DODDIE Weir, Melrose's lanky international forward, is back in favour.
Scotland's rugby selectors have restored him to the national squad for
practice at Murrayfield on Sunday in preparation for the international
against New Zealand on November 20.
Weir, who has played in Scotland's past 18 internationals, was omitted
when the national squad met earlier this month. The selectors relegated
him to the Scotland A and Development XV squad, but they seem satisfied
now that his game has responded to the jolt.
He is not alone in promotion. Alan Watt, Glasgow High/Kelvinside's
international prop, also steps up from the lower to higher squad, as
does his district colleague, Kevin McKenzie, Stirling County's
effervescent hooker.
For too long McKenzie has suffered by being tagged as too small for
international rugby, but, with his inclusion in the squad, he would seem
now to be behind only Kenny Milne among Scottish rugby's hookers.
Perseverance and performance have won through, and unless the cup is
dashed from his lips he should be on the bench for the international
against the All Blacks.
Craig Chalmers and Andy Nicol, Scotland's probable half-backs against
New Zealand, are back in the squad after injury, but two Lions, Scott
Hastings and Peter Wright, are missing. Hastings has a business
engagement on Sunday whereas Wright, making way for Watt, has dropped
down to the Scotland A/Development squad meeting at Raeburn Place the
same day. The Boroughmuir prop, it seems, has suffered from Edinburgh's
defeat by Glasgow in the Inter-city match on Saturday.
Kent Bray, Derek Patterson, and Jim Hay also have been redirected to
Raeburn Place, deposed respectively by Chalmers, Nicol, and McKenzie.
Fergus Wallace, the GHK flanker and Glasgow captain, and Chris
Dalgleish, the 19-year-old Gala wing who scored two tries in his first
game for South against North and Midlands on Saturday, also augment that
gathering. So do Gary Parker, the Melrose scoring-machine, Peter Walton,
the Northampton flanker who scored two tries on his debut for the
Scotish Exiles against Leinster at Lansdowne Road 12 days ago, and the
Dundee and North-Midlands props, Danny Herrington and John Manson.
Dale McIntosh, Pontypridd's Scotland A back-row forward, has been left
out of the Raeburn Place squad as he broke a hand bone in the Exiles'
Dublin match, but he hopes to be fit to resume for the Anglo-Scots when
they play Auckland a week on Saturday. Squads for Sunday:
SCOTLAND (at Murrayfield)
Backs -- C M Chalmers (Melrose), M Dods (Gala), A G Hastings
Watsonians), I C Jardine, K M Logan (both Stirling County), R C
MacNaughton (Northampton), A D Nicol (Dundee HS FP), B W Redpath, A G
Shiel (both Melrose), A G Stanger (Hawick).
Forwards -- A P Burnell, D F Cronin (both London Scottish), C D Hogg
(Melrose), A E D Macdonald (Heriot's FP), D J McIvor (Edinburgh
Academicals), K D McKenzie (Stirling County), K S Milne (Heriot's FP), D
S Munro (Glasgow High/Kelvinside), A V Sharp (Bristol), I R Smith
(Gloucester), D J Turnbull (Hawick), R I Wainwright (Edinburgh
Academicals), A G J Watt (Glasgow High/Kelvinside), G W Weir (Melrose).
SCOTLAND A AND SCOTLAND DEVELOPMENT XV (at Raeburn Place)
Backs -- M J de G Allingham (Heriot's FP), K A Bray (Harlequins), C S
Dalgleish (Gala), A Donaldson (Currie), H R Gilmour, I C Glasgow (both
Heriot's FP), N J Grecian, F J Harrold (both London Scottish), J A Kerr
(Watsonians), S McIntosh (West of Scotland), K R Milligan (Stewart's
Melville FP), S A Nichol (Selkirk), G H Oliver (Hawick), G A Parker
(Melrose), D W Patterson, C T Simmers (both Edinburgh Academicals), D A
Stark (Boroughmuir), D S Wyllie (Stewart's Melville FP).
Forwards -- S A Aitken (Watsonians), J P Amos (Gala), S J Brotherstone
(Melrose), S J Campbell (Dundee HS FP), N G B Edwards (Northampton), C A
Gray (Nottingham), J A Hay (Hawick), D W Herrington (Dundee HS FP), G R
Isaac (Gala), P M Jones (Gloucester), A J Kittle (Stewart's Melville
FP), J J Manson (Dundee HS FP), M Norval (Stirling County), N J Penny
(Stewart's Melville FP), S J Reid (Boroughmuir), F D Wallace (Glasgow
High/Kelvinside), P Walton (Northampton), G D Wilson, P H Wright (both
Boroughmuir).
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