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).
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