Scottish Rugby targets teenage twins from South Africa who are Scottish-qualified

James and Josh Mackenzie, who are Scottish-qualified, trained with Glasgow Warriors earlier this month ahead of the game against the Lions in Johannesburg.

The brothers are in grade 11 at Kingswood College in Makhanda, a town in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, where they play first-team rugby.

James is a utility back and Josh is a flanker and the pair have already been to Scotland. They attended Glenalmond College in Perthshire last September and October as part of an exchange programme between the two schools.

They spent time with both Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors and have met with David Nucifora, Scottish Rugby’s performance director, and Kenny Murray, who leads the governing body’s National Talent Pathway programme.

Scottish-qualified through grandparents

The Mackenzie brothers are Scottish-qualified through paternal grandparents and Murrayfield bosses hope to persuade them to leave South Africa for Scotland. “They are targets of ours, and discussions have taken place to make that happen,” said one Scottish Rugby source.

The next step would be to sign them to academy contracts and assign them to either Glasgow or Edinburgh.

The twins enjoyed their first taste of Scotland during their time at Glenalmond and noted the differences between rugby in the two countries.

“Rugby in South Africa has higher intensity and physicality, but in Scotland, the conditions and structure are more profound,” Josh told the Daily Dispatch.

James said: “The game in South Africa tends to be very physical and forward-oriented, with a strong focus on power, set pieces and direct running. Here in Scotland, the game can be faster and more open. There’s often more focus on tactical kicking, quick transitions and using the width of the field effectively.”

Murrayfield’s Scottish Qualified programme monitors talent in England and abroad and plays an increasingly important role in recruitment as Scotland struggles to produce enough players of the required quality. Around half the national squad came through the English system or from overseas. The net is spread wide and now appears to increasingly take in younger talent.

Harry Soboil, another South African teenager, is in Edinburgh’s academy and the centre was part of the Scotland Under-19 squad which played Italy recently.