THE HERALD REPORTS

Young Scots must win to secure top 12 place and berth in Argentina
ALAN LORIMER June 13 2009
Scotland go into their final Pool B match of the IRB World under-20 championship against Japan in Tokyo today knowing that a win over the hosts will have implications for both this tournament and next year's event in Argentina.

Of immediate consequence are Scotland's prospects in Japan. Victory would put the Scots in the 9-12 block of teams and an almost certain tie against Fiji in the fourth round of the competition next Wednesday but, perhaps more significantly, a win and with it a finish in the top 12 would ensure Scotland a place in next year's IRB under-20 championship.

The IRB recently announced that the championship, as from next year, will be trimmed by four to become a 12-team tournament which means that the four teams finishing in the 13-16 places will not be invited to Argentina.

Coach Rob Moffat, however, warned against thinking too much about the result. He said: "We have to concentrate on how we play. We know that Japan will play a high-tempo game and when they get the chance close to the line will drive their line-out.

Make no mistake, they will try to play rugby."

Japan were defeated 43-0 by England in their opening game but showed their attacking flair by scoring four tries against Samoa, although they ultimately lost 29-20. Three of their scores in that match came from Ryuhei Arita, their captain, who will switch from hooker to flanker for today.

Scotland, too, lost to Samoa in injury time in a game they should have won when they led 14-7 midway through the second half. Against England, the Scots went down 30-7 but showed the type of forward control they will need to exert against Japan.

For today's match, Moffat has beefed up his centre pairing by naming Alex Dunbar in the midfield position to partner Robbie Johnston and moving Ash McCulloch to the wing. "We want to try to get Alex more involved," stated Moffat.

Elsewhere, behind the scrum Glasgow Hawks half- backs Peter Jericevich and Andrew White start together for the first time.

In the forwards, the only change to the pack that started against England is at hooker where captain Fraser Brown returns after recovering from an injury.

On the bench, Bedford's James Knight wins his first place in the starting line-up.

This article was posted on 13-Jun-2009, 07:23 by Hugh Barrow.