Houston Lands Place In Scotland ‘A’ Squad

John Houston has been called into the Scotland ‘A’ squad for the 2009 IRB Nations Cup in Bucharest, Romania (Friday 12-Sunday 21 June) after the withdrawal of wing Simon Danielli (shoulder) and the versatile Edinburgh back says he is aiming to add to the list of feats he achieved in May. After suffering a couple of injury problems earlier in the season, the 26-year-old came back into Edinburgh’s starting line-up for the run-in and scored two tries to help the Capital club clinch second spot in the Magners League. Houston then supplemented that achievement by coaching Heriot’s to a Scottish Hydro Electric Cup triumph before producing some eye-catching displays for Scotland 7s at both Twickenham and Murrayfield.Scoring five tries in the process, Houston played an influential role in ensuring Scotland 7s reached the semi-final stages for the first time ever in successive tournaments. Now the former Hawick player admits he is eyeing up further glory for Scotland ‘A’ in the matches against Russia, Uruguay and France ‘A’ in Romania. Houston said: “I’m delighted to be called into the squad. Winning a Scotland ‘A’ cap and helping the team to potentially win the Nations Cup would be the perfect ending to a memorable season. “I felt really good playing for Scotland 7s and I didn’t want the season to end and now I’ve been given an opportunity to carry that on. “Everything has gone really well for me personally and for all the teams I’ve been involved with and hopefully that winning habit will continue in Romania.” Following Ross Ford’s call-up into the British and Irish Lions, Glasgow Warriors’ captain Al Kellock has been appointed vice captain by Scotland ‘A’ head coach Andy Robinson for the IRB Nations Cup. As a result, the giant lock says he is looking forward to the challenge ahead and forming a leadership team with Scotland ‘A’ captain Chris Cusiter, who will be his team-mate at Glasgow next season. Kellock said: “There is a really good mix of youth and experience in the squad and I’m really pleased to be appointed vice captain for the tour. “I’m really looking forward to working with Cus (Chris Cusiter) because we’ll be working with each other a lot next season at Glasgow. “Everyone is really excited about what we can achieve during the tournament and the mood in the camp is really upbeat.”  Scotland ‘A’ will face three matches during the IRB Nations Cup against Russia (Friday 12 June, kick off 6pm local time), Uruguay (Tuesday 16 June, kick off 4pm) and France ‘A’ (Sunday 21 June, kick off 8pm).  Scotland ‘A’ squad for the IRB Nations Cup 2009: Joe Ansbro (Northampton Saints), David Blair (Edinburgh), Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Ben Cairns (Edinburgh), Stuart Corsar (Doncaster Knights), Geoff Cross (Edinburgh), Chris Cusiter (captain, Perpignan), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Rob Dewey (Ulster), James Eddie (Glasgow Warriors), Calum Forrester (Glasgow Warriors), Roddy Grant (Edinburgh), Alex Grove (Worcester Warriors), Craig Hamilton (Edinburgh), John Houston (Edinburgh), Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors), Al Kellock (vice captain, Glasgow Warriors), Andrew Kelly (Edinburgh), Rory Lawson (Gloucester), Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Moray Low (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Jim Thompson (Edinburgh), Kyle Traynor (Edinburgh), Richie Vernon (Glasgow Warriors) and Simon Webster (Edinburgh). Scotland ‘A’ management team for IRB Nations Cup Head Coach:              Andy Robinson Assistant Coaches:   Graham Steadman and Gregor TownsendSupport team: Gavin Scott (Video Analyst), Neill Potts (Fitness Coach) Lynsey Dingwall (Team Manager), Dr Alistair Nicol (Team Doctor), Lisa Casey and Louise Wright (Physiotherapists), John Pennycuick (Kit Manager), Andrew Sleight (Media Manager).                        IRB Nations Cup 2009 (all games to be played in Bucharest) Friday, 12 June, Scotland ‘A’ v RussiaTuesday, 16 June, Scotland ‘A’ v UruguaySunday, 21 June, France ‘A’ v Scotland ‘A’