British and Irish Lion’s key role in new rugby setup at University of Stirling

A new era beckons for rugby at the University of Stirling with an ex-Scotland international and British and Irish Lion leading an exciting partnership with Stirling County Rugby Club.

Allan Dell – who has 34 caps for the national team – retired from Glasgow Warriors earlier this year to take on the lead role in the collaboration between the University and County – which aims to bolster Stirling’s prowess in both men and women’s rugby.

The partnership’s ambition is to attract talented young players to the city, while supporting the University to reach new heights in the student game.

Having also played for Edinburgh and London Irish, Allan’s appointment promises to bring extensive high-performance knowledge and experience to the role. He is supported in delivering on the innovative vision by Bob McKillop – who has recently been appointed Head Coach of the Men’s team – and Stewart Ross, Head Coach of the Women’s team.

Working in collaboration with the coaching staff, performance consultant Allan will strengthen links between the University and Stirling County, and with existing Scottish Rugby pathways; oversee and support the development of the Men’s and Women’s teams, and their coaching staff; enhance player recruitment; and focus on resource, including fundraising and sponsorship opportunities.

Excited

Allan said: “I’m very excited for this challenge and to build the rugby programme here at the University of Stirling – there’s a lot of ambition and a lot of potential. I think we could be successful in rivalling some of the big institutions in the UK when it comes to rugby.

“The facilities here are incredible, and we’ve seen what our swimming, golf and football programmes have achieved – there’s nothing stopping us getting to that high-performance level in rugby, particularly given our partnership with Stirling County whose people share our ambition. The thing that excites me most is that everybody is on the same page.”

L-R: David Bond (Director of Performance Sport, University of Stirling); Eddie Pollock (Performance Director, Stirling County Rugby Club); Bob McKillop (Men's Coach, University of Stirling); Allan Dell (Performance Consultant, University of Stirling/Stirling County Rugby Club); Brooke Barr (Women's Rugby President, University of Stirling); Scott Christie (Men's Rugby President). 

The University Men’s and Women’s 1s teams currently play in their respective British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) Scottish Tier 1 leagues, while the Men’s 2s compete in Tier 3. Allan believes that the new partnership with County will help the teams progress through the leagues – with promotion to BUCS Super Rugby the ultimate long-term goal for both sides.

A number of players in both the Men’s and Women’s teams already play for County XVs, and several of the women have caps for Scotland Under-20s, including Emily Norval, Holland Bogan and Sky Phimister. The partnership aims to further strengthen the pathways between university rugby, and club, national and international rugby.

Insight

Bob – an alumnus of the University of Stirling – was appointed Head Coach earlier this year. With vast experience in the game, he is a former Scotland Under-20 coach and is also Head Coach of Scottish Premiership side Heriot’s. Notably, while an Economics student at the University of Stirling, he played for County himself – giving him a unique insight into the new partnership.

Bob said: “I’m very keen to put something back into this institution. For a long time, I’ve been lucky enough to coach at school, club and district level in Scotland – but I’ve never coached at university level. I feel that it’s one of the biggest missed opportunities from a Scottish rugby perspective – in terms of participation and performance. This is a place with excellent facilities where players have the opportunity to focus their time on rugby as well as their studies.

“The partnership with Stirling County takes this to a whole new level – it becomes a rugby strategy for Stirling as a city. Both the University and Stirling County have to be successful for the partnership to work – we are definitely stronger together – and this is an opportunity to build something that doesn’t exist elsewhere in Scotland.”

Opportunity

Eddie Pollock, Performance Director at Stirling County, said: “We’ve had good links with the University for many, many years. Now that we are in a formal partnership, I think it’s really exciting – there’s a real opportunity to attract talented players to the University and to help the Men’s and Women’s sides move up the BUCS leagues, and create a pathway to play age-grade rugby for Scotland, and perhaps move into the professional game as well.

“We are only in the initial throes of things, but I’m already starting to see green shoots coming through and the players are enjoying having quality people working with them.”

Benefits

Scott Christie, Men’s Rugby President and a fourth-year BSc Sport and Exercise student, said: “To have Allan and Bob join the programme is brilliant – they are great people for the boys to look up to, both on and off the pitch. This is the beginning of something a lot bigger.”

Brooke Barr, Women’s Rugby President and a third-year BSc Psychology of Sport student, added: “It’s definitely beneficial – you can already tell the influence this is having on our coaching and performance. Allan has brought the Men’s and Women’s teams together a bit more – which is important for rugby here at Stirling.”

At Stirling, athletes have access to world-class facilities, including a 50-metre pool, unrivalled outdoor space, and state-of-the-art strength and conditioning suites. In addition to its coaching and facilities, Stirling’s International Sports Scholarship Programme – one of the largest high-performance programmes in the UK – offers athletes funding support, academic flexibility, equipment and kit. It has supported hundreds of athletes since its inception in 1981 – with many competing on the world stage, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Core sports include rugby, triathlon, football, golf, tennis, swimming and curling, while individual scholarships cover all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports.

Read more about sports scholarships at the University of Stirling.