U20s 6N: Three changes to young Scots team ahead of French clash

Stafford McDowall in action for Scotland Under-20 against Wales Under-20 last week.
Stafford McDowall in action for Scotland Under-20 against Wales Under-20 last week. Image: © Craig Watson - www.craigwatson.co.uk

SCOTLAND UNDER-20s head coach Stevie Scott has made three changes to the team which lost their Six Nations opener away to Wales last Friday night, ahead of taking on France at Broadwood Stadium this coming Friday night (kick-off: 7.35pm).

Stirling County winger Logan Trotter replaces Sam Yayayawa of Glasgow Hawks on the left touchline; while it is all change at half-back, with Charlie Chapman (part of the Gloucester rugby academy) and Ross Thompson (Glasgow Hawks) coming in at scrum-half and stand-off respectively.

That means Kaleem Barreto moves to the bench, and Callum McLelland, who moved north to join Edinburgh earlier this season after coming through the ranks playing rugby league, shifts from stand-off to inside centre. Mark New of Glasgow Hawks drops out of the squad altogether.

The pack is unchanged for Friday night’s game.

“The squad have worked hard this week and they’re looking forward to testing themselves against a strong French outfit at Broadwood on Friday night,” said Scott. “We made mistakes against Wales and there are things we need to work on ahead of this weekend. If we get these things fixed then we can go into the weekend with a bit of confidence again.”


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France picked up a 34-24 win in their Six Nations opener against Ireland in Bordeaux last weekend and will travel to Scotland full of confidence having never lost in twelve matches between these two nations at this age-grade.

Scotland U20 (v France U20 at Broadwood Stadium, Friday 7.35pm): P Dewhirst (Ayr); L Trotter (Stirling County), S McDowall (Ayr), C McLelland (Edinburgh), K Rowe (Glasgow Hawks); R Thompson (Glasgow Hawks), C Chapman (Gloucester); S Gunn (Edinburgh Accies), R Smith (Ayr), F Richardson (Edinburgh Accies), E Johnson (Racing 92), J Hodgson (Watsonians), A Erskine (Boroughmuir), G Graham (Hawick), D Onojaife (Northampton). Substitutes: B Clements (Ealing), N McBeth (Lions), M Walker (Strathallan), H Butler (Hartpury), R Darge (Melrose), K Barreto (Marr), R McMichael (Glasgow Hawks), S Yawayawa (Glasgow Hawks).


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About David Barnes 3669 Articles
David has worked as a freelance rugby journalist since 2004 covering every level of the game in Scotland for publications including he Herald/Sunday Herald, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Scotsman/Scotland on Sunday/Evening News, The Daily Record, The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday and The Sun.