Jonny Gray (remember him) will lead Scotland A when they face an Italy XV in Rieti on Friday 6 February, with the match taking place at Stadio Centro d’Italia, kick-off 5.30pm GMT. The fixture will be shown live on YouTube (embed below for your viewing pleasure).
Head coach Nigel Carolan has handed Gray the captaincy, a familiar role for the second row if he remembers it from more than a decade back; he previously led Scotland A against England Saxons in 2014, a match that ended in a 16–16 draw at Scotstoun. Gray will line up in the engine room alongside Alex Craig and is named alonside a number of players probably unlucky to miss out on full selection and who may well feature later in the main tournament.
The front row sees Rory Sutherland and D’arcy Rae named at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively, with Gregor Hiddleston starting at hooker. Andy Onyeama-Christie is vice-captain and takes his place on the blindside flank, with Freddy Douglas on the openside and Alexander Masibaka completing the pack at number eight.
In the backs, Gus Warr is selected at scrum-half and is partnered by vice-captain Fergus Burke at fly-half. Cam Redpath starts at inside centre, with Ollie Smith named outside him. The back three is made up of Kyle Rowe on the right wing, Arron Reed on the left and Harry Paterson at full-back, giving a few clues as to the makeup of the Scotland selection which will be announced tomorrow.
On the bench, Harri Morris is the replacement hooker following his recent Scotland debut, with Alec Hepburn, Will Hurd and Magnus Bradbury providing cover across the front and second rows. Josh Bayliss and Euan Ferrie are the remaining forward replacements.
Watch it here via the FIR Youtube Channel:
Scotland A: Harry Paterson, Kyle Rowe, Ollie Smith, Cameron Redpath, Arron Reed, Fergus Burke, Gus Warr; Rory Sutherland, Gregor Hiddleston, D’arcy Rae, Jonny Gray (capt), Alex Craig, Andy Onyeama-Christie, Freddy Douglas, Alexander Masibaka.
Replacements: Harri Morris, Alec Hepburn, Will Hurd, Magnus Bradbury, Euan Ferrie, Josh Bayliss, Ben Afshar, Dan Lancaster.
3 responses
Interesting blend with lots of experience and some younger players who are knocking on the door of the 1st team 23. Pleased to see Jonny Gray selected as he was not effective in last year’s tournament. Always like to see Redpath selected especially after being left out of the main squad. Might have preferred Rowe and Smith being in the mix for full back or bench in the first team.
Well I watched Scotland A against Italy A & there were far more negatives than positives. Sutherland & Rae were given a torrid time by the Italians in the scrum, so bad they were replaced on 33 minutes, on that performance they have no chance of an appearance in the 6N. Jonny Gray is not international standard, slow & ponderous & hopeless going into contact. Harry Paterson needs to learn when to pass the ball, ignored an overlap in the first half & lost it forward going into contact far too often. Bradbury wasn’t on long but he actually slows down going into contact. The positives – Hiddleston was okay, Rowe took his try well, Bayliss drove forward when he came on, Ferrie was better than Gray in the second row & Lancaster played well late on.
The pitch was dire , I have noticed that when Glasgow moved to playing on grass recently they are hindered and I think that was a factor in levelling the sides. Craig played very well IMO. Bayliss (class act) and Ollie Smith looked good. Kyle Rowe looked like a man with a sore leg, I hope GT and the Scotland staff do not return Franco’s players as clapped out as Kyle Rowe looked. I would say he needed to be rested today, however even half fit he stood out .