Preview: Watsonians v FOSROC Future XV

3 Nov 2023

The FOSROC Future XV continue their campaign this weekend as they meet Watsonians at Myreside for their penultimate FOSROC Super Series Championship match.

Last weekend, the FOSROC Future XV displayed a stellar show against a physical Ayrshire Bulls team. The team fell to defeat by only seven points against the Millbrae outfit, showcasing some well-developed performances from both individuals and the team as a whole. In addition, wing Amena Caqusau was awarded FOSROC Player of the Match for his dynamic play and instrumental contribution to all three tries scored by his team.

Last time the FOSROC Future XV met Watsonians was in Round 7, just before the scheduled fallow week. The young side started to gain momentum as they saw the introduction of some familiar faces who represented Scotland U20 at the World Rugby U20 Trophy in weeks prior. This resulted in the team finishing the first half with a 15-21 advantage thanks to three tries by Freddy Douglas, Amena Caqusau and Corey McCormack and three successful conversions by Isaac Coates. The team remained competitive in the second half, but no efforts to score came to fruition, and the hosts were victorious with a 34-21 win.

This week sees a couple of changes to the starting fifteen, with Ollie Blyth-Lafferty getting his first start of the campaign in the front row and Craig Nolan starting in the back row to replace an injured Jonny Morris. Matt Urwin is rotated in to start at stand-off and the team welcome back Ben Salmon to the wing position after missing out last weekend due to illness. Fergus Watson starts at fullback, with Jack Hocking on the bench and Finn Douglas also returns to the starting team. Ollie Duncan and Johnny Ventisei return to the squad after recovering from injury.

Head coach Scott Forrest said: “We are looking forward to another huge test against another of the top teams in the competition. With a semi-final spot already confirmed we’re sure that Watsonians will be looking to build some consistency and form going into their semi-final next week and we are expecting a very physical encounter.

“We showed some real improvements against the Bulls last weekend and will be looking to build on these again. With only 2 fixtures remaining for the Futures this season we are determined to keep building on our recent positive performances.”