Shawlands Academy in Glasgow produced a stirring performance at Scotstoun Stadium in their qualification round of the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship today.

Represented superbly by each of their three teams, S1 (boys) and S2 (boys) and under 15s (girls), Shawlands will now progress to the semi-final stage of the tournament and return to Scotstoun on 26 April to compete for a place in the final.

Designed to promote active, healthy lifestyles amongst young people across Scotland, the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship is a fundamental part of ScottishPower’s three-year sponsorship of Glasgow Warriors and its commitment to supporting grassroots sport in Scotland.

If successful, Shawlands Academy will take part in the final, a curtain-raiser to the 1872 Cup Final on May 6th, the annual derby between Glasgow and Edinburgh and the oldest representative fixture in world rugby.  The champions of the tournament will get their hands on the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship trophy as well as winning new rugby kits for their school and a coaching session from the Glasgow Warriors stars.

Shawlands, who played in the kit awarded to them for reaching last year’s final, were looking to go one step further in the competition this time around and claim the Championship trophy for themselves. The unbeaten teams also featured a trio of siblings all hailing from the local area, including Sarah and Kirsty McPherson, Jackson and Harrison Peek and Josh and Niamh Reed.

Alastair Kellock, Scottish Rugby Ambassador said: “It was great to be a part of the quarter-finals today and to help prepare the schools before their big matches. The skill levels, work rate and enthusiasm of all the players was brilliant to see. We’re excited to see how the tournament progresses and to continue to inspire the next generation of rugby players. Our relationship with ScottishPower and our work in the community are both very important to us and this championship allows us to bring the two together. I think there is huge potential for Shawlands to produce some future stars and they should be really proud of making it through to the next round of the championships.”

Keith Anderson, Chief Corporate Officer, ScottishPower said: “We’re delighted to continue working with the Glasgow Warriors to help promote rugby in local schools and the increase in the number of the teams entering the competition this year has been wonderful to see. The ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship is a fantastic opportunity for schools to encourage students to get active through sport as well as providing them the chance to play rugby at the home of one of Europe’s premier clubs.”

Robbie Rennick, Shawlands Academy rugby coach said: “I couldn’t be more proud of our players today, all their preparation and hard work has paid off and they have represented the school magnificently. We’re looking forward to the semi-final now and I know the team can’t wait to come back to Scotstoun. The standard of play across the day has been very impressive and congratulations to all the teams who took part. Finally I’d like to thank the competition organisers for supporting grassroots rugby and giving our pupils the opportunity to play competitively in a professional environment.”

For more information on the ScottishPower Warriors Rugby Championship, please contact Jen Ward or Tom Hallam on 0131 561 8628 or spwarriors@stripecommunications.com

Notes to Editors:

About ScottishPower:

• ScottishPower is part of the Iberdrola Group, one of the largest energy companies in Europe, and the world leader in operating wind energy.  Iberdrola’s main operating areas are Spain, the UK, US, Mexico and Brazil
• In the UK, as well as being a major retail energy supplier, ScottishPower manages the electricity network which supports millions of homes and businesses and is one of the largest producers of renewable electricity
• The company now manages more than 5.6 million retail customer accounts
  SP Energy Networks look after more than 100,000 km of power lines and over 30,000 substations, delivering electricity to more than 3.5 million homes and businesses in Scotland, the North West of England and North Wales.