The South will make their home at Netherdale tonight as they host the Edinburgh side in the opening round of the competition, kicking off at 7pm in Galashiels.

Starting with the Borders outfit, fresh from his Scottish Cup win with Hawick on Saturday, head coach Matty Douglas has selected 11 Hawick men for his side, including Shawn Muir as captain, bolstered by selects from Kelso, Selkirk, Gala, Melrose and Musselburgh.

Shawn Muir, Fraser Renwick and Nicky Little (Hawick) will pack-down in the front row, while Andrew McColm (Selkirk) and Michael Bradenhorst (Musselburgh) link-up in the second row.

Completing the forward pack are Bruce McNeil (Kelso), Liam Scott (Gala) and Jae Linton (Hawick).

Melrose duo Bruce Colvine and Struan Hutchison will partner at scrum-half and stand-off, whilst Craig Dods (Gala) and Andrew Mitchell (Hawick) join forces in mid-field.

The back three sees Kirk Ford (Hawick) at full-back, with Ronan McKean (Hawick) and Dwain Patterson (Kelso) lining up on the wing.

Douglas has opted for a 5-3 split of forwards and backs for the bench comprised of: Matt Carryer (Hawick), Luke Pettie (Selkirk), Craig Owenson (Musselburgh), Shaun Fairbairn (Hawick), Calum Renwick (Hawick), Gareth Welsh (Hawick), Frankie Robson (Kelso) and Donald Crawford (Melrose).

Looking to the Edinburgh squad, McKillop has selected no less than 10 players from Currie Chieftains, including Rhys Davies (number 8) as the team captain.

Also included in the capital side are six players from Edinburgh Accies, three from Heriot’s, two from Stewart’s Melville College and two from Watsonians.

Cole Imrie (Edinburgh Accies) will work with Ryan Stewart and Graeme Carson (Currie Chieftains) in the front row, with Ali McCallum and Jamie Sword partnering in the second-row.

Finn Simpson (Edinburgh Accies) and Rhys Davies will flank (Currie Chieftains), with Ruari Campbell joining at number 8 (Edinburgh Accies).

Aaron Porteous (Stewart’s Melville) and Jamie Loomes (Edinburgh Accies) will look to control the game at scrum-half and stand-off respectively, whilst Neil Armstrong (Edinburgh Accies) and Greg Cannie (Currie Chieftains) partner in mid-field.

Lewis Wells (Edinburgh Accies), Ian Sim and Charlie Brett (Currie Chieftains) complete the line-up as the back three.

Looking to make an impact from the bench are: Danny Dineen (Heriot’s), Chris Anderson (Currie Chieftains), John Lascelles (Heriot’s), Gregor Nelson (Currie Chieftains), Ali Johnston (Heriot’s), Cameron Lessels (Currie Chieftains), Ben Heber (Watsonians) and Benn Morris (Watsonians).

The move to bring back the historic competition was made following an amended motion presented by GHA at the Scottish Rugby AGM in July 2021, where 72 clubs to 46 voted in favour to revive the tournament.

The competition, which was first established in 1953, used to be competed for annually in the amateur era by Edinburgh, Glasgow, the South, the North and Midlands and, laterally, the Scottish Exiles.

Round 2 of the competition takes place on Saturday (3pm) as Caledonia Reds face Glasgow & The West at Canal Park, Inverness.

Tickets for Round 1 are available to purchase at the gate, and tickets for Round 2 are available to purchase online, here: https://aberdeenrugby.org.uk/caledonia-reds-v-glasgow-the-west-canal-park-inverness-13-05-23/

The South

15. Kirk Ford
14. Dwain Patterson
13. Andrew Mitchell
12. Craig Dods
11. Ronan McKean
10. Struan Hutchison
9. Bruce Colvine
1. Shawn Muir
2. Fraser Renwick
3. Nicky Little
4. Andrew McColm
5. Michael Badenhorst
6. Bruce McNeil
7. Liam Scott
8. Jae Linton
16. Matt Carryer
17. Luke Pettie
18. Craig Owenson
19. Shaun Fairbairn
20. Calum Renwick
21. Gareth Welsh
22. Frankie Robson
23. Donald Crawford

Edinburgh

15. Charlie Brett
14. Ian Sim
13. Greg Cannie
12. Neil Armstrong
11. Lewis Wells
10. Jamie Loomes
9. Aaron Porteous
8. Ruari Campbell
7. Rhys Davies ©
6 Finn Simpson
5. Ali McCallum
4. Jamie Sword
3. Graeme Carson
2, Ryan Stewart
1. Cole Imrie
16. Danny Dineen
17. Chris Anderson
18. John Lascelles
19. Gregor Nelson
20. Ali Johnston
21. Cameron Lessels
22. Ben Heber
23. Benn Morris