Schools rugby: Holders Edinburgh Academy to face three past winners

Defending champions Edinburgh Academy are drawn alongside past winners, Bell-Baxter High School, Loretto, and Strathallan in Pool 4 of the the restructured Brewin Dolphin Scottish Schools Under-18 Cup which now moves into a group stage comprising the 16 winners from the first round of the competition.

Edinburgh Academy, who have home Cup games against Loretto and Strathallan remain unbeaten this season, but only just, after achieving a narrow 14-10 win over last season's beaten finalists, Stewart's-Melville College, with tries from Chris Dean and Alex Glashan. The title holders have a hard warm-up game tomorrow against Durham School before facing Loretto on Saturday.

Stewart's-Melville, themselves, are drawn in the same pool as Fettes, 17-10 winners over Robert Gordon's College on Saturday, Heriot's and Gordonstoun. The toughest section looks to be Pool 3 which contains previous Cup winners, Dollar Academy and Merchiston alongside Gordon's and Madras College. Another of the fancied sides, George Watson's College, lost their unbeaten record this season after losing to Hutchesons' Grammar School 10-8 at Auldhouse. Watson's will meet Hutchesons' again in the second stage of the Cup in a group that also includes Marr College and North Berwick High School.

Meanwhile, in youth rugby the Edinburgh & Lothians league have rejected the suggestion they forced Stirling County to move back to the Midlands under-18 league. County, along with Dunfermline and Perthshire joined the Edinburgh & Lothian set-up last season in order to gain better competition and wanted to repeat the experience this season.

But, according to an Edinburgh spokesperson, Stirling were informed by the SRU that their participation in the National Youth League Cup could be jeopardised if they joined in with Edinburgh.

Only the first two from each of the district leagues go forward to the National Youth Under-18 Cup but Edinburgh were reputedly quite comfortable with Stirling entering the Youth Cup as one of the two top finishers of the league.

DRAW

UNDER 16s

Pool 1: Dunbar Grammar School, High School of Dundee, Hutchesons' Grammar School, Madras College.

Pool 2: Dollar Academy, High School of Glasgow, North Berwick High School, Stewart's-Melville College.

Pool 3: Edinburgh Academy, Glasgow Academy, Marr College, Nicolson Institute.

Pool 4: Millburn Academy, Banchory Academy, George Watson's College, Robert Gordon's College.

UNDER 18s

Pool 1: Fettes College, George Heriot's School, Gordonstoun, Stewart's Melville College.

Pool 2: Hutchesons' Grammar School, Marr College, North Berwick HS, George Watson's College.

Pool 3: Dollar Academy, Madras College, Merchiston Castle School,Robert Gordon's College.

Pool 4: Bell Baxter High School, Edinburgh Academy, Loretto School, Strathallan School.