Peter Wright demands top-12 spot is retained in South Africa

Under-20 head coach Peter Wright is charging his players with the responsibility of ensuring Scotland remain in the top 12 countries in the world as they depart for the IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa next month.

Wright has named a 28-strong squad, comprising 16 forwards and 12 backs, and captained by the Edinburgh stand-off Harry Leonard. Wright’s appraisal of the task ahead in Cape Town is starkly realistic. “We have to ensure that we preserve our position in the Junior World Championship in the future and avoid relegation to the Junior World Trophy,” he said.

“Our realistic ambition would be to get into the battle for places between five and eight. We decided on a 16/12 split between forwards and backs because that will give us two full packs to work with and we know the physicality of the teams that we’ll be facing.”

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The Scots will meet Australia, France and Argentina in their pool games and that will be a real test of their forwards’ mettle.

“We are giving 28 players a fantastic opportunity to test themselves against Southern Hemisphere teams and against Pacific islanders and that’s an experience the majority have not faced before,” he added.

Five players have been added to the squad who did not feature during the most recent Under-20 Six Nations campaign: Keith Buchan and Stuart Smith -–who have both graduated from the Scotland age-grade structure – Gary Graham, Andrew Nagle and Napier University student Alex Henderson.

Squad: Backs: Tommy Allan (Western Province), Mark Bennett (Clermont Auvergne), Keith Buchan, Michael Crawley* (both Boroughmuir), Jamie Farndale (Edinburgh/Edinburgh Accies), Robbie Fergusson (Ayr), Sam Hidalgo Clyne (Scotland 7s/Heriot’s), Harry Leonard (Edinburgh/Boroughmuir), Murray McConnell (Glasgow/Ayr), Finn Russell (Falkirk), Tom Steven (Glasgow Hawks) and Matt Torrance (Ospreys). Forwards: Alex Allan (Loughborough), Jamie Bhatti (Stirling County), Will Bordill (Sale), Mitch Eadie (Bristol), Gary Graham (Gala), Alex Henderson (Boroughmuir), Robin Hislop (Edinburgh Rugby/Boroughmuir), Andrew Nagle (Jed-Forest), Andrew Redmayne (Dundee HSFP), Callum Reid (Edinburgh Accies), Gavin Robertson (Dundee HSFP), Fergus Scott (Currie), Adam Sinclair (Stirling County), Stuart Smith (Aberdeen Grammar), Jamie Swanson (Boroughmuir) and George Turner (Edinburgh/Stewart’s-Melville FP).