STIRLING County RFC's Rugby Academy is now being supported by a Bannockburn garage.

Care sales and garage business Kilgannon Motors has teamed up with the club to support the successful academy, which develops young players between the ages of 12 and 18, raising the standard of the game on a domestic level.

Club president John Wright said: “The Stirling County Rugby Academy is enabling the club to build on the success of its highly regarded junior and youth rugby sections.

“I would like to thank Kilgannon Motors for their generous support of our Rugby Academy, which I am sure will continue be of great benefit to many of our young players and improve the standards within our sport.”

John emphasised that Stirling County RFC has for the past three decades been at the forefront of rugby development in Scotland, saying: “There are over 300 boys and girls from the ages of 7 to 18 at Stirling County, who are regularly training and successfully playing in matches and tournaments throughout the country and beyond.

“Stirling County’s Under-18s are current National Youth Cup holders having achieved this accolade six times in the last decade, while our age-grade youth teams, Under-13s to Under-18s, were overall champions of the inaugural Scottish Rugby’s President’s Conference in 2015/16, comprising the elite rugby development clubs across Scotland, and currently lead this season’s competition. County’s Under-15s, Under-16s and Under-18s also won their respective Caledonia Cup competitions, further demonstrating the high quality of coaching within our Junior – Mini and Youth Rugby.”

He added: “Developing our future rugby talent is central to Stirling County’s objectives and we are continuing to invest in the necessary infrastructure at Bridgehaugh to provide our players with the best opportunities to progress in the sport.

“We also work with local primary and secondary schools to introduce rugby to young players from all local areas and backgrounds, who are encouraged to play and enjoy the sport at Bridgehaugh.”

Jamie Kilgannon, managing director of Kilgannon Motors is delighted to support the academy.

He said: “The club’s ethos, facilities and long-term investment in young people’s overall development is very impressive, encouraging active and healthy life-styles while improving rugby playing skills.

“We at Kilgannon Motors are proud to support these objectives of the Rugby Academy at Bridgehaugh over the next three years.

“Many of the club’s young players have gone on to play in the top flight of club rugby and have risen to even higher levels in the sport, playing for professional clubs and representing Scotland at international level.

“We hope we can help County’s academy provide many more rugby stars of the future.”

Kilgannon is also “passing something back...” to the club through a loyalty scheme. The garage will donate £5 for every £50 spent on garage labour costs by club members back to Stirling County RFC.