Club International: Relief for John Dalziel as he is cleared to lead club side on home turf

JOHN Dalziel will lead the Scotland Club international side for the sixth time as they face their Irish counterparts at Netherdale tonight relieved that two yellow cards on league business has not cost him the honour.

The flanker, who recently turned 33, was cleared at a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday night of any further sanction after being sent off in Melrose's Premier One win away to Glasgow Hawks.

Having skippered the side in their opening match - a defeat in France - he was eager to lead the side in his hometown of Galashiels and maintain a 100 per cent home record against Ireland. Dalziel said: "I was a bit worried at the start of a very big week to be facing a hearing but I didn't know what the first yellow was for and the referee said he didn't think there was any malice in the second.

"I'm glad it is over with now and I can look forward to this because it is a huge honour for me and you don't know if you'll get another opportunity to represent your country.

"I love club rugby and I think it gets written off wrongly at times. I've been involved for about 16 years and the standard gets better and better all the time, and the people who come to Netherdale will see a team that is talented and bursting with pride to do well for Scotland."

With Dalziel free, head coach Ally Donaldson has made only three changes to the side that lost in France for what will be the inaugural Dalriada Cup international. Experienced Ayr stand-off Ross Curle comes off the bench and will start at outside centre, taking the place of Dundee youngster Harry Duthie, while Glasgow Hawks' hooker Eric Milligan - whose wife is due to give birth any day now - packs down with two new props in the shape of Ayr's Gordon Reid and Bruce McNeil, the Hawick skipper, who is a switch for the injured Alan Brown of Dundee.

This fixture is the oldest in the club international series with both sides having won all their home games. Scotland narrowly missed out on the chance to alter that last season when Ireland's substitute centre Darragh Fitzpatrick landed a 35-metre drop-goal two minutes into injury time to snatch a 21-18 win at Donnybrook.

"These matches are always tight with the standard getting better every year," said Scotland team manager Ian Rankin.

"Our strengths come in experience. A number of the Scotland players have played at this level on a number of occasions before, while the majority of the players now have the benefit of playing in the British & Irish Cup.

"The players really enjoy the atmosphere at Netherdale. Our close victory over France last season was a major achievement in front of a big Borders crowd.

"We're looking to the supporters to come out in force again to make a lot of noise and give the guys a lift."

Entry is free and a crowd of over 2,000 is expected for what remains a highlight in the club rugby calendar.

The Irish team, coached by Dolphin's David O'Mahony and captained by Cork Constitution's Frank Cogan in a strong back row, contains five new caps in the starting line-up and another four on the bench.

Barry Keeshan, consistently one of the highest points scorers in the Ulster Bank League, starts at stand-off alongside new scrum-half Matt D'Arcy from St. Mary's College.

Old Belvedere's try-scoring machine David Mongan and John O'Brien of Buccaneers make their debuts in the back three.Scotland Club XV: (v Ireland at Netherdale, 7.30pm): T Brown (Currie); F Thomson (Melrose), R Curle (Ayr), D Kelbrick (Glasgow Hawks), D Fife (Currie); S Wight (Melrose), R Snedden (Currie); G Reid (Ayr), E Milligan (Glasgow Hawks), B McNeil (Hawick), D Kelly (Ayr), R McKay (Glasgow Hawks), J Dalziel (Melrose) capt, R Colhoun (Ayr), R Weston (Currie). Subs: F Gilles (Currie), A Dymock (Heriot's), N Campbell (Glasgow Hawks), A Dunlop (Ayr), A Dymock (Dundee), M Scott (Currie), H Duthie (Dundee).

Ireland Club XV: J O'Brien (Buccaneers); J Cleary (Galwegians), E Moloney (Dolphin), E Ryan (Clontarf), D Mongan (Old Belvedere); B Keeshan (Dolphin), M D'Arcy (St. Mary's College); J Ryan (UCC), R Sweeney (St. Mary's College), C Condon (Dolphin), P Donnellan (UCC), S Crawford (Clontarf), H Hogan (St. Mary's College), B O'Mahony (Clontarf), F Cogan (Cork Constitution) capt. Subs: C Kavanagh (Clontarf), G Slattery (Young Munster), L Og Murphy (Young Munster), D Hall (St. Mary's College), G Hurley (Cork Constitution), A Kingsley (Young Munster), S Morrow (Ballynahinch).