THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

DAVID FERGUSON
SCOTLAND\'S leading club players are bracing themselves for playing in front of the biggest crowd most will ever have experienced in the first AIB Club International fixture in Dublin tonight.

The match, to be shown live in Ireland on RTE, has captured the imagination of the Irish and there is already talk that Wales and England want to join forces with the Celts next season in a full-blown amateur home nations tournament.

Gary Parker, coach of the Scotland team, stated yesterday: \"The interest over here is fantastic. We met with Mick Galwey and the Irish management and they told us they would be disappointed if the crowd is not above 7,000.

\"They put posters up in all the towns and clubs of players representing Ireland, and are expecting a lot of people to travel to Donnybrook. There is a great buzz among our lads as well. All the guys are now saying this is what has been missing in the club game, something to aspire to and aim for, rather than just playing league rugby week in, week out.

\"One other thing I\'ve noticed is the way the players who play against each other at home have really come together very quickly and gelled, in the sense of representing Scotland. I think that\'s something we\'ve missed in our club game, particularly with the loss of the old district championship.\"

As to whether this fixture could be expanded next year, Parker added: \"That would be a decision for someone else to make, but I certainly hope this is not a one-off.\"

Ireland Club XV (v Scotland Club XV at Donnybrook, tonight 7.35pm): D Hurley (UCC); N O\'Brien (Clontarf), S Grissing (UCD), G Telford (Dungannon), D Keane (Clontarf); G Steenson (Dungannon), F O\'Loughlin (Clontarf); N Conlon (Dublin Univ), M Crockett (Dublin Univ), S Shaw (Ballymena), M Warburton (Dublin Univ), D Ryan (Shannon), P Malone (Garryowen), D Quinlan (Buccaneers, capt), C Hartigan (Buccaneers). Subs: K Corrigan (Lansdowne), R Sweeney (Clontarf), A Maher (Lansdowne), K Croke (UCD), G Hurley (Garryowen), D Delaney (Shannon), C O\'Boyle (Garryowen).

Scotland Club XV: M Adamson (Glasgow Hawks); M Robertson, J Murray (both Melrose), S Smith (Glasgow Hawks), R Couper (Boroughmuir); M Strang (Glasgow Hawks), C Cusiter (Boroughmuir); B McNeil (Hawick), W Mitchell (Melrose), M Low (Aberdeen GSFP), B MacFarlane (Stirling County), R Maxton (Glasgow Hawks), T McVie (Heriot\'s, capt), A Dunlop (Biggar), A Martyn (Boroughmuir). Subs: D Cunningham (Boroughmuir), E McLaren (Biggar), S Warnock (Glasgow Hawks), J Murray (Melrose), A McFarlane (Ayr), S Duffy (Glasgow Hawks), R Borthwick (Stewart\'s-Melville FP).

This article was posted on 10-Mar-2006, 08:28 by Hugh Barrow.