THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Alan Lorimer
SCOTLAND play their final pool match of the IRB Under-20 World Championship tomorrow at the Club Atletico Estudiantes in Paraná where they face Tonga in what will be a rematch of the final game last year in Osaka.
Twelve months ago Scotland edged past Tonga with a 28-25 win to claim overall ninth finishing place. Tomorrow the match is less about the final position in the pool and more about restoring confidence after two severe defeats at the hands of Australia and South Africa that have left the Scots with the worst points difference and with no championship points after two rounds.

Tonga, too, have suffered confidence-draining reverses against the big two southern hemisphere sides in the group and will enter the contest tomorrow with precisely the same aim as Scotland. A win for Scotland would almost certainly leave the Scots among the 9-12 ranked countries for the semi-final and final stages but if they win with a bonus point then there is a faint chance of making the 5-8 grouping. Defeat would place Scotland in 12th position at the end of the pool stage and facing the 9th ranked country in round four next Thursday.

Elsewhere, New Zealand take on Wales in Pool A, England face France in Pool B and in Pool C South Africa and Australia clash in what could be a dress rehearsal for the final.

Scotland Under-20s: T Brown (Edinburgh Accies); M Tait (Newcastle Falcons), J Kennedy (Sale Sharks), A Dunbar (Glasgow), D Fife (Currie); D Weir (Glasgow), A Black (Leeds Carnegie); A Kent (London Scottish), A Walker (Currie), N Little (Hawick), D Denton (Edinburgh Accies), G Gilchrist (Stirling County), R Harley (West of Scotland), M Maltman (Heriot's), S McInally (Watsonians) captain. Substitutes: A Fedorciow (Bath), G Hunter (Glasgow Hawks), C Stidston-Nott (London Scottish), R Weir (Loughborough Students), M Scott (Currie), J Johnstone (Currie), C MacBurnie (Moseley).

This article was posted on 12-Jun-2010, 07:20 by Hugh Barrow.