County and Wanderers clash in semi

Stirling County and Gala Wanderers face each other in the first of the RBS under-18 Youth Cup semi-finals at Bridgehaugh tonight with the winners taking on the winners of Sunday’s match between Selkirk YC and Boroughmuir in the final.

Title-holders Stirling start as favourites because of the depth of international district experience in their pack.

Prop Jamie Bhatti played for Scotland under-20s this season, while, on the other side of the front row, Ross Murray is a Scotland under-18 cap.

Their other national representatives are in the back row, where flankers Ruraidh Leishman and Shaun MacDonald played for Scotland under-20A and Scotland under-18 respectively. Wanderers finished runners-up in the Borders semi-junior league and currently top the Borders table in the semi-junior sevens series.

Two of their side – Gregor Mein, who was a Scotland under-17 cap last season, and Jamie Parker – have both played for the senior Gala side in this season’s Kings of the Sevens tournaments.

TEAMS: Stirling County: M Hall; B Clark, A Russell, A Tunaley, A Innes; J Urquhart, S Gillies; J Bhatti, S Govan, R Murray, G Anderson, J Fuentes, R Leishman, S MacDonald, C Arnold. Subs: tbc.

Gala Wanderers: A Williams; F Welsh, J Parker, G Mein, M Lemon; R Jeffrey, G Hamilton; K Austin, K Bennett, J Hernden, B Reevley, M Howarth, H Brown, J Irvine. Subs: R Paterson, R Horsburgh, G Millar, K Young, L Armstrong, C Hancock, S Anderson.