BEN APPLESON kicked his goals when it mattered and gave Edinburgh Accies some spark from deeps is named at full-back, with club-mate Hamish Janes and Cameron Meager of Currie Chieftains providing pace and physical presence on the wings, meaning Ronan Joy is unfortunate to miss out after another classy display for Glasgow Hawks.
Jamie Shedden‘s incisive running sees him selected at outside centre, alongside DJ Innes – who scored two tries for Currie Chieftains and full of mischief with ball in hand for Currie Chieftains – at inside-centre. Jed duo Gregor Young and Rory Marshall made strong cases for these midfield berths, Charlie Lonergan and Max MacFarlane of GHA also had dangerous moments in attack, and Sam Ryan of Aberdeen Grammar is due a tip of the hat.
Lot’s of strong candidates for the No 10 jersey, but on this occasion Sam Knudson get the nod for helping steer Aberdeen to their second win of the season over Selkirk, ahead of Jame Forbes of Chieftains, Kirk Ford of Hawick and Ross Nichol of Jed. Finlay Burgess is at scrum-half having brought tempo and passed fast and accurately for Hawks in difficult condition at Balgray.
Scotland switch not a decision to be taken lightly, says Jack Dempsey
U20s 6N: Murray Redpath has only ever had eyes for Scotland
Premiership leaderboard for weekending 20th February
Mike Downer played the full 80 minutes for Hawks, was a constant menace at the breakdown and even weighed in with a try for Hawks so is at loose-head. His hooker is two-try Curran McMillan of Marr, while Ruaridh MacLeod dug in at tight-head prop for Hawick against former Scotland cap Gordon Reid, which edges him ahead of Paulo Ferreira of Jed (who took his try tally to the season to 10), the hard-working Colin Arthur of Musselburgh and AP McWilliam of Currie.
Craig McCall‘s huge tackle count and big hits was key to Aberdeen Grammar’s success so he is named in the second-row alongside Clark Skeldon of Jed, while the reliably abrasive Sione Halafihi would be on the bench if there was one!
Jed’s Dan Wardrop is at blindside. Currie Chieftains skipper Fergus Scott edges out Connor Sutherland of Hawick and the abrasive Sean Hegarty of Edinburgh Accies at open-side after scoring two-tries in an all action performance against Musselburgh. No 8 Corey Buchan is the third Grammar player to make the cut this week.
Enjoyed this article? Quality journalism like ours is made possible by readers like you. If you value our in-depth coverage of Scottish rugby at all levels and want to see more, please consider supporting us with a subscription or donation. It helps us keep delivering the news you love. Thank you for being a part of The Offside Line community!
15. Ben Appleson (Edinburgh Accies)
14. Hamish Janes (Edinburgh Accies)
13. Jamie Shedden (Marr)
12. DJ Innes (Currie Chieftains)
11. Cameron Meager (Currie Chieftains)
10. Sam Knudson (Aberdeen Grammar)
9. Finlay Burgess (Glasgow Hawks)
1. Mike Downer (Glasgow Hawks)
2. Curran McMillan (Marr)
3. Ruaridh MacLeod (Hawick)
4. Clark Skeldon (Jed-Forest)
5. Craig McCall (Aberdeen Grammar)
6. Dan Wardrop (Jed-Forest)
7. Fergus Scott (Currie Chieftains)
8. Corey Buchan (Aberdeen Grammar)
Scotland switch not a decision to be taken lightly, says Jack Dempsey