Christian Euan Murray may get nod for Scotland A team

IT MAY not have the same cache as the RBS Six Nations Championship opener against France but the A international match against Ireland at Ravenhill in Belfast on Friday night is a massively important game for Scotland.

For a start, it is, as Scotland A head coach Sean Lineen points out, an opportunity for established players returning from injury to gauge their state of rehabilitation in a testing match situation.

Of course the raison d'etre of the A team is to prepare less experienced players for the step up to senior international rugby. "There will be about 40 players at Murrayfield this week, all training under the same system, and in front of the national coaches. There's a real opportunity there," says Lineen.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

So what are the chances at Ravenhill? Tonga provided a reasonable level of opposition in November at Gala's Netherdale stadium, but Ireland A will be a much tougher test for the Scots.

Tougher because Scotland will play in front of a large and passionate Belfast crowd and against an Ireland A side battle hardened by today's game against England Saxons at Bath.

For the Bath fixture Ireland A have named such well known players such as Isaac Boss, hooker Rory Best, prop Marcus Horan, lock Mick O'Driscoll, scrum half Peter Stringer, stand-off Ian Humphreys and fellow Ulster midfielder Paddy Wallace.

Against them will be a strong Saxons line-up which features Shane Geraghty in the pivot position, wingers David Strettle and Noah Cato and Leicester scrum-half Ben Youngs.

Religious beliefs could influence a key choice for Scotland A if, as has been hinted, first team coach Andy Robinson recommends that committed Christian Euan Murray, who will not play on Sundays, is given a Friday night run at Ravenhill.

Murray on the tighthead and the rapidly improving Jon Welsh on the other side of the front row would provide the foundation for a pack that could contain Jim Hamilton at lock alongside Scott MacLeod, Scott Lawson at hooker and a back row that is likely to be selected from Scott Gray, Ross Rennie, and his Edinburgh cohorts Scott Newlands , Roddy Grant and Alan MacDonald, although the latter must be in serious contention for the senior team. There may also be a desire to look at Geoff Cross and Kyle Traynor at prop.

Behind the scrum the focus of attention will be the fly-half position. If Robinson selects both Phil Godman and Dan Parks in his 22 then Ruaridh Jackson will wear the No.10 jersey in Belfast. And could Rory Hutton figure on the bench?

Of course the Netherdale experiment of fielding Hugo Southwell at stand-off , despite his Paris club playing him at scrum-half in recent weeks, could be repeated. Southwell played pretty well at No.10 against Tonga, his strong kicking game and slick distribution contributing to the Scotland A victory. But it was something of a stop-gap measure.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Southwell could also revert to full-back but the likelihood is that Jim Thompson will be given another chance in that position to confirm his recent good form for Edinburgh. Elsewhere expect Greig Laidlaw to be at scrum-half, possibly captaining the side, and on the wings any two from Mark Robertson, Simon Webster, and Simon Danielli.

At centre it is again a question of who misses out on the senior team. If Andy Robinson sticks with the midfield pairing that played against Australia then that would leave Ben Cairns, John Houston, Max Evans and Nick De Luca as A team candidates, adding up to a strong reserve side capable of winning the battle of Belfast.

SCOTLAND A TEAM DATES

Fri 5 Feb: v Ireland (Ravenhill, 7.30pm)

Fri 26 Feb: v Italy (Biella, 8pm)

Related topics: