Scotland under-20 head coach Peter Wright wants his men to produce “the game of their lives” when they face their English counterparts in the fourth round of 6 Nations action at Newbury RFC on Friday night (kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports 3 via red button).
The Scots head to the Berkshire ground in search of their first championship win against a side who have emerged victorious from all three fixtures completed to date.
Wright today called on his young charges to demonstrate once more their “pride and passion in the jersey” and their “belief in their own ability”.
The former British and Irish Lions and Scotland prop wants his team to show “channelled aggression” when they take the field at a venue where a Scotland under-21 side featuring current internationalists Graeme Morrison, Alasdair Strokosch, Geoff Cross, Nikki Walker and Dougie Hall came away with a 33-22 win in the IRB under-21 World Championship eight years ago.
Wright has gone for “increased physicality” in the pack, bringing Filton College prospect Mitch Eadie into the second row and starting tight-head prop George Hunter, who was among the replacements against Ireland a fortnight ago in Inverness.
The Glasgow Warriors Elite Development player will also captain the side, as he did in the first two championship matches against the French and Welsh.
Glenn Bryce retains the full-back role, Stuart Hogg having picked up a shoulder injury during Glasgow’s Magners League clash with Ospreys at the weekend.
Wright continued: “It’s obviously disappointing not to have Stuart because he’s a player who has shown a lot of promise, but Glenn is more than capable of stepping up and producing the qualities we require on Friday night.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that we need everyone to play the game of their lives: we’re going away from home to play a top-class team who are on a roll, and that makes it a massive challenge for us.
“What we’ll be asking the players to do is view it as a great opportunity to pit themselves against the best in the championship, show the pride they have in playing for their country, and really dig in for one another.
“We’ve gone for a bit of bulk, because we know that England will be physical all over the park and that we’ll need to match that. We’re challenging the players to look at their individual game, cut out the unforced errors that we’ve seen in previous games, then focus on their role within the various units – the scrum, the lineout, the backline attacks. It’s a step-by-step process to achieving a good overall team performance.
“We’ve got to keep the ball for longer periods, and any time we’re without it, make sure we make life hard for England. It’s about getting the first-up tackling right, trying to kill pressure at source and being more precise and alert.
“We’re under no illusions about the task that’s ahead of us in Newbury, but we want the players to embrace the challenge and do themselves justice in how they perform.”
Three players, Boroughmuir prop Nick Fraser, Watsonians back-rower Duncan Finnie, and Edinburgh Accies scrum-half James Munro, could get their first taste of Scotland under-20 action off the bench.
SCOTLAND UNDER-20 TEAM TO PLAY ENGLAND IN THE 6 NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP AT NEWBURY RFC ON FRIDAY 11 MARCH 2011 (KICK-OFF 8PM, LIVE ON SKY SPORTS 3 VIA RED BUTTON)
15 Glenn Bryce (Heriot’s)
14 Mike Doneghan (Glasgow Warriors/Stirling County)
13 Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors/Ayr)
12 Harry Leonard (Edinburgh/Boroughmuir)
11 Kerr Gossman (Glasgow Warriors/Glasgow Hawks)
10 Stuart Edwards (Stirling County)
9 Jamie Stevenson (Westcombe Park)
1 Robin Hislop (Edinburgh/Boroughmuir)
2 David Cherry (Team Northumbria)
3 George Hunter (Glasgow Warriors/Glasgow Hawks, CAPTAIN)
4 Mitch Eadie (Filton College)
5 Robert McAlpine (West of Scotland)
6 Alex Spence (Heriot’s)
8 James Tyas (Bath)
7 Hamish Watson (Leicester Tigers)
SUBSTITUTES
16 Richard Ferguson (Melrose)
17 Nick Fraser (Boroughmuir)
18 Andy Kirkland (Glasgow Hawks)
19 Mitchell Todd (Nottingham)
20 Duncan Finnie (Watsonians)
21 James Munro (Edinburgh Accies)
22 Sam Atkin (Edinburgh Accies)

This article was posted on 8-Mar-2011, 14:38 by Hugh Barrow.