Eight selected for Australia U20 encounter

Eight Edinburgh Rugby players are named in the Scotland U20 men's starting line-up for their crucial World Rugby U20 Championship pool stage clash against Australia this Friday (4 July).

The match kicks off at 2.30pm BST (3.30pm local) at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella and will be broadcast live on RugbyPassTV.

Head Coach Kenny Murray has made six changes to the squad. Among those earning a start is Edinburgh Rugby scrum-half Hector Patterson, who impressed off the bench against England, scoring a try, and now gets the nod in the pivotal number nine jersey.

The Edinburgh Rugby representation continues in the front row, with tighthead prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty retaining his starting spot.

In the back row, Oliver Duncan shifts to blindside flanker, while Freddy Douglas makes a welcome return from injury to co-captain the side from openside flanker, showcasing the depth of talent emerging from the capital club.

Edinburgh players Ben White, Jamie Stewart, Isaac Coates and Jack Hocking have all been named among the replacements, ready to make an impact from the bench.

Murray said: “We’ve reviewed the England game and we know we gave them too many soft tries, which you can’t do at this level.

“The players have recovered well, and the energy has been good this week.

“It’s great that we’ve got enough depth in the squad to rotate players in a competition with quick turnarounds like this, but we’ve also got some continuity in a few areas too which is important.

“We know Australia have a lot of attacking threats, and we’ll need to be at our best for the full game on Friday.”

Scotland U20 Men team to play Australia U20 at Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana
Friday 4 July (kick off 2.30pm BST/3.30pm local) – live on RugbyPassTV

15. Jed Findlay (Exeter Chiefs)

14. Cameron van Wyk (Ayr RFC)
13. Johnny Ventisei – Co-captain (Glasgow Warriors)
12. Kerr Yule (Glasgow Warriors)
11. Fergus Watson (Glasgow Warriors)

10. Matthew Urwin (Glasgow Warriors)
9. Hector Patterson (Edinburgh Rugby)

1. Oliver McKenna (Glasgow Warriors)
2. Joe Roberts (Glasgow Warriors)
3. Ollie Blyth-Lafferty (Edinburgh Rugby)
4. Dylan Cockburn (Melrose RFC)
5. Dan Halkon (Glasgow Warriors)
6. Oliver Duncan (Edinburgh Rugby)
7. Freddy Douglas – Co-captain (Edinburgh Rugby)
8. Reuben Logan (Northampton Saints)

Replacements

16. Seb Stephen (Edinburgh Academical FC/Glasgow Warriors)
17. Ben White (Melrose RFC/Edinburgh Rugby)
18. Jamie Stewart (Edinburgh Rugby)
19. Charlie Moss (Montpellier)
20. Oliver Finlayson-Russell (University of St Andrews)
21. Noah Cowan (Brunel University/Ealing Trailfinders)
22. Isaac Coates (Edinburgh Rugby)
23. Jack Hocking (Edinburgh Rugby)