From all at Hawks congratulations to Iain Kennedy and Stephen Biggart who are included in the Six Nations Under 21 Squad

PAXTON NAMES U21 CORE SQUAD FOR SIX NATIONS

Scotland Under-21 coach Iain Paxton has named his core squad of 26 for the forthcoming shadow Six Nations championship. He is excited about the involvement of 13 professional players in the young squad and the emergence of talented players from BT Premiership clubs.

Paxton said: “Last year hooker Ross Ford was the only full-time professional in our core squad but this year we have 13 players who are involved with pro-sides and who’ll bring a great deal of experience to the group and who are fully prepared for the level of competition we’ll face next month.”

The squad boasts an impressive mix in the back row with Glasgow Warriors’ John Barclay and John Beattie, both of whom have been fully involved in their side’s Celtic League and Heineken Cup matches this season, as well as Edinburgh Gunners’ openside Alan MacDonald who makes his first start for the team in their Heineken Cup clash with Llanelli Scarlets tomorrow at Murrayfield.

Border Reivers centre Garry Law, another player who has been blooded in the Celtic League, is also involved along with exiles Dave Blair from Sale Sharks and the Leicester Tigers’ duo of prop David Young and lock Ian Nimmo.

They are complemented by six apprentices from Scotland’s three pro-teams in the shape of Gunners Ben Cairns and Kyle Traynor, Warriors Iain Kennedy and James Eddie as well as Reivers Lee Kibble and James King.

Paxton said: “This is the core squad from which our starting line up against France in Falkirk on Friday 3 February will be picked. It is a very capable squad with a lot of talent but the Six Nations will be a big call for the players. Last year we finished third overall and if we match that or even better it, I’ll be very pleased.

“We take on Newcastle Falcons on Monday (16 January) in our final development match before the championship starts. Some of the core players won’t be available for that game but it means we can call on other players in the squad to show us what they can do at this level. We need to grasp the level of intensity the players will be expected to play at next month.

“Last week against Sale Jet we competed well for 40 minutes and went into half time leading 19-18. We need to deliver that kind of performance for 80 minutes on Monday and the players are determined to prove themselves this time round,” he added.

Scotland Under-21 lost to Sale Jets 65-19 last Monday at Heywood Road, Sale. In last year’s Six Nations they notched memorable victories over England (19-17), Ireland (16-8) and Italy (38-12) but were pipped by France (12-8) in the opening game and lost to Wales (31-7) to finish third overall. The Under-21s went on to finish sixth overall in the IRB U21 World Championship in Mendoza, Argentina last summer.

SCOTLAND UNDER-21 CORE SQUAD

BACKS: Ben Addison (Stirling County and Central Institute of Sport), Stephen Biggart (Glasgow Hawks), Dave Blair (Sale Sharks), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh Gunners, Currie and Scottish Institute of Sport), Robert Cairns (Boroughmuir), Iain Kennedy (Glasgow Warriors, Glasgow Hawks and West of Scotland Institute of Sport), Lee Kibble (Border Reivers, Biggar and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), James King (Border Reivers, Melrose and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Greig Laidlaw (Jed-Forest), Garry Law (Border Reivers), Dave Whiteford (Melrose)

FORWARDS: John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Institute of Sport), John Beattie (Glasgow Warriors and Scottish Institute of Sport), Innes Brown (Stirling County and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Willie Brown (Hillhead/Jordanhill and West of Scotland Institute of Sport), Sean Crombie (Aberdeen GSFP and Grampian Institute of Sport), James Eddie (Glasgow Warriors, Ayr and West of Scotland Institute of Sport), Ryan Grant (The Army), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh Gunners and Scottish Institute of Sport), Ross Miller (Melrose), Scott Newlands (Heriot’s and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Ian Nimmo (Leicester Tigers), Michael Robertson (Hawick), James Taggart (Currie), Kyle Traynor (Edinburgh Gunners, Boroughmuir and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), David Young (Leicester Tigers)

SCOTLAND UNDER-21 TEAM v NEWCASTLE FALCONS DEVELOPMENT
Monday 16 January - Percy Park, Newcastle (7pm)

Ben Addison (Stirling County and Central Institute of Sport); Dave Whiteford (Melrose), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh Gunners, Currie and Scottish Institute of Sport), Iain Kennedy (Glasgow Warriors, Glasgow Hawks and West of Scotland Institute of Sport), Lee Kibble (Border Reivers, Biggar and East of Scotland Institute of Sport); Dave Blair (Sale Sharks), Greig Laidlaw (Jed-Forest); Ryan Grant (The Army), Sean Crombie (Aberdeen GSFP and Grampian Institute of Sport), David Young (Leicester Tigers), James Eddie (Glasgow Warriors, Ayr and West of Scotland Institute of Sport), Ian Nimmo (Leicester Tigers), Scott Newlands (Heriot’s and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Ross Miller (Melrose), James Taggart (Currie)
Substitutes: Willie Brown (Hillhead/Jordanhill and West of Scotland Institute of Sport), Kyle Traynor (Edinburgh Gunners, Boroughmuir and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Innes Brown (Stirling County and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Michael Robertson (Hawick), Stephen Biggart (Glasgow Hawks), James King (Border Reivers, Melrose and East of Scotland Institute of Sport), Robert Cairns (Boroughmuir)

SCOTLAND UNDER-21 FIXTURES

Newcastle Falcons Development v Scotland U21 – Percy Park, Newcastle (Monday 16 January, 7pm)

Scotland U21 v France – Falkirk Stadium (Friday 3 February, 7pm)
Wales v Scotland U21 – Newport (Friday 10 February, 7.10pm)
Scotland U21 v England – Bridgehaugh, Stirling (Friday 24 February, 7pm)
Ireland v Scotland U21 – Athlone (Friday 10 March, 7.30pm)
Italy v Scotland U21, Benevento (Friday 17 March, 7.30pm (local time))

IRB Under-21 World Championship – Vichy, France (Monday 5 June – Sunday 25 June)

This article was originally posted on 13-Jan-2006, 12:53 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 13-Jan-2006, 13:15.