A TRIO of Borderers feature in Scotland Under 20s squad for their opening 6 Nations clash with England Under 20s on Friday.
Gala centre Chris Auld and hooker Russell Anderson - originally from Langholm - start for the Scots, while Hawick’s Shawn Muir is on the bench.
Head coach Sean Lineen, said: “It’s been a really exciting process working with a group of young players who are willing to learn and who want to do something special in this year’s 6 Nations and IRB Junior World Championship.
“We’ve had four camps and every single player has worked hard, so we’re going down there to give an outstanding performance and there are players who have missed out this time around who are very disappointed.
“However, I’ve been really impressed with the coaching group and the players. We’re really looking forward, with huge anticipation to Friday, so we can see what we can do and hopefully surprise people. England are always a very good team and they will be a good measure of where we are.”
The match kicks off at 5.45pm at Plymouth’s Brickfields Recreation Ground.
Scotland Under 20s: Keith Buchan (Boroughmuir), Damian Hoyland (Boroughmuir), Chris Auld (Gala), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors/Clermont Auvergne), Rory Hughes (Scotland 7s/Stirling County), Tommy Allan (Western Province), Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh Rugby/Heriot’s); Jamie Bhatti (Stirling County), Russell Anderson (Gala); D’arcy Rae (Ayr); Jonny Gray (Glasgow Warriors/Currie), Adam Sinclair (Perpignan), Ruaridh Leishman (Stirling County); Will Bordill (Sale Sharks), Adam Ashe (Glasgow Warriors/Stirling County).
Subs: Calum Black (Edinburgh Accies), Shawn Muir (Hawick), Phil Cringle (Edinburgh Rugby/ Stewart’s-Melville FP), Cameron Turner (Aberdeen Grammar), Tommy Spinks (London Scottish),
Ali Price (Bedford Blues), Alex Hagart (Aberdeen Grammar), Robbie Fergusson (Ayr).