All change for Scotland’s U20s who brace themselves for the Azzurri arrival
“It is not the players’ fault these results, it is not any individuals fault, we are all in this together and that’s been our mindset this week.”
Amidst injuries and a red card, Scotland U20 head coach Kenny Murray has made eight changes to his side that suffered heavily at the hands of Ireland last week.
In the final round of the U20s Six Nations Championship, the young Scots face a mighty challenge up front against an Italy side who similarly, have just one win to their name in this tournament.
Murray said: “The last two games have been really tough, that second half in France we got blown away and then we didn’t really get going in the Ireland game at all and everyone gets down about it, the coaches get down, the players get down.
“We had a really good chat when we came back into camp this week about our focus and our mindset and at the end of the day, we are all in it together.
“We want to come out this week and restore a bit of pride, that is what we have spoken about in terms of our mindset this week, the boys have trained well and worked hard and taken the review on the chin and I can’t fault their efforts this week.”
Five of Scotland’s changes come in the pack, with Eben Cairns set for his Scotland U20 debut at tighthead, replacing Moby Ogunlaja who misses out due to an injury sustained against Ireland. Corey Tait makes way at hooker for Jerry Blyth-Lafferty who will also make his first start in the championship.
Cairns, originally from Ardrossan rugby club is set to gain invaluable experience at international age group level.
On his new starting prop, Murray commented: “He has been in camp with us a while and he is getting his opportunity this week. It’s a big challenge, in Scottish Rugby we don’t have a huge amount of props to choose from so we have to make sure we work with the guys we’ve got and help them through.”
Kenny has given the green light on a new look second row with Eddie Erskine making his first start in the number four jersey in place of Jake Parkinson who was given a three-game ban after his red card. Erskine is joined by Ruaraidh Hart who has been promoted from the bench to the starting XV for this week.
Last weekend saw Scotland seemingly caught off guard by how overpowering Ireland’s forwards were. Three of the opening four tries after 21 minutes came from the big men up front and with Italy having one of the most dominant set pieces in the competition, this untested set of forwards will have to match the Italian physicality right from the first whistle.
In the backs, Murray welcomed the return of Richie Simpson at 10 and scrum-half Ben Afshar.
The two Scots who are key to synergising Scotland’s attack were dearly missed last week and form up with co-captain Duncan Munn and Kerr Yule, who have been the starting centre combination throughout the Six Nations.
Murray noted: “Duncan has played really well for us he has been consistent in the games he has played; his work rate and effort is second to none and he is a real asset to the team.
“Kerr is a young player, U18s, we feel he is ready to play U20. There is still a lot of growth to come from both of those guys in terms of parts of their game, but in terms of a centre partnership they have done a great job.”
Speaking of players named Kerr, winger Kerr Johnston will make his championship debut when he dons the 14 jersey on Sunday.
Much like many of this squad, Johnston will be a crucial part of next year’s tournament.
“He was injured at the beginning and then just took a bit of time to get back in. It was a lower limb, nothing too serious,” discussed Murray.
“We just felt other guys were training just a bit better than him, but now we want to give him an opportunity to show what he can do. He is U19, he has another year at it,” he added.
A Scottish victory would mean the team will have won two games in the championship for the first time since 2020.
