THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Churchill Cup: Thomson not cowed by Saxons

FERGUS Thomson will be hoping it\'s third-time lucky when he leads Scotland A against the England Saxons in the final of the Barclays Churchill Cup in Chicago this evening (8pm).
The Glasgow hooker is leading the Scots for the first time, but it\'s his third outing in the Churchill Cup tournament and after finishing runners-up to the Saxons last year, and fourth the previous year, Thomson is confident the Scots can lift the ADVERTISEMENTtrophy tonight.

\"We\'ve made steady improvement after being virtually chucked together and we\'ve come together as a team. The boys are really looking forward to taking on what are a good English XV. We\'ve seen them in action, so we know how hard it\'s going to be.\"

After last week\'s semi-final win over Argentina Pumas, the Scots moved from Canada to the USA and after a couple of days playing golf etc, Thomson and his men have been hard at work in Chicago.

\"The training\'s gone really well and we\'re confident we can beat the Saxons, and then enjoy a couple of weeks holiday before resuming training with our pro clubs. We got a tremendous boost when Scotland beat Argentina last Saturday and a win for us would be a terrific way to finish off this season\"

The Scotland A coach Rob Moffat has made five changes to the starting XV that defeated the Pumas, with scrum-half Colin Gregor teaming up with Saracens stand-off Gordon Ross and Edinburgh duo Mark Robertson and Roland Reid returning to the wings.

The only change in the pack sees Glasgow flanker James Eddie re-instated to the blindside berth as Moffat anticipates a physical battle against a Saxons side in search of their fourth Churchill Cup title in six years.

Looking forward to the final, Moffat said: \"We\'ve taken a lot of positives from the first two games. The big challenge for us now is to raise the bar of performance once again and ultimately win the Churchill Cup.

\"We know England are a big test for us because they\'re strong and powerful up front and have some game breakers behind the scrum. But while we respect that, we are concentrating on our own game.\"

\"The Churchill Cup final is a positive and exciting challenge for us and everyone connected with the Scotland A team is excited by the opportunity that lies ahead.\"

While England have some big backs, including Bath wing Matt Banahan, Scotland A have their own powerhouse in Rob Dewey, who has been outstanding in both attack and defence so far.

Gordon Ross has also played well at stand-off, varying his game astutely, and while the Scots pack may well be conceding weight and height the backs won\'t be overawed by their opponents, with Roland Reid and Mark Robertson also providing power and pace.

Scotland A (v England Saxons in the Barclays Churchill Cup final at Toyota Park, Chicago, tonight, 8pm): S Jones (Newcastle Falcons); M Robertson (Edinburgh), R Dewey (Ulster), C MacRae, R Reid (both Edinburgh); G Ross (Saracens), C Gregor; E Kalman, F Thomson capt (all Glasgow Warriors), D Young (Leicester Tigers), F Pringle (Edinburgh), D Turner, J Eddie, S Swindall (all Glasgow Warriors), A MacDonald (Edinburgh). Subs: A Kelly (Edinburgh), S Corsar (Rotherham), J Dunbar (Leeds Carnegie), S Newlands (Edinburgh), M McMillan (Wasps), D Blair, J Thompson (both Edinburgh).

This article was posted on 21-Jun-2008, 07:45 by Hugh Barrow.