Rugby: Scott boosts World Cup chances as red-hot Currie show Howe it's done

CURRIE'S teenage stand-off Matt Scott is hoping that a strong finish to the club season will boost his chances of being involved at the IRB Under-20 World Cup in Argentina over the summer.

Scott was back in harness together with his fellow age group caps Dougie Fife, James Johnstone and Alun Walker, as Currie demolished Howe of Fife 75-7 at Duffus Park on Saturday to ease into the last four of the Scottish Hydro Premier Cup.

The quartet were big contributors to a display of power that produced 13 tries and underlined the Malleny Park side's credentials as contenders for a league and cup double.

Fife and Walker played for half of the game, while Scott and Johnstone both lasted the full 80 minutes. Johnstone looked sharp throughout the match, while Scott admitted that his lack of game time over recent weeks had meant it took time to settle. However, by the closing stages, the playmaker was linking up well with half-back partner Richard Snedden to release the pace behind the powerful Currie scrum.

"There was a bit of rustiness there because we haven't played together for a while," he said. "We're just hoping we're going to get better and better as we gel together again.

"We started off pretty structured and we were dominating in the set-piece but it became a bit loose a times. We wanted to stick to our game plan but everyone was eager to get on the ball and everyone was keen, just because we haven't played together for a while."

A strike against the head at the first scrum of the day was a warning to the hosts and, to their credit, Howe adapted well to their weakness in that department. However, they were powerless against a Currie juggernaut that produced a series of close-range drives before Ross Weston claimed the first score of the day.

Fife was incisive after his international sojourn and he darted in for a brace, which came either side of a penalty try after Howe offended as they sought to repel the Currie pack.

Two conversions by Johnny Smith contributed the remaining points as they turned with a 24-0 lead and Andy MacMahon stretched the advantage with try number five shortly after the restart.

The home side's attacking opportunities were limited but, while they lacked the cohesion of their opponents, there were several good performances and they earned the reward for their determination to run the ball when Chris Mason snatched a try and Fraser Clark added the conversion.

However, that was a defiant gesture rather than the start of a fightback and Currie struck six times in the next 12 minutes, with Mark Cairns and Smith claiming a double apiece, while MacMahon bagged his second and Scott joined them on the score sheet.

And, despite a late flurry by the hosts, Currie rounded off their romp into the semi-finals with tries from Willie Moala and Ryan Wilson.

"If we were looking for perfection, it could have been a bit more structured," admitted Scott. "But to come to Duffus Park, which is a notoriously hard place to win, and put 75 points past them, we would have taken that at the start."

He is now focused on Currie's twin ambitions for league and cup, and hopes that strong performances over the coming weeks will secure his place in the squad for South America.

Scott enjoyed a head-to-head with Howe's Ross Aitken, who is on the fringes of the Scotland age group squad, but it is the highly-rated Edinburgh Accies playmaker Alex Blair who was first choice No.10 in the Six Nations.

"Alex is a senior Academy player and they rate him every highly. I've got great respect for him as a player," added the Edinburgh University student. "I was happy to get as much game time as I could and make the best impression I could when I came on. The coaches obviously felt Alex was the best player for the job.

"Hopefully I can push for a starting place in one of the games at the World Cup. But all I can do now is get my match fitness and my match practice back up."

Howe coach Garry Horne, whose side have risen through the National Leagues and still have an outside chance of promotion from Premier 3, will use Saturday's match to help the development of his side.

"We told the players to go out and enjoy the experience and to benchmark themselves," he said. "The boys can take pride in the performance – forget the scoreline. All credit to Currie, their offload game is fantastic. They also did us the courtesy of fielding a full-strength side so we give them respect for that."

Scorers:

Howe of Fife: Try: Mason; Conversion: Clark.Currie: Tries: Weston, Fife (2), Penalty, MacMahon (2), Cairns (2), Smith (2), Scott, Moala, Wilson; Conversions: Smith (4), S Walker.

Howe of Fife: M Daly, A McLean, W Wardlaw, F Clark, G Imrie, R Aitken, S Lathangie, S Player, M Keeble, G Henderson, A Kennedy, G Steedman, P Crawford, I Wilson, C Mason. Subs used: T Turpie, C Dow, E Jack, M Calcutt.

Currie: J Smith, W Moala, J Johnstone, A MacMahon, D Fife, M Scott, R Snedden, J Cox, N Scobie, A Reekie, A Adam, R Wilson, S Burton, J Thomson, R Weston. Subs used: A Walker, A Hamilton, S Walker, M Cairns.