Scotland No8 David Callam will continue his comeback from his hip injury by featuring for Gael Force in the British and Irish Cup at Exeter Chiefs on Saturday 21 November (kick off 3pm) and head coach Stephen Gemmell has made nine to the team's starting line-up.
Following the opening day 29-8 loss at Cornish Pirates, Gemmell has reshuffled his pack and introduced a new-look back-row containing 26-year-old Callam, who has recently recovered after a 14-month absence, and Scotland ‘A’ internationalists James Eddie and Calum Forrester.
National Academy players Colin Phillips (prop) and Robert Harley (lock) have been handed starting spots in the front five and Gemmell is aiming to see a more physical showing from his pack.

Gemmell said: “Last week, we didn’t win enough collisions and we are expecting another big, physical battle this week.
“Stuart McInally did well for us last week and he will be involved again. But it is important to get the balance of the back-row right and to bring in somebody with David’s experience is invaluable.
“David brings additional leadership to the squad and he is keen to be involved. He has already demonstrated this during team sessions and he brings that high level of experience to the fore.
“He has already played a couple of times for Boroughmuir since his return from injury, so he has some match fitness under his belt. This is the next step for David in his bid to be fully fit and challenging for a place in the Edinburgh team – which is where he wants to be.”
Gemmell admits some of the alterations to his line-up were forced because of injury, but believes he has selected the right blend of youth and experience for the trip to Sandy Park.
He added: “Some of the changes were made because of injury – Dan Turner, Davie Young, Hefin O’Hare and a couple of others as well.
“Both James Eddie and Calum Forrester played their way into the starting line-up. They performed well, fronted up at Pirates and deserve their opportunity.”
In the backs, Colin Gregor, fresh from featuring for Scotland ‘A’ against Tonga, has been allocated the stand-off berth with David Blair switched across to full-back.
Gemmell explains that the reasoning behind those decisions is that he is trying to make the most of the talent at his disposal.
He said: “It is about getting our best backs on the pitch. We have a sitation where we have both Colin Gregor and David Blair and it is a case of trying to utilize both of them on the pitch. They are both interchangeable and we will be looking to do that during the game.”
Gael Force squad to play Exeter Chiefs in the British and Irish Cup at Sandy Park (Saturday 21 November, kick-off 3pm)

15 David Blair (Edinburgh)

14 Chris Kinloch (Glasgow Warriors)
13 Peter Murchie (Glasgow Warriors)
12 Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors)
11 Tom Bury (National Academy and Boroughmuir).

10 Colin Gregor (Glasgow Warriors)
9 Peter Jericevich (National Academy and Glasgow Hawks)
1 Nicky Little (National Academy and Hawick)
2 Fergus Thomson (Glasgow Warriors)
3 Colin Phillips (National Academy and Stewart’s Melville)
4 Fraser McKenzie (Edinburgh)
5 Robert Harley (National Academy and West of Scotland)
6 James Eddie (Glasgow Warriors)
7 Calum Forrester (Glasgow Warriors)
8 David Callam (Edinburgh)
Substitutes: Sean Crombie (Edinburgh), Dougie Orr (National Academy and Haddington), Neale Patrick (National Academy and Boroughmuir), Stuart McInally (National Academy and Watsonians), Ross Samson (Edinburgh), Stevie Wilson (National Academy and Edinburgh Academicals), Ashleah McCulloch (National Academy and Watsonians).

This article was posted on 27-Nov-2009, 08:26 by Hugh Barrow.