Scotland have named their side to travel to Italy for their U20 Six Nations clash at the Stadio Mirabello in Reggio Emilia.
The game kicks off at 6pm GMT and will be live streamed on the Italian Rugby Facebook Page, Scotland are looking for their first victory after defeats to Ireland and England, while Italy look to bounce back after defeat to France, having beaten Wales in their opener three weeks ago.
Scotland Head Coach Sean Lineen has made three changes to the side that lost to England last time out, all three from Boroughmuir. Rufus McLean comes in on the right wing, with Kyle McGhie coming in at scrum half, meanwhile Gregor Brown comes in on the blindside flank.
Once again the young Scots are led by Southern Knights number 8 Rory Darge, with Watsonians Connor Boyle alongside him in the back row with Brown. Meanwhile in the second row Watsonians Kieran Watt and Stirling County’s Cameron Henderson once again line up together.
In the front row there are two Exiles, Sale Sharks Ewan Ashman starts at hooker again, with Sydney University’s Thomas Lambert at loosehead. Southern Knights’ Mak Wilson is again on the tighthead side.
In the backline another Exile, Bristol Bears’ Nathan Chamberlain, will link up with McGhie in the backline. Chamberlain has started every game so far in the tournament. The centres meanwhile see Boroughmuir’s Robbie McCallum and Watsonians’ Matthew Currie link up once more, while joining McLean in the back three are Southern Knights’ Jacob Henry and Ayrshire Bulls’ Ollie Smith at full back.
The bench, meanwhile, sees Rory Jackson, Alex Maxwell, and George Breese cover the front row, with Jamie Campbell covering the second row and Durham University’s former Sedbergh star Jack Hill covers the back row. Coming on in the backline will be Roan Frostwick, Cameron Scott, and Harry Paterson.
Speaking to www.scottishrugby.org ahead of the game, Sean Lineen said:
“This is a big opportunity for us. Italy have improved over the years, they’ve got good academies and a lot of players. I’ve been really impressed with how our squad have rolled their sleeves up. It has been a pretty challenging week because of the weather but we need to go out there and do our talking on the pitch.
“We’ve got a really tight group here with talented individuals and we need to teach them to get to the next level.”
“I thought some of our defence against England last time out was outstanding. We know we should have won that game and the players have taken that on board. I want them to get across that line and would love for them to experience a win in the Scottish jersey.”
Scotland U20 XV v Italy – Friday, 6pm, Stadio Mirabello, Live on Italian Rugby Facebook Page
15 Ollie Smith (Ayrshire Bulls), 14 Rufus McLean (Boroughmuir Bears), 13 Matthew Currie (Watsonians Rugby), 12 Robbie McCallum (Boroughmuir Bears), 11 Jacob Henry (Southern Knights), 10 Nathan Chamberlain (Bristol Bears), 9 Kyle McGhie (Boroughmuir Bears), 1 Thomas Lambert (Sydney University), 2 Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks), 3 Mak Wilson (Southern Knights), 4 Kieran Watt (Watsonians Rugby), 5 Cameron Henderson (Stirling County), 6 Gregor Brown (Boroughmuir Bears), 7 Connor Boyle (Watsonians Rugby), 8 Rory Darge (Southern Knights, captain).
Replacements: 16 Rory Jackson (Watsonians Rugby), 17 Alex Maxwell (Stourbridge), 18 George Breese (Stirling County), 19 Jamie Campbell (Biggar), 20 Jack Hill (Durham University), 21 Roan Frostwick (Watsonians Rugby), 22 Cameron Scott (Boroughmuir Bears), 23 Harry Paterson (Heriot’s Rugby).
