Glasgow and West visit Kelso on Saturday, bringing a matchup at the top of the Inter-District CHAMPIONSHIP INTERDISTRICT (IDC) table for South. Both clubs have picked strong lineups to preserve their perfect start to the campaign. Additionally, this comes after their close triumphs in the first round of the IDC.
Glasgow has chosen to rotate their starting props, bringing in Michael Fox (GHA) and Brandon Sweet (Marr, in light of their tough opponent. Tom Martin (Ayr), who showed well last week coming off the bench, has earned a starting spot at hooker. Pass.
“We have never played the South, and we are in uncharted territory, but we know from last year’s performances and their comeback against Edinburgh last week which will be a tough and extremely demanding fixture,” Glasgow head coach Kenny Diffenthal stated his team’s goal is to go toe-to-toe with the South at home. We must be able to take on this challenge and compete head-to-head with them since they have a strong physical group and a talented group of backs.
"Our objective is to build on last week's performance and make sure we continue the momentum," Diffenthal continued. "We need to be patient and precise in defense, absorb any pressure and counterattack when opportunities present themselves."
With the loss of Andrew Mitchell and Aaron McCombe due to persistent injuries, South’s head coach, Matty Douglas, made remarks about how challenging recruiting was this week.
“But, we have strong and well-balanced alternatives available, so our team is strong. The pack has a strong sense of club identity and is well-supported. He said, “Our bank is still quite powerful.
“We welcomed Archie Barbour from Kelso to his home for his first game. We are eager to watch Archie’s progress at this point.
“The Borders are excited to welcome Glasgow, a team full of energy and strength, to Poynder Park. We hope to see a good turnout to support the players as they put on an incredible show.”
Edinburgh will host the 2023 IDC champion Caledonia Reds at Raeburn Place on the opposite side of the draw. Both teams had a chance to win last weekend’s competition, so they will try to get over their first-round loss.
The Caledonia Reds have also rearranged their lineup, starting with three new players this week.
Fraser Allan, who is quitting the club, has not been selected as the hooker; instead, Bryce Robertson has. Adriu Muritoki has been selected at full-back, replacing Ryan Flett, while Connor Faulds has been chosen at full-back. Murray Mitchell is moved to the bench as DJ Innes makes his injury comeback and starts at position twelve.
Although Colin Sangster, the head coach of Caledonia Reds, is aware of the risk that Edinburgh poses, he stated that his team is excited to get going.
“After the team’s close loss to Glasgow the previous week, the players are eager to play Edinburgh this weekend. We lost a close game last week against Glasgow, and it’s obvious that these are games with narrow margins of victory, given how close the Edinburgh opener was.
Edinburgh played some excellent rugby against a formidable Southern team, and they were unfortunate not to win, especially in the first half. As a result, we had to step up our game, but Sangster was confident that his group would rise to the occasion.
Head coach Bob McKillop of Edinburgh, opposite Sangster, expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, resiliency, and bravery in rallying for a near-victory the week before.
“The club, led by the older players, recognized areas for improvement as well as areas of strength that we all want to see more of after the first setback.
“We would have won if, unfortunately, we hadn’t lost some momentum in the third quarter last week.” According to McKillop, we’ll be itching to play the entire 80 minutes this week.
IDC’S SECOND ROUND:
Caledonia Reds vs. Edinburgh on Saturday, March 30
Edinburgh’s Raeburn Place, 3 p.m. knockout
March 30th, Saturday
The West and the South meet at Poynder Park in Kelso at 3 p.m.
TEAM SHEETS About Round Two:
Edinburgh
15. Captain Charlie Brett, Currie
14. Rory Hindhaugh from Musselburgh
13. Edinburgh Accies’ Robbie Kent
12. Neil Armstrong, Adelaide United
11. Currie and Ryan Daley
10. Currie and Jamie Forbes
9. Currie and Gregor Christie
1. Ross Dunbar, Edinburgh Approaches
2. Cal Davies, Edinburgh Approaches
3. Currie, Graeme Carson
4. Edinburgh Accies’ Struan Whittaker
5. Musselburgh’s Michael Badenhorst
6. Currie and Ali Bain
7. Heriot’s Rory Kirkpatrick
8. The Edinburgh Accies’ Jamie Sole
REPLACEMENTS
16. Currie, Ryan Stewart
17. Accies, Cole Imrie, Edinburgh
18. Arran Hain, Edinburgh Approaches
Josh Minty of Watsonian FC is 19.
Stu Allison, the FC Watsonian
Danny Owenson from Musselburgh 21
22. Preston Lodge’s Scott Clark
Rory Watt from Musselburgh 23
Caledonia Reds:
15. Falkirk’s Connor Faulds
14. Highlands of Adriu Muritoki,
13. Max Wallace, Deeside Accies, Edinburgh
12. Grangemouth, DJ Innes, Currie Chieftains
11. Highlands’ Magnus Henry
10. County Stirling/Curie Chiefs’ Callum Beckett
9. Falkirk’s Captain Harry Russell
1. Highlands native Stephen Murray
2. County Stirling’s Bryce Robertson, Watsonians
3. Heriots/Dundee’s Struan Cessford (VC)
4. Connor MacFarlane, Grangemouth, Aberdeenshire
5. Heriots/Dundee High School’s Malachy Keough
6. Highlands Calum Macpherson
7. Currie/Dundee Chiefs’ Sam Cardosi
8. Dollar Academy/Heriots’ Alistair Johnstone
REPLACEMENTS
16. Orkney’s Scott Rendall
17. Gala / Orkney’s Glen Brough
18. Ellon / Musselburgh / Ross Brown
19. Kirkcaldy, Gordonians/Strathallan, and Struan Robertson
20. Kirkcaldy’s Rory Brown
21. Fionnlagh Call, Highlands/Musselburgh
22. Falkirk’s Glen Faulds
23. Strathmore’s Murray Mitchell
Glasgow & the West District:
15. Torquil MacLeod
14. Scott Bickerstaff
13. Charlie Lonergan
12. Captain Conor Bickerstaff
11. Tom Lanni
10. Colin Sturgeon
9. Grant Baird
1. Dulce Brandon
Second, Tom Martin
3. Michael Fox
4. Stephen Leckey 5. David Andres
6. The Urinal of Rohan
7. VC Mark McCormick
Blair Jardine, eighth
Parts Not Found 16. Dario Ewing
17. A. Alex Apthorpe
18. Ariel Rogers
19. Airlie Ruairidh
Lucas McCutcheon (20) and Robbie Baird (21).
22. Max McFarlane
23. Jacobson, Jake
The Southern Region:
15. Hawick’s Kirk Ford
14. Kelso’s Archie Barbour
13. Kelso, Dwain Patterson
12. Kelso, Frankie Robson
11. Selkirk’s Callum Anderson
10. Melrose’s Struan Hutchison (VC)
9. Andy Tait and Kelso
1. Hawick’s Shawn Muir, captain
2. Hawick’s Fraser Renwick
3. Hawick’s Nicky Little
4. Hawick’s Dalton Redpath
5. Melbourne, Keith, Kelso
6. Hawick’s Connor Sutherland
7. Hawick’s Calum Renwick
8. Linton, Jae, Hawick
PARTS IN ASSEMBLIES
16. Hawick’s Ross Graham
17. Kelso Grant Shiells
18. Kelso and Terry Logan
19. Kelso, Bruce McNeil
20. Gala Angus Dun
21. Melrose and Douglas Crawford
Josh Welsh, Selkirk, 22.
23. Gala and Ben Gill