Scotland's international stadium at Murrayfield is to host six matches in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, among them a quarter-final.
In all, the Edinburgh ground will be the venue for four of the six pool matches, a quarter-final play-off and a quarter-final game. As has already been reported, Hampden Park will be the venue for South Africa's opening pool match, but because of a European qualifying game, the national football stadium is able to host only one match in the rugby event.
The sixth pool match will be played at Netherdale, the home of Gala. The ground has been frequently used in recent seasons for high-profile matches, hosting New Zealand and Australia.
The 1999 World Cup will, for the first time, have a final line-up of 20 teams organised into five pools of four, one each being hosted by Scotland, England, France, Wales, and Ireland, with the final scheduled for Cardiff. Only the pool winners will automatically progress to the quarter- finals, with the runners-up and the third-best overall competing in quarter-final play-offs.
World champions South Africa are the only country so far guaranteed a place in the Scotland pool - but, short of a catastrophe, one of the other three places should be taken by the Scots.
The home nation will be required to play two qualifying matches before the end of September in a European pool of three. Scotland's opponents in this qualifying pool will emerge from the three European Round B groups currently reaching their completion stage.
The winners and runners-up from the three European pools will be allocated to three further groups following a draw to take place at the end of this month. It will all depend on the draw and that could mean Scotland having to face Italy in the qualifying tournament as they head Europe Round B Pool 1, in which the likely runner-up could be Croatia.
The Netherlands head Pool 2, with Romania or Ukraine the possible second finishers, while Spain lead Pool 3, with neighbours Portugal looking like finishing as the runners-up.
qSCOTLAND rugby officials yesterday quelled fears that Gordon Simpson could be forced out of the eight-match tour of Australia and Fiji.
Kirkcaldy's New Zealand-born flanker underwent knee surgery this week to clear some loose debris from behind his knee, but chief coach Jim Telfer insisted that Simpson, who has Scottish grandparents, will be among the 36-man party when they leave the UK on May 18.
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