South of Scotland up for the cup

Published 15 Dec 2009 16:10 0 Comments

BORDER League secretary John Thornburn unveiled the new trophy which the South of Scotland will be playing for against Northumberland at Mansfield Park later this month.

Directors of QUBE, who have put up the trophy, joined him at an informal press conference at Netherdale on Monday.

The history surrounding the South of Scotland rugby team is legendary, and the whole of the region is delighted that the team has been resurrected.

Everyone is keen to ensure that the South team is back for good, and the historic match against Northumberland, taking place on Wednesday, December 30, at Mansfield Park, Hawick, is sure to attract rugby fans from all over the region.

The initial 35-man training squad has been announced and features players from all of the area's Premier 1 and 2 teams.

Head Coach Craig Chalmers will be in charge, along with John Dalziel, when the squad meets for its first training session on December 16.

Chalmers said: "To get the South back and wear the famous jerseys is fantastic. It's going to be very interesting to see what kind of crowd we'll get at Mansfield Park. It is going to be great to help players to play at a higher level and aim for the Club Internationals."

Team manager and one of the selectors, Richie Gray, explained the idea behind naming 35 players. "We have decided to go with that number in the training squad because it is vital that we have a pool of players that are all involved at the beginning of the re-launch of the South of Scotland team. Also at this time of year, with a number of key games for all Border League clubs over the Christmas period, we have had to look at the issue of injury to players, so it's important that everyone involved in the initial squad knows team calls and organisation."

Border League secretary John Thorburn added: "The Border League are the driving force behind this initiative and we are all keen for it to be a success."

The match against Northumberland, which has a 7.30pm kick off, with admission set at £5 for Adults and £3 concessions, is being played for the new QUBE (GB) Cross Border Challenge Trophy. The trophy will go to the team with the best aggregate score over the two games home and away. Details of the second leg in Northumberland are yet to be announced.

Melrose make up 14 of the 35 players, with Selkirk (6), Hawick (5), Peebles (4), Kelso (3), Gala (2) and Jedforest (1).

The squad: Backs: Fraser Thomson (Melrose), Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), John Coutts (Hawick), Calum Anderson (Melrose), Graham Hogg (Hawick), Jamie Murray (Melrose), Gregg Minto (Kelso), James King (Melrose), Lee Jones (Selkirk), Allan Dodds (Melrose), Ewan Ford (Kelso), Scott Wight (Melrose), Michael McVie (Selkirk), Lawrence Lemmon (Gala) and Scott McCormick (Melrose).

Forwards: Bruce McNeil (Hawick), Martin Murray (Selkirk), James Henderson (Jedforest), Ryan McConnell (Peebles), Lindsey Gibson (Melrose), Richard Ferguson (Melrose), Adam Clark (Peebles), Shaun Linton (Hawick), Willie Aitken (Peebles), Rory Aglen (Selkirk), Craig Charters (Hawick), John Dalziel (Melrose), Graeme Dodds (Melrose), Stuart Johnston (Melrose), Neil Darling (Selkirk), Graeme Bryce (Gala), Donald Sangster (Peebles), Garry Elder (Melrose), Ross Millar (Melrose) and Ian Moody (Kelso).

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