MOFFAT SHUFFLES PACK AHEAD OF FIJI
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Scotland under-20 head coach Rob Moffat has rotated his squad ahead of the side’s penultimate IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship match against Fiji at the Hanazono Stadium, Osaka (kick-off 7am BST).
Two of the eight changes to the side that defeated Japan 12-7 on Saturday were forced when Scotland captain Fraser Brown and lock Nick Campbell returned home after sustaining injuries in the match and have since been replaced by Alun Walker (Currie) and Tom Drennan (Edinburgh Accies) in the touring squad.


Scotland under-20 head coach, Rob Moffat, said: “Some of the players have played three games a short time apart and, while they’re physically prepared and willing to play, we have rotated the squad to make the best use of the 26 players we have in Japan.
“Fiji will be similar to Samoa which was a game which I feel we should have won but we have to work on developing a style of play that suits us.”
In a shuffled back division, Tom Brown makes his first start of the tournament, Henry Pygros returns to start at scrum-half, Ashleah McCulloch comes back to his familiar outside-centre role while the versatile Alex Dunbar starts on his inside.
Robert Harley moves into the second-row to partner Richie Gray following Campbell’s withdrawal while Struan Dewar joins the back-row at number eight.
The front-row changes mean that Gavin Cameron will start for the first time since the Championship opener against Samoa while Finlay Gillies comes in to hook in place of the departing captain, whose armband goes to flanker Chris Fusaro.
Moffat added: “When developing players we need to work hard at developing leaders and it’s important that you give young players responsibility.
“He [Fusaro] has played very well and has impressed a lot of people, I’m sure he’ll handle it well. He has a lot of respect from the players because of the way he conducts himself both on and off the field.”
Scotland team to play Fiji at the Hanazono Stadium, Osaka on Wednesday 17 June (kick-off 7am)
15 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors)
14 Grant Anderson (Ayr) *
13 Ashleah McCulloch (Aberdeen Grammar) **
12 Alex Dunbar (Selkirk) **
11 Tom Brown (Edinburgh Accies) *
10 Andrew White (Glasgow Hawks) **
9 Henry Pyrgos (Wimbourne)
1 Gavin Cameron (Stirling County) **
2 Finlay Gillies (Heriot’s) **
3 David Morton (Bridgwater and Albion)
4 Robert Harley (West of Scotland) *
5 Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors)
6 Ryan Wilson (London Scottish)
8 Struan Dewar (Heriot’s) **
7 Chris Fusaro CAPTAIN (Heriot’s) *
Replacements
16 Alun Walker (Currie)
17 Grant Shiells (Kelso)
18 Grant Gilchrist (Stirling County) *
19 Stuart McInally (Watsonaisn) *
20 Peter Jericevich (Glasgow Hawks) *
21 Robbie McGowan (Stirling County)
22 James Knight (Bedford)

This article was posted on 16-Jun-2009, 16:51 by Hugh Barrow.