Club international rugby: Rankin salutes the sacrifices of dedicated Scotland club hopefuls

THE OLD-fashioned nature of club stars making sacrifices to represent their country is on show for the first time in Ayr tonight when the popular Scotland Club international team take on their French equivalents at Millbrae.

The club team has played in Edinburgh and the Borders, but this is the first sortie into Ayrshire and also marks a debut for Gala’s Lee Millar, originally from Elgin.

Team manager Ian Rankin said: “It has been a great success in Galashiels in recent times, but the west hasn’t had the opportunity to see this team yet and with Ayr’s success in recent years there is a growing support for club rugby in this part of the country.

“There has been a real excitement this week around the game and I think a lot of that goes back to the fact that this is like the way Scottish international rugby used to be in the amateur days, with players who supporters would see every week in the bar after games making the sacrifices of taking time off work to train, and go that extra mile to represent their country. We have two boys from Aberdeen who played last weekend and then travelled down for training on Monday, again on Wednesday and have now joined up for the game, and that takes a lot of commitment from guys with jobs, and understanding from their employers.

“But it also shows what it means to these guys,” he added. “We have the under-20s playing, the senior side on Sunday, and the pro teams this weekend, and while some, like Lee Jones has done, might use this as a springboard to higher honours, for many this game will be the peak of their careers.

“As ever, selection has been incredibly difficult and there are quality players from right through the top three divisions in club rugby that have put their hands up and will be disappointed to miss out.

“But those chosen have the opportunity to register a win for Scotland against France at the start of a big weekend of international rugby.”

Scotland: F Harkness (Selkirk), C Anderson (Aberdeen Grammar), R Curle (Ayr), D Kelbrick (Glasgow Hawks), F Thomson (Melrose), L Millar (Gala), R Snedden (Currie); A Dymock (Heriot’s), S Crombie (Boroughmuir, capt), A Brown (Dundee HSFP), R McKay (Glasgow Hawks), S Sutherland (Ayr), G Dodds (Melrose), R Colhoun (Ayr), R Weston (Currie). Substitutes: F Brown (Heriot’s), J Cox (Currie), G Holborn (Melrose), R Hawkins (Dundee HSFP), A Rose (Boroughmuir), M Ward (Aberdeen Grammar), S Edwards (Stirling County), D Gilmour (Stirling County).