The Scottish Rugby Union has announced the most lucrative shirt sponsorship deal for the Scotland Rugby Team after agreeing a long term multimillion dollar contract with Italian kit manufacturers Macron, who will be supplying all the representative teams of the Scottish Rugby Union with their playing apparel.

Apart from agreeing a deal with the Scottish Rugby Union, Macron has also signed lucrative kit sponsorship deals with Scottish Pro 12 teams Edinburgh Rugby as well as the Glasgow Warriors. The new deal means that Scotland will be the first full test playing nation to be completely kitted by the Italian sportswear giants.

And the chiefs of the Scottish Rugby Union have also hailed the importance of the inputs of the fans of the Scotland Rugby Team when it comes to designing the final kit before big matches with a contest for fans already launched where they will be able to send their designs and the winning design will be manufactured by Macron and worn by the Scottish rugby players in all forms of the sport. According to Mark Dodson, this new deal is groundbreaking for Scottish Rugby and it is a deal that benefits both the parties involved.

Dodson also extended his gratitude towards Canterbury, the kit manufacturers from New Zealand that had supplied kits to the Scotland Rugby Team for so long and thanked them for their long association with the sport in the country. Dodson also stated that the jersey actually belongs to the nation, citing how Chris Paterson, the record cap holder for Scotland with 109 stated that he was only borrowing the jersey from the fans and that was the main reason behind involving the fans in the designing process of the new kits.

The deal with Macron will come into effect on July 1 when the deal with Canterbury expires.

Although Scotland rugby team has been currently ranked 12th in the world after they lost to Tonga, and just a month ago Andy Robinson resigned as head coach last month, their back player 31-year-old Sean Lamont has high hopes of winning against England at Twickenham in the Calcutta Cup dated Feb 2 on the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

The claim is certainly close to day-dreaming because England is now in its topmost form after their record win against New Zealand. Last February, England had Lancaster as their stand-by coach and the team won gracefully at Murrayfield and also won four matches in the Six Nations and walked away with the runners-up title.

The Scotland Rugby Union are not hasting up the announcement of the appointment of Scott Johnson as their provisional head coach because they are taking time to find the right replacement for Robinson. But according to the 71 cap holder Lamont, Johnson can be just fine. After their loss against Tonga, Andy Robinson had to resign as he concurred that the performance was a ‘coach-killing’ one.

Lamont said, “We crossed the line three times and didn’t get a score, which is criminal. That should have been at least 15 points.” Visser has shown particular disappointment because it was Robinson who first handed him his first cap in June after he had qualified through residency. He feels that the former coach had been made a scapegoat. All the players deply regretted his decision to quite as a coach.

But now it is time for the Scotland Rugby team to look forward to the upcoming matches. The opinions of the two players Viser and Lamont were taken during the official announcement of Caledonia Best as the official beer of Scottish rugby.

Ben Foden, the full back for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Union side the Northampton Saints has stated that his team has more than a decent chance of success this season. The Saints reached the playoff semi finals of the Aviva Premiership last year and the 27 year old full back was one of the key performers in the team’s 24-19 win against Gloucester Rugby in the opening round of the new season of the Premiership.

And speaking to BBC Northampton about his team’s chance, Foden stated that he feels a whole lot better about the current squad of players in the team than he has done in his stint at the club, and pointed out that the strength in depth of the squad will be a key factor in sustaining a winning run. Foden also commented that although the critics don’t give the team a chance and have written them off with only a game played into the new season, he believes that the Northampton Saints can rise up to the challenge and succeed.

He admitted that the new players that have been recruited by the club have pretty large shoes to fill, but he has also stated that in spite of that, the mentality as well as the attitude of the team is the same as it was. And the man who has 30 caps for England knows that the youngsters in the team will be looking at him for inspiration and knowledge.

Foden made it clear that it feels like an extra responsibility for him but he is ready to lead them to greater things. And Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder also agrees with his star player that the Northampton Saints are in transition but admitted that the team still has a decent chance of upsetting the odds and succeeding.

Mitchell Todd, who was being hailed as a future star for the Scotland Rugby Team has, sadly been killed in a car crash at the youthful age of 21 years.

The youngster, who has represented his country in the international stage, succumbed to his injuries sustained in the crash near Nottinghamshire, England last Wednesday. According to the police, he was found crushed inside a Citroen C3 just before 6 in the morning and medics were rushed on to the scene immediately. However, the youngster was pronounced dead on the scene itself.

The 21 year old was a youth product of the Scottish Exiles, a training program that is aimed at developing youngsters of Scottish descent outside the borders of the country, run by the Scottish Rugby Union. Although Todd was born in England, he qualified to play for the Scotland Rugby Team by virtue of his father being born and raised in the Scottish city of Edinburgh and played for The Exiles at the age levels from Under-17 through to Under-20.

He garnered a lot of positive responses with his performances and was even being monitored as a future prospect for the senior national team. In 2011 itself, Todd played 10 matches for the Under-20 national team, starting in as many as 8 of those games and was even a part of the playing squad at the IRB Junior World Championship. And speaking about his untimely death, Rob Brierley, the performance manager for the Scottish players based in England stated that Todd was an extremely quiet and sensitive lad, but had a lot of determination and courage on the pitch.

Since his death, a lot of tribute has poured in for the player who was being seen as a bright start of the future for the Scotland Rugby Team that has seen its players fail to live up to the expectations in recent years.

The Scotland Rugby Team is in search for a new coach for their Rugby 7s side as Graham Shiel, the current head coach of the team is set to be moved to a new role in the side. Shiel will be looking after the skills and analysis for the team from now on, prompting Scottish Rugby to fast track their search for a new head coach of the Rugby 7s side. The Rugby 7s side of Scotland qualified for the Rugby 7s World Cup to be held in 2013 over the weekend but managed to barely scrape through qualification, occupying the last available spot.

And the national body of the Scotland Rugby Team is extremely disappointed at the way the Scotland Sevens have been performing, and believe that if this is allowed to continue, gunning for a medal at the Commonwealth Games that will be held in 2014 will become a farfetched dream. Stephen Gemmell, the head of performance for the Scottish team was the more prominent figure on the sidelines during the qualifying tournament in Portugal and now, the announcement made by Scottish Rugby that it intends to form a new coaching team is believed to have stemmed from there.

The Scotland Sevens had been under the charge of Shiel, a former international player for the Scotland Rugby Team since 2010. Speaking about a reshuffle of the coaching staff for the Rugby 7s team, Graham Lowe, the high performance director stated that after a review of the results and meetings with the management team, the decision was taken to bolster the coaching set up.

However, with very little time ahead of the World Cup, Scottish Rugby must make up its mind on their next appointment soon or risk the team packing for an early return from the tournament next year.

Alex Dunbar and Stuart McInally have been drafted into the Scotland Rugby Team for the tour of Australia and the South Pacific that the team will undertake.

The pair was initially left out of the squad, having been named in the preliminary squad but an unfortunate injury to John Barclay as well as the absence of Max Evans has opened the door to the squad for them. Barclay suffered a freak accident in practice where he injured his arm but he is expected to take part in the test against Australia that takes place on the 5th of June.

Max Evans also has to conform to his obligations for Castres in the Top 14 and is expected to join up with the side at the end of the weekend. According to Andy Robinson, the coach of the Scotland Rugby Team, McInally has been called up into the squad as a precautionary measure to cover for Barclay if he cannot return to action by the time of the Australia test. He went on to add that Barclay should be available for selection for the test but it was necessary for the team to ensure there was a back up option in case he couldn’t.

He also added that as long as the case with the International Rugby Board, Castres and the French Federation regarding the release of Max Evans is hanging in the balance, Alex Dunbar will be considered as a starting option for the test against Australia.

McInally, the back rower for Edinburgh and Dunbar, the center for Glasgow will have huge boots to fill in the Scotland Rugby Team if they do have to step in but Robinson is confident that they are more than capable enough to pull through with ease and will be good options for the team in the future.

Scotland Rugby team is going through to face France, Fiji and Australia in the pool matches in the sixth edition of the HSBC Sevens World Series which will be organised in Hong Kong.

Scotland Rugby Team has been going through a tough time since they faced defeat in Las Vegas and lost their chance to win the championship. They instead returned as runners up. Scotland Rugby Team sees the HSBC Sevens World Series as a chance to redeem themselves but the task is not an easy one. They have strong opposition in France and Australia.

The Scotland Rugby team has faced France and Australia previously but has lost to both of them on that occasion. They lost to Australia 12-24 in the pool stage in Dubai. They lost to France at Los Vegas which shattered their hope of winning the trophy for a second time. They were defeated by France 22-7.

Scotland Rugby team hasn’t yet faced Fiji. They are a very strong opponent and are ranked second in the International Rugby ranking. The Scotland rugby team’s coach described the teams match drawings as challenging and tough. He said that Fiji is obviously one of the best teams in the World Series and since they haven’t faced them even once, they pretty worried about the match and taking it very seriously. He believes that the admitted that if the team wants to go to the quarter finals they have to overcome a challenging task with every match.

Andrew Turnbull, of London Irish said that the Scottish team will need to have complete faith on themselves and in each other. They have been training hard for the tournament and although the tournament draw is tough, they are ready to take up the challenge and give their best.

Dan Parks has announced his retirement from international rugby just one game into the RBS Six Nations campaign.

An error-strewn display against England at the weekend, where the fly-half was charged down by his opposite number Charlie Hodgson for the match-winning try, will now be his last in a Scotland shirt.

He will be replaced in the starting XV by Greig Laidlaw when Andy Robinson’s side travel to Wales on Sunday.
Parks revealed retirement had been on his mind prior to the start of the Six Nations, but a sense of “unfinished business” against England meant his decision was delayed.
A 13-6 loss at Murrayfield, however, seems to have prompted the decision.

It is a cruel ending to a distinguished international career for the Australian-born Parks, who made 67 appearances for his adopted country, scoring 266 points.
He also holds the Scottish record for drop-goals with 17.
Parks will continue playing club rugby for Cardiff Blues, while he highlighted the 2007 World Cup as his most memorable time in a Scotland shirt.

He earned three man-of-the-match awards in the 2010 Six Nations but slipped down the pecking order during the 2011 World Cup, where Scotland crashed out in the group stages.
Greig Laidlaw, who came on to replace Parks after his costly mistake against England, will start against Wales on Sunday – one of two forced changes for Andy Robinson as Euan Murray is unavailable for selection due to religious reasons.

Laidlaw is the nephew of former Scotland and Lions scrum-half Rory Laidlaw, and the 26 year-old will also take on front-line kicking duties at the Millennium Stadium.

Scotland remain unchanged elsewhere as they seek immediate redemption after failing to convert their possession and territory into points against England. A buoyant Wales side in Cardiff will be a formidable challenge.

The Welsh coach Waren Gatland sees Scotland as favourite against Six Nation title holders, England. The two teams clash on February 4, 2012 at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, for their first match of the 2012 Six Nations tournament.

Scotland will next play away against Gatland’s team during the 2nd Week of encounters, scheduled for February 12. Wales vs Scotland will be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Wether Gatland backs Scotland against England out of pure interest or her really believes that the Scotts are favourites against the Six Nations defending Champions is hard to tell.

However, Waren motivates that England will line-up a few youngsters and the pressure exerted by the crowd at Murrayfield will cost them the win. He does believe that England will get better and better as the tournament goes on.

Scotland is backed as favourite although Dan Park is not in the best shape of his life. Gatland believes though that Andy Robinson will be able to find the prefect line-up for Saturday’s encounter.

The New Zealender seems to love the Scots especially, with him insisting that this weekend he is about tennis and supporting Andy Murray for winning the 2012 Australian Open title.

Andy Robinson of the Scotland rugby team is quite jovial and happy about the New Year and feels that there is quite a prospect of growth and success for Scotland.

In his New Year message addressed to all the Scotland supporters, he says that this New Year is all about making sure that the club engages in all the age old rivalries formed on the rugby field.

The first match of this New Year with England is definitely filled with a lot of excitement as the fans have not lost their interest in buying the tickets for the match.

Andy definitely promises that the Scotland Rugby team is going to put up a tough competition with the nearest neighbors in what seems to be a grappling encounter.

With this promise, he hopes that the fans grow in the urge and hope and believe in the Scotland team as without their support, the team players do not have the confidence to go and put on a strong and competitive game filled with loads of excitement.

The next game that the Scotland rugby team will be encountering this year is against the last year’s world cup finalists, France and he is sure that with the practice and skills, Scotland will definitely give a tough competition to the champion’s.

However, he hopes that the supporters sport up some form of blue jersey or even a hat pr anything which represents Scotland in some way or the other. Having a full house audience to support them is also on the cards to make sure that they have a full crowd of audience supporting them on every move.

Andy wants the world to know that their supporters believe in the team and are ready to be by their side wherever they go.