SADLY, there will be no South of Scotland game this winter which is a real pity.
I would have loved to have seen our best players collectively play against another team at this time. Hopefully we will see a fixture before the end of the season.
I have been asked who I would pick in my South squad based on current form if the South were to play a match this month, and that question could keep anyone busy for several hours. I have chosen my selection and it is one which will no doubt spark some debate. See if your choices have been included.
One thing is for sure – we have an incredibly talented bunch of players in the Borders and my backline has been very difficult to pick – I even had to put Fraser Harkness on the bench in favour of Neil Renwick at full back and his Selkirk team-mate Darren Clapperton on the wing.
Any local team cannot be complete without the Young twins from Jed or Rory Hutton of Hawick, but because I’ve gone with Lee Millar of Gala at 10 you have to find a place for Hutton in the backline and so I would put him at inside centre.
George Graham is a shoo-in at scrum half, but you could almost pick one from half a dozen in that position who would do a job for you and merit their place on the bench.
In the front row you cannot ignore the Greens’ revelation Shawn Muir, but the front five areincredibly difficult to choose.
As for the back row, we have an abundance of riches with two number 8s who are class acts, in Euan Dods of Gala and Darren Gillespie of Kelso. I would go with Dods at 8 and Gillespie and Graham at 6 and 7 with Grant Runciman unlucky not to be chosen.
So here it is – my South team which includes five from Gala, three from Melrose, three from Hawick, two from Jed-Forest and one each from Kelso and Selkirk.
On the bench are four from Melrose, two from Selkirk and one from Kelso.
My South team: Neil Renwick (Hawick); Darren Clapperton (Selkirk), Gregor Young (Jed-Forest), Rory Hutton (Hawick), Lewis Young (Jed-Forest); Lee Millar (Gala), George Graham (Gala); Shawn Muir (Hawick), Richard Ferguson (Melrose), Ewan McQuillin (Gala), Chris Weir (Gala), Ross Miller (Melrose), Darren Gillespie (Kelso), Gary Graham (Gala), Euan Dods (Gala). Subs: Gary Holborn (Melrose), Chris Riddell (Kelso), John Dalziel (Melrose), Grant Runciman (Melrose), Bruce Colvine (Melrose), Gavin Craig (Selkirk), Fraser Harkness (Selkirk).
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