - have all graduated from GHA. Stand-off Matthew Urwin, centre Kerr Yule and back-three players Fergus Watson and Kerr Johnston complete the new intake of backs, while the three recruits to the pack are loosehead prop Callum Smyth, lock Ryan Burke and back-row forward Ruaraidh Hart.

The five who continue for a second season in the Glasgow academy have all been members of the Scotland Under-20 squad. They are: props Tom Banatvala and Callum Norrie, lock Harris McLeod, centre Ben Salmon and back-three player Logan Jarvie.

Edinburgh's new arrivals include Boroughmuir brothers Jerry and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, and Tom Currie, whose older brother Matt is already a member of the senior capital squad. The other forwards to have been recruited are lock Euan McVie, flanker Freddie Douglas and No 8 Ollie Duncan.

Scrum-halves Finlay Burgess and Hector Paterson, stand-off Isaac Coates, centre Jack Hocking and full-back Jack Brown are the recruits behind the scrum. The four retained from last season are loosehead prop Robbie Deans, back-row forward Liam McConnell, winger Finn Douglas and hooker Harri Morris, who will be on a season-long  loan at Doncaster Knights.

“It’s a really exciting time of the year for these young players, and in particular for those of them that will experience regular involvement in a professional environment for the first time," said Kenny Murray, who as well as being in charge of Scotland Under-20s is also the SRU's head of player transition. “The fact that once again a number of the players from last year’s group have gone on to sign professional contracts here in Scotland shows there is a reward for continued hard work.  

“We’re really looking forward to seeing these players in the FOSROC Super Series Championship later this summer, and with so many of them eligible for Scotland U20 they have another platform to kick on and test themselves at a high level.”

Meanwhile, Edinburgh are edging closer to identifying a new head coach - although confirmation of the successful candidate could still be several weeks away. 

A spokesperson for the club declined to comment on a report linking both former London Irish head coach Les Kiss and ex-Italy assistant Marius Goosen to the vacancy, and the official stance from the DAM Health Stadium is still that they hope to announce an appointment in the coming weeks. However, it is understood that - at least as things stand - there is no-one besides those two in contention. 

Kiss, a 58-year-old Australian, began his coaching career in rugby league, and after moving to union specialised in being a defence coach. He had been head coach of London Irish since 2018, but they went into administration at the start of this month and were suspended from all competitions by the RFU.

South African Goosen was a player and then coach with Benetton before graduating to become assistant coach to the Italian national team. He was assistant to Franco Smith, now in charge of Glasgow, at both club and national level.

Following the departure of head coach Mike Blair and assistant Gareth Baber at the end of last season, Edinburgh have been working on pre-season training with a reduced coaching team comprising lead rugby consultant Steve Diamond, forwards coach Stevie Lawrie and defence coach Michael Todd as well as Mark Robertson, the head of strength and conditioning. Diamond - currently contracted to work with the club until the end of August - has ample experience as a head coach but is not in the running for the vacancy.

The departure of Diamond would leave the staff three posts down on the number they were at in the spring, which in theory could mean there was room for both Kiss and Goosen to join. But that might well leave too big a defensive bias in the backroom team, with a glaring deficiency in attack - the very area in which Blair, recently appointed assistant coach at Kobe Steelers in Japan, will henceforth specialise.

FOSROC Scottish Rugby Contracted Academy Players 2023-24:

Glasgow Warriors: Forwards - Props: Tom Banatvala, Callum Norrie, Callum Smyth. Locks: Ryan Burke, Harris McLeod. Back row: Ruaraidh Hart, Jonny Morris. Backs  - Stand-off: Matthew Urwin. Centres: Ben Salmon, Johnny Ventisei, Kerr Yule. Back three: Amena Caqusau, Logan Jarvie, Kerr Johnston, Fergus Watson.

Edinburgh: Forwards: Robbie Deans (loosehead), Harri Morris (hooker), Jerry Blyth-Lafferty (hooker), Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (tighthead), Euan McVie (lock), Tom Currie (flanker), Liam McConnell (flanker), Freddie Douglas (flanker), Ollie Duncan (No 8). Backs: Finlay Burgess (scrum-half), Hector Patterson (scrum-half), Isaac Coates (stand-off), Jack Hocking (centre), Finn Douglas (wing), Jack Brown (full-back).