Rugby: Currie will come before caps quest claims Cox

Cross-coder Cox revealed he has declared himself unavailable to add to his three Scotland rugby league caps in the forthcoming European Championships as he pursues fresh rugby union ambitions.

Said prop forward Cox: "I was thrilled and delighted to help Scotland's rugby league side to success in the last home internationals but the time has come to give more priority to Currie.

"We haven't made the best of starts and this is a make-or-break match against Boroughmuir so far as the rest of our season is concerned.

"The Currie train got back on the rails when we won for the first time at Selkirk last week but we need to hit form not only to maintain hopes of retaining the title but also to do Scottish club rugby proud in the forthcoming British and Irish Cup.

"After all that, if I can show a bit of individual form it would be great to try to merit consideration for the Scottish clubs' international team.

"So, for the meantime, I've had to reluctantly say rugby league is out and I'll be at Currie as often as possible where one role is to try to bring through exciting young talent such as hooker Fergus Scott who has broken into the team this season aged just 18."

That's exactly the age Cox was when he made his premiership debut. . . for Boroughmuir.

"This is always a special fixture for me because of the fact I joined Boroughmuir on moving to Edinburgh (from Ellon) as a teenager.

"And last season saw us Boroughmuir a couple of hidings (57-12 and 46-14).

"But Boroughmuir are obviously confident and going well to sit top of the premiership and have recruited ex-pros such as Ally Warnock, who was a flat-mate of mine when I joined Boroughmuir."

It's four years since Cox, a mortgage broker, moved up Lanark Road West to Currie from Meggetland and – two title clinching matches apart – this is one of the most important fixtures he has undertaken.

Over 60 ex-players will be attending a lunch to mark Currie's 40th anniversary, some travelling from as far afield as California, Australia and the Middle East.

Cox said: "If it was not for these guys who started the climb through all the divisions we would never have been in a position to compete for premiership titles.

"There has been a lot of talk about putting on a special show and while that can lead to pressures we think we can use them positively.

"So far as maintaining a run that started at Selkirk is concerned we have addressed basics in recent weeks and aren't trying to be too fancy. Really, that Selkirk win was important for all sorts of reasons because our bus broke down ten minutes out of Edinburgh – that's the third time it's happened on a trip to the Borders in my experience –and there was a lesson for some young players about having to take things in your stride and not relying on having a proper warm-up."

There should be no such travel difficulties tomorrow for a Currie side who introduce Tom Brown on the wing for Edinburgh pro Andy Turnbull with Alan Whittingham called on to the bench.

Boroughmuir, meawhile, will recall Edinburgh scrum half Ross Samson for Sam Johnson while full back Stephen Ruddick is also unavailable which means a first appearance for Harris Jones. Added to the squad are Graeme Blackhall and David Reekie.

Elsewhere, Heriot's visit a Dundee High team on a high after a tight win at Hawick and fielding the same pack for the fourth successive week.

Injuries mean Heriot's will have a delay in finalising a line-up and the same goes for a Watsonian side bidding to get off the mark at home to Hawick.

In Division Two Edinburgh Accies will be aiming for a sixth straight win at home to Peebles while Stewart's Melville entertain Kirkcaldy.

Highlight of the Division Three card will be the East Lothian derby between Musselburgh and Haddington at Stoneyhill.