Scotland have named their side for their U20 Six Nations opener against England on Friday night at the Twickenham Stoop.
Head Coach Kenny Murray has named back row Liam McConnell and centre Duncan Munn as his co-captains for the 7pm kick off at the home of Harlequins, which will be abailable live on BBC iPlayer.
Edinburgh and Boroghmuir Bears star McConnell is joined by fellow Edinburgh Rugby Academy man Rudi Brown, of the Southern Knights, in the back row, with GHA’s Jonny Morris at number 8. In the second row it is a combination of Ealing Trailfinders’ Jake Parkinson, who is at Brunel University, and Glasgow Warriors’ Harris McLeod of Stirling Wolves.
In the front row there is another man splitting his time between Stirling Wolves and Glasgow Warriors, Callum Norrie at tighthead, while McConnell’s fellow Boroughmuir Bear Corey Tait is at hooker, with Cardiff Met Uni’s Max Surry at loosehead.
In the backs Munn, who also plays for Boroughmuir Bears but is part of the Glasgow Warriors setup, is partnered in the centres by Glasgow Hawks’ Kerr Yule, while at half back its an Ayrshire Bulls pairing, Richie Simpson at fly half and Ben Afshar, who is also at Glasgow Warriors, at scrum half. The back three sees Heriot’s Dan King at full back, with GHA’s Amena Caqusau on the left wing and Calday RFC’s William Robinson, the former Wirral Grammar pupil, on the right.
The bench contains another Boroughmuir Bear, Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, as well as two Glasgow Hawks, Moby Ogunlaja and Ruadaidh Hart, as well as Watsonians’ Craig Davidson and Souther Nights’ Sam Derrick. Glasgow Warriors have another representative on the bench in the shape of Finlay Burgess of Southern Knights, while Bath’s Eddie Erskine, a former Millfield student now at Bath University, is also on the bench alongside Ealing Trailfinders’ Geordie Gwynn.
Speaking ahead of the game, Kenny Murray said: “Playing against England is always an exciting way to begin the Six Nations and the whole team are looking forward to giving their all at the Twickenham Stoop on Friday.”
“We’ve learnt a lot from our campaign last year and the guys have been working hard to implement those lessons in training to make sure we can walk away with a result we are proud of. It’ll take a great amount of physicality and determination from the team to walk away with a victory and I’m sure the players have it in them.”
Scotland U20 XV v England: Friday, 7pm, Twickenham Stoop
15 Dan King (Heriot’s Rugby), 14 William Robinson (Caldy RFC), 13 Duncan Munn (Boroughmuir Bears/Glasgow Warriors), 12 Kerr Yule (Glasgow Hawks), 11 Amena Caqusau (GHA RFC), 10 Richie Simpson (Ayrshire Bulls), 9 Ben Afshar (Ayrshire Bulls/Glasgow Warriors), 1 Max Surry (Cardiff Met University), 2 Corey Tait (Boroughmuir Bears), 3 Callum Norrie (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors), 4 Jake Parkinson (Brunel University/Ealing Trailfinders), 5 Harris McLeod (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors), 6 Liam McConnell (Boroughmuir Bears/Edinburgh Rugby), 7 Rudi Brown (Southern Knights/Edinburgh Rugby), 8 Jonny Morris (GHA RFC).
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty (Boroughmuir Bears), 17 Craig Davidson (Watsonian RFC), 18 Moby Ogunlaja (Glasgow Hawks), 19 Eddie Erskine (Bath University/Bath Rugby), 20 Ruaraidh Hart (Glasgow Hawks), 21 Sam Derrick (Southern Knights), 22 Finlay Burgess (Stirling Wolves/Glasgow Warriors), 23 Geordie Gwynn (Brunel University/Ealing Trailfinders).
