Sent on behalf of Gav Scott, Head of Rugby Development

I would firstly like to thank you all for your understanding and support last weekend regarding the postponement of Conference and League fixtures in light of the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen.

The Competitions team have now completed the rescheduling of matches, and these new dates have been communicated to the relevant competition committees to share with clubs. The Scottish Rugby website has also been updated to reflect these changes.

In some leagues, fixtures have been rescheduled to take place on Saturday 5 November and 19 November, the same days Scotland Men are set to play in the Autumn Nations Series at BT Murrayfield. We appreciate that there may be players and officials from your club or society who wish to attend these matches, and so we would welcome clubs to discuss with their opposition and match officials, the option of an earlier kick-off in order to both be able to play and attend an international fixture.

Looking ahead, I can now confirm that competitive fixtures for this week may resume as normal.

As a mark of respect, and in keeping with the tone of National Mourning, we would ask clubs to consider holding a period of silence prior to kick-off and players may wish to wear black armbands.

The public have also been invited to take part in a National Moment of Reflection this Sunday (18 September) to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and reflect on her life and legacy. The National Moment of Reflection will take place at 8pm on Sunday. For those clubs whose post-match activity may run into this time period, please be aware of this moment.

The country has also been granted a Public Holiday on Monday 19 September to mark Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. As such, the Rugby Development department will be closed. We will continue to monitor the rugbydevelopmentadmin@sru.org.uk inbox for any urgent inquiries.

On behalf of everyone at Scottish Rugby I would like to thank you all for your understanding at this time, and wish you the best for the weekend ahead.

With a number of clubs still outstanding in their submission of a signed Annual Declaration Form, in accordance with SDR 4.1, the deadline has been extended to Wednesday 21 September.

Alongside a signed copy of the Annual Declaration Form, all member clubs providing player Benefits (as defined in SDR 4.1) must also provide an Annual Listing of Player Benefits.

The Declaration and Player Listing Forms for season 2021/22 cover the period 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

The forms for this MUST be submitted by 21 September and should be submitted by ALL members clubs.

For more information and to view the forms, click on the link below.