EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS REVEALS

Scotland 'A' head coach Andy Robinson has chosen Chris Cusiter to captain the squad during the forthcoming IRB Nations Cup in Romania.
The talented scrum half, who will turn 27 on the Tour, leads a squad, with an average age of just 24, into the matches against Russia (Friday 12 June), Uruguay (Tuesday, 16 June) and France 'A' (Sunday, 21 June) with hooker Ross Ford handed the vice captaincy.

Robinson believes Cusiter – set to join Glasgow Warriors in July – will prove to be a good leader and says the Romanian experience will prove to be hugely beneficial to the squad's overall development.

Robinson said: "Chris is a very talented scrum half and will lead by example on the pitch.

"Having worked with him on the 2005 Lions Tour, I know how good his management and decision making skills are.

"A strong squad has been selected for the competition with experienced Test players mixed together with up-and-coming young players.

"I've been to Romania twice before with rugby and I have no doubts everyone involved with the tour will benefit from the experience.

"We have some tough games on our schedule and we are expecting the heat to test our players' fitness, but we are confident that a raft of positives will emerge from the Tour.

"We've selected five centres, but I consider them all to be versatile members of the back division and have the ability to fulfil a different role if required.

"I'm looking forward to working with Joe Ansbro and Alex Grove and seeing what they've got to offer the team."

Northampton Saints centre Joe Ansbro is a new recruit to the Scotland 'A' set-up and earned his call-up following some impressive displays in the Guinness Premiership.

The 23-year-old centre was born in Glasgow and admits he is delighted at the prospect of representing his country of birth in the IRB Nations Cup.

Ansbro said: "I'm very pleased to have been selected and it is a new challenge for me.

"It is something that I've wanted to do for a while, but unfortunately I've had a few injuries.

"Now I've had more Premiership experience with Northampton I feel ready to play international rugby.

"I've always been a Scotland rugby fan and I've always followed them.

"I've spoken to both Tom Smith and Euan Murray about playing for Scotland and I'm really excited about going to Romania with Scotland 'A'."

Worcester's Alex Grove, 21, has represented Scotland before at under-18, under-19 and under-20 level.

Scotland 'A' squad for the IRB Nations Cup 2009: Joe Ansbro (Northampton Saints), David Blair (Edinburgh), Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh), Stuart Corsar (Doncaster Knights), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (CAPTAIN, Perpignan), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Rob Dewey (Ulster), James Eddie (Glasgow Warriors), Ross Ford (vice captain, Edinburgh), Roddy Grant (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), Craig Hamilton (Edinburgh), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Al Kellock (Glasgow Warriors), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Scott Newlands (Edinburgh), Jim Thompson (Edinburgh), Kyle Traynor (Edinburgh), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) and Simon Webster (Edinburgh).

This article was posted on 15-May-2009, 13:50 by Hugh Barrow.