Scotland A v USA Eagles: Tadudzwe Ngwenya is danger man the A team have to stop

They may not boast the All Blacks' glamour or share the same profile as the Springboks but another international squad pitches up to play Scotland A at Netherdale on Friday evening.

The American Eagles lost recently to Saracens, but since then the tourists have been strengthened by the addition of several key players. Tadudzwe Ngwenya, arguably the fastest man in world rugby, is among them.

It was the Zimbabwean-born winger who famously rounded Springbok flyer Bryan Habana during the last World Cup to score a rare try for the Eagles and he has since done the same to Shane Williams in the Heineken Cup while sporting Biarritz's colours. Whoever is picked on the wing for Scotland A will hope his forward pack can starve the Eagles' danger man of any meaningful possession.

"The A team is a unique environment because some of the players will arrive with mixed feelings, disappointed that they didn't make the full squad," said Scotland reserve team coach Nick Scrivener. "For other young guys it will be their first taste of representative honours. The motivation has to be the same in both cases because we are there to win this match.

"The A squad is a stepping stone whose very reason for existence is to get guys into the senior squad. That may be a long-term goal, like the World Cup, a medium-term goal like the Six Nations or a short-term goal with some guys aiming at the Samoan match the following weekend."

Amongst the older capped players reminding Andy Robinson that they still have something to offer at the highest level will likely be Newcastle's breakaway Ally Hogg who was all but un-droppable a few years back, only to become all but un-pickable now. Tighthead Geoff Cross will be desperate to add to his solitary Test appearance and the likes of Scott McLeod, Dougie Hall and Ben Cairns all have their points to prove.

At the other end of the experience scale loosehead Jon Welsh, fly-half Duncan Weir and Jim Thompson will want to push their case for making their Test debut sooner, possibly even during this autumn series. On top of that there are World Cup places up for grabs. Both the senior and Scotland's second team side will operate a 24-man squad so there are still places to be filled.

SCOTLAND A v USA EAGLES

Friday, Netherdale, 7.30pm