SOUTH of Scotland head coach Matty Douglas has named his squad for their first match of rugby’s 2023 Scottish inter-district championships tonight Tuesday May 9 against Edinburgh at Netherdale.

And unsurprisingly the 28-year-old has selected seven players from his Hawick side that won the double.

The Hawick contingent are Shawn Muir, Fraser Renwick, Nicky Little, Jae Linton, Ronan McKean, Andrew Mitchell and Kirk Ford.

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Kelso’s veteran Bruce McNeil will also start alongside his team mate Dwain Patterson, Gala pair Liam Scott and Craig Dods, Selkirk’s Andrew McColm, Melrose pair Bruce Colvine and Struan Hutchison and Musselburgh’s Michael Badenhorst.

The South’s replacements are Hawick’s Matt Carryer, Shaun Fairbairn, Calum Renwick and Gareth Welsh, Selkirk’s Luke Pettie, Kelso captain Frankie Robson and Melrose’s Donald Crawford and Musselburgh’s Craig Owenson.

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Gala’s Ben Gill and Musselburgh’s Paul Bogie are on standby for the first inter-district championship fixture in 21-years.

The South will then play either Glasgow or Caledonia Reds in a final or third-place play-off at Tennent’s National League Division 1 side Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians’ Braidholm ground on Sunday, May 21.

Glasgow and Reds play their qualifier at Canal Park in Inverness on Saturday, May 13.

Tonight’s game kicks off at 7pm and entry is £10 for adults and £5 for concessions.

The South will then play either Glasgow or Caledonia Reds in a final or third-place play-off at Tennent’s National League Division 1 side Glasgow Hutchesons’ Aloysians’ Braidholm ground on Sunday, May 21.

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Glasgow and Reds play their qualifier at Canal Park in Inverness on Saturday, May 13.

Douglas who is being helped out with coaching by Peebles’ Iain Chisholm, Melrose’s Bert Grigg and Musselburgh’s Andrew Clark told Borders Rugby TV: “I was a bit nervous when I first got the role in terms of would we get the buy in but straight away once we started to approach players and when we started to get responses we thought, ‘actually we are onto something here.’

“All the players are zoned I and are keen to get that jersey on.

“Hopefully it’s here to stay because these players deserve to be in the limelight at times and put themselves forward to getting a club international cap.

“But at the end of the day we want to win the Inter District.”

The South: Kirk Ford, Dwain Patterson, Andrew Mitchell, Craig Dods, Ronan McKean, Struan Hutchison, Bruce Colvine, Shawn Muir, Fraser Renwick, Nicky Little, Andrew McColm, Michael Badenhorst, Bruce McNeil, Liam Scott and Jae Linton.