Scotland ‘A’ will face Chile at Hive Stadium, Edinburgh on Saturday 23rd November at 6pm. It will be Scotland’s first game on home soil since their last fixture at Scotstoun in 2014.
The match kicks off a double header weekend for Scotland as Scotland Men will be playing on Sunday at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, facing Australia in their final Famous Grouse Nations Series fixture.
“They can become like a test match animal. They might be able to bring a little extra edge. They might bring something different in a different way of playing potentially from their club.”
The occasion is set to be spectacular for players and coaches alike. Speaking ahead of the match, Head Coach Pete Horne said that he hoped the Scotland fans would turn out in force.
“There’s normally a really good home crowd. You know, everyone wants to come out and see some of these young guys perform and fingers crossed we can kick the weekend off, give everyone something to cheer about and then really build the momentum into Sunday’s Test match against Australia as well.”
“Test match animals”. Head coach Pete Horne anticipates a physical – but rewarding – fixture against Chile. (Image Credit: Scotland Rugby)
Scotland ‘A’ fixtures give those players on the verge of reaching the Scotland Men’s team a flavour of what test rugby is like. Horne said that “It’s a great opportunity for somebody who misses out on test opportunities to show that they’re ready.
“They can become like a test match animal. They might be able to bring a little extra edge. They might bring something different in a different way of playing potentially from their club.
“Or it might just be that with even better players around them, they go in and they thrive in that sort of arena. It’s really important to build a little bit more depth to see who potentially has the potential and then kick on. We’ve seen that happen.
“We’ve got one eye on Italy coming to us at the start of February. There’s a good number of the guys that are in this A team that will certainly be looking to catapult themselves into proper contention for that team. And the next time they pull on a Scotland jersey is in the Six Nations.
“It’ll be a really physical game, especially up front. It’s a good challenge and it’s another chance for them to show what they’re all about.”
“It is important to remember that this isn’t another ‘A’ team coming to the Hive – it is Chile’s national team. Horne said: “It’s not like it’s an A game against Chile’s second team. They’re bringing their test team.
“They obviously caused us a lot of trouble in the summer. It’ll be a really physical game, especially up front. It’s a good challenge and it’s another chance for them to show what they’re all about.”
Stafford McDowall will captain from inside centre, supported by Tom Dodd and Jamie Dobie, selected by Pete Horne as vice captains. Horne called them “two absolute champion men.”
“He [Dodd] looks like he’s leading by example. And yeah, when we broached the subject with Stevie Lawrie, he said he couldn’t think of anyone better to be that vice-captain figure.
“Jamie, he’s just something else. He’s brilliant. For someone who’s such a young guy, he’s got such a calm, mature head on his shoulders, so driven. And I think he’s just the perfect example for not just for young lads, but also for some of the more senior players.
“Everything that he does, the way he carries himself is really good. So, I couldn’t think of a better two guys to take the vice-captain role”.
Scotland Men captain Sione Tuipulotu’s little brother, Mosese, has been selected at outside centre for his first international fixture since moving to Scotland earlier this year. Horne said: “He’s settled in quick at Edinburgh. He’s had a couple of brilliant games, you know, that Cardiff game at home especially was one that we were all down watching, and he really played well.
“He’s obviously got a really good role model in his brother who’s absolutely killing it at the moment. I think having him there to almost, you know, just have an ear for him sort of is good.
“I’ve been really impressed with Cesc. He’s grown, like every week he’s gotten better as he gets used to the way that we’re playing. The players in a similar boat to Cesc are going to get an opportunity to show that they’re ready to make the step up from club rugby to international against a good international team.”
Matt Currie, Edinburgh Rugby centre, made his Murrayfield debut last Saturday against Portugal. He has been selected to start on the right wing for Scotland A this weekend. “I am quite excited for it. I have definitely played a bit more in the centre, but last year I got a bit of experience on the wing with Edinburgh, and I definitely enjoy it. It’s probably slightly different in what your role is in the game, but you might get touches on the ball in different areas and it’s definitely exciting anyway and I’m looking forward to I,” Currie said.
Freddy Douglas, the youngest Scotland debutant since Donald White 63 years ago, will pull on the number seven jersey this Saturday. Having performed well last week, Horne said on his selection: “We’ve seen with Freddy, like some guys have limited opportunities with their clubs, but the way that they take opportunities in training and being able to show what they’ve got, you know, they’ve got a future at test level means that they’ll then earn an opportunity for this sort of thing.”
Their opponents, Chile, are set to prove a challenge for Horne’s side. Currie, who is familiar with the South American team after facing them in 2022, said: “We’ve played Chile a couple of times in the past and it’s always a great test against them. They definitely challenge you, particularly around the kind of physical aspects of the game.”
Scotland A: A Reed; M Currie, M Tuipulotu, S McDowall (captain), R McCann; R Thompson, J Dobie (vice-captain); J Bhatti, G Hiddleston, D Rae; M Sykes, E Johnson, T Dodd (vice-captain), F Douglas, B Muncaster. Subs: H Morris, M Jones, F Richardson, J Oguntibeju, L McConnell, B Afshar, B Healy, J Brown.
