ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE SCOTTISH RUGBY UNION Please note the change at scrum-half Scott Steele will be playing, not Jack Steele. Scotland under-20 head coach, Peter Wright, has today named his team to play against England under-20 at Firhill on Friday night (3 February) in their RBS 6 Nations opener, kick-off 7.30pm.
Four players return to the under-20 set-up hoping their experience will help the new blood at this age-grade level.
Edinburgh Rugby’s Robin Hislop will captain the side, with Harry Leonard, Alex Allan and Mitch Eadie all returning to the starting line-up having played in last year’s competition.
The match, which is FREE for spectators, also sees second-row Jonny Gray make his under-20s debut having been promoted from Scotland under-18. Also starting will be Tomasso Allan, who plays at Western Province in South Africa and whose uncle, John Allan, played both in the dark blue of Scotland and for South Africa.
Wright is well aware of the challenge that Friday’s match will bring but he knows his men can begin their campaign with a flying start against the Auld Enemy.
He said: “We have had a strong pool of players who have trained well in preparation for the RBS 6 Nations championship. This has made selection for the England match difficult.
“I have included four guys who were involved last year who will bring leadership and experience to the side. The others, particularly Gray and Adam Sinclair, have all earned their places on merit, performing their way into contention.
“The England game will be a huge battle, but we have players who will bring pace and physicality to the match.
“On the bench we have another pool of talent, some of whom have pro-experience, and who will come on fast and strong.”
The Scotland under-20 team to play England under-20 on Friday 3 February at Firhill Stadium at 7.30pm is as follows:
15 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Scotland 7s / Heriot’s)
14 Jamie Farndale (Edinburgh Rugby / Edinburgh Accies) 13 Robbie Fergusson (Ayr) 12 Tomasso Allan (Western Province) 11 Michael Crawley (Boroughmuir)
10 Harry Leonard (Edinburgh Rugby) 9 Scott Steele (Leicester Tigers)
1 Robin Hislop (Edinburgh Rugby / Boroughmuir) (captain) 2 Fergus Scott (Currie) 3 Alex Allan (Loughborough Students) 4 Jonny Gray (Hamilton) 5 Adam Sinclair (Stirling County) 6 Mitch Eadie (Bristol Rugby) 7 Will Bordill (Sale Sharks) 8 Jamie Swanson (Boroughmuir)
16 George Turner (Edinburgh Rugby / Stewart’s Melville) 17 Jamie Bhatti (Stirling County) 18 Andrew Redmayne (Dundee HSFP) 19 Callum Reid (Edinburgh Accies) 20 Struan Cessford (Heriot’s) 21 Murray McConnell (Glasgow Warriors / Ayr) 22 Finn Russell (Falkirk) 23 Tom Steven (Glasgow Hawks)
Scotland under-20 RBS 6 Nations fixtures:
Friday 10 February 2012 Parc Eirias – Wales under-20 v Scotland under-20, Time TBC
Friday 24 February 2012 Netherdale – Scotland under-20 v France under-20, 7.30pm
Friday 9 March 2012 Dubarry Park – Ireland under-20 v Scotland under-20, 7.05pm
Friday 16 March Calvisano – Italy under-20 v Scotland under-20, 6pm
ENDS
For further information please contact: Cameron MacAllister Communications and Public Affairs Assistant – Scotland under-20 Tel: +44 (0)131 346 5008 Mob: +44 (0) 7764 178921 email: [email protected]
Nick Rougvie Head of Media Operations & Public Relations Mob: +44 (0)7814 615 604 Tel: +44 (0)131 346 5266 email:[email protected] www.scottishrugby.org Follow us on Twitter @scotlandteam
