New stand-offs stand up

Published on Wednesday 18 November 2009 22:11

THERE is no escaping the stand-off issue in Scottish rugby right now but on the day Sean Lineen was justifying the latest experiment – Hugo Southwell wearing the No10 jersey for Scotland 'A' – two of the next generation of stand-off talents were providing a new sense of hope next door.

Matthew Scott, the Currie fly-half pushing for the Scotland under-20 berth this season, and Gala's Gregor Hunter, who has his eyes on the under-19 jersey, spent the day with Scotland and had one-to-one sessions with Phil Godman and Chris Paterson, as part of the SRU's mentoring scheme.

Iain Monaghan, formerly a professional at Viadana in Italy and now an SRU academy coach, explained: "We are looking around Scottish rugby to see where we have to fill gaps, but using the elite players to help inspire the young guys is also a good way to do it.

"Scotland has been renowned for certain positions in world rugby, and stand-off has been one of them, and I'm quietly confident about where we are with these young players."