AS Scotland prepare to play the All Blacks next month, competition is

intensifying for the open-side wing forward's role. Ian Smith, Murray

Wallace, and John Amos have emerged in vying to be Iain Morrison's

successor.

Morrison, the 30-year-old London Scottish flanker, wore that jersey

with honour last season. Indeed, he could have done a job for the Lions

as Peter Winterbottom's understudy, but Morrison's only recent return

from injury has left the potential for change.

Smith, Gloucester's perennial captain, can see the way to an

international return whereas Wallace, leading Glasgow High/Kelvinside

for the first time this season, has the incentive of a first cap. So has

Amos, who has been revelling in Gala's ride to the joint lead in the

national league.

Wallace will state his case when -- under the command of his elder

brother, Fergus -- he plays for Glasgow in the 114th Inter-city match

against Edinburgh at Hughenden on Saturday. It will be only his second

district game, but he made such progress through Scotland's Pacific tour

in May and June that he was a natural for this opening match in the

district championship.

Glasgow choose from strength. All 15 have previously played district

rugby whereas the South, defending the title, have one newcomer, Brian

Swan, the Gala centre, for the Riverside Park match against North and

Midlands, also on Saturday.

Swan and Amos, who slipped from the national selectors' favour after

the 1992 tour to North America, have won their ways into the South team

even though neither was in the draft XV. The Gala pair displace

Jed-Forest duo Andy Douglas and Calum Brown -- which leaves the host

club with no-one in the district XV.

Two capped players, Tony Stanger and Doddie Weir are back in the South

XV, as are the original front-row trio, Gary Isaac, Jim Hay, and Hamish

Hunter. But Stanger's deputy, Rodney Pow, Selkirk's stand-off, remains

in the team, switching from the right wing to the left at Gary Parker's

expense.

South are defending the title in a truncated series, with knock-out

instead of the usual league format. Winners of Saturday's matches will

meet in the final a week later. The losers will contest a third-place

play-off.

Scottish Exiles, excluded from the district championship, are having

to travel to Ireland to draw the national selectors' attention. Last

week they lost to Leinster in Dublin, and for the visit to Limerick to

play against Munster on Saturday they have made no fewer than six

changes, including the omission of Chris Gray, Nottingham's

international lock.

Dale McIntosh, Pontypridd's Scotland A breakaway, could not be

considered for the return across the water as he broke a hand bone in

the Dublin match. The gap at No.8 is filled by David Leckie, who played

twice for Scotland B while he was with Edinburgh Academicals.

Two of Leckie's London Scottish colleagues, Paul Burnell, the Scotland

and Lions prop, and David Millard, resume after having been unavailable

for Dublin. They displace Graham Smith and Kevin Troup. Similarly,

Murray Craig (ex-Edinburgh Wanderers) and Iain Bruce depose Malcolm Kemp

and Gavin Fraser on the wings, and Richard West, the Gloucester forward

who has attracted the national selectors' interest, takes over from

Gray. Saturday teams:

Glasgow (v Edinburgh, Hughenden, 2.30) -- K M Logan; A S M Turner

(both Stirling County), S McIntosh (West of Scotland), I C Jardine

(Stirling County), R A G Porter (Edinburgh Acads); D N Barrett, F H

Stott (both West of Scotland); A G J Watt (GHK), K D McKenzie, G B

Robertson, M Norval (all Stirling County), D S Munro, F D Wallace,

captain (both GHK), J Brough (Stirling County), M I Wallace (GHK).

Replacements -- C T Simmers (Edinburgh Acads), C E Little (GHK), G T

Mackay (Stirling County), S Blair (West of Scotland).

South (v North and Midlands, Riverside Park, 2.0) -- M Dods (Gala); A

G Stanger (Hawick), S A Nichol (Selkirk), B A J Swan (Gala), R L Pow

(Selkirk); A G Shiel, B W Redpath (both Melrose); G R Isaac (Gala), J A

Hay (Hawick), H A Hunter (Gala), R R Brown, captain, G W Weir (both

Melrose), D J Turnbull (Hawick), C D Hogg (Melrose), J P Amos (Gala).

Scottish Exiles (v Munster, Limerick, 2.30) -- N J Grecian (London

Scottish); M P Craig (Waterloo), F J Harrold (London Scottish), R C

MacNaughton (Northampton), I Bruce (Orrell); K A Bray (Harlequins), D B

Millard (London Scottish); A V Sharp (Bristol), B W Gilchrist, A P

Burnell, D F Cronin, captain (all London Scottish), R West (Gloucester),

P Walton (Northampton), D E W Leckie (London Scottish), I R Smith

(Gloucester). Replacements -- K Troup (London Scottish), J McLeod

(Rugby), J Miller (Gosforth), S Masters, P M Jones (both Gloucester), D

C M McGavin (Bedford).

* INJURIES have enforced two changes in the South under-21 team's

threequarter line for the Kelso match against Scottish Universities this

evening. Donald Scott (Jed-Forest) and Stewart Lang (Kelso) replace

Cameron Murray (Hawick) and Craig Joiner (Melrose).

Universities include Stephen Wands, who played for the Scottish

Schools in victory over the Australians in Sydney in August. The former

Dollar forward is now at Edinburgh University. Students' team:

D Officer (Edinburgh); J Chadwick (Glasgow), D Whittingham (Dundee), C

Bruce (Aberdeen), D McKinlay (Edinburgh); M Robinson, R Scott (both

Heriot-Watt); J Fayers (Edinburgh), J Peggie (Aberdeen), R Sloan, C L

Wands, L Brazier, R Henley (all Edinburgh), R Evans (Aberdeen), A

Montgomery (St Andrews).