Teams announced for Scottish Varsity match
The teams have been announced today for the world’s oldest varsity match, which will once again take centre stage on the international pitch at BT Murrayfield on Saturday. The Universities of Edinburgh and St Andrews will contest in the men’s and the women’s XV matches, and their second and third XVs will also meet on the stadium’s back pitches with the Royal Bank of Scotland as the sponsor of the event.The Scottish Varsity match is the largest rugby event in Scotland out with Scotland internationals and the annual 1872 Cup fixture between Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors, with a crowd of between 10,000 and 15,000 expected on the day.St Andrews are the current holders of the men’s trophy having defeated Edinburgh, 27-26, courtesy of a dramatic touchline conversion in the final act of the last season’s game, while Edinburgh triumphed in the women’s match, 36-7. University of St Andrews Captain and fourth year history student, Scott Docherty, said: “Hopefully we can replicate last year’s win if we put in a good performance, it would certainly be another highlight of my university rugby career.Playing in front of 10,000 people at BT Murrayfield is something that you dream of when you’re growing up.”University of Edinburgh Captain and fourth year sport and recreation management student, Nick Stephen, said: “The build-up for the Scottish Varsity match has gone well.We had a really solid pre-season with some new training patterns so the rugby is really starting to click and we are feeling pretty confident going into Saturday.”The women’s match, which kicks-off at 5pm on the international pitch, sees Edinburgh Captain and Scotland Women player, Sarah Law, make her first outing for the university alongside her younger sister, Rachel.It was quite a convincing win for the squad last year, so we’re looking to do the same again if we can.”We’ve been involved in more training sessions this year so the girls are really excited and hopefully we can get a good crowd down to support them,” the fourth year applied maths student said.St Andrews Captain and fourth year psychology student, Comfort Ogbonnaya, said: “Women’s rugby, especially in Scotland, is developing and the Varsity match is a great opportunity for people to come along and watch.”Scottish Rugby TV will live-stream both men’s and women’s matches on the international pitch, with match build-up available from 4.50pm via @Scotlandteam.For ticket information, visit: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/varsity Royal Bank of Scotland Scottish Varsity teamsMen’s match (kick-off 6pm):University of Edinburgh: Jon Price; Robbie Kent, Iain Sexton, Morgan Ward, Pete Howard; Dave O’Sullivan, Bruno Smith; Callum Simpson, Toby Woods, Angus Smith, Ben Pearce, Jack Williams, Scott Burnside, Nick Stephen CAPTAIN, Hugh Browne. Replacements: Sam Blott, Freddie Fergusson, Rob Putter, Harry Ryan, Ben Rose, Fraser Morrison, Hugh Richards.University of St Andrews: Scott MacGregor; Roland Walker, Harry Jose, Toby Hall, Jacques Sharam; Scott Docherty CAPTAIN, Charlie Davies; Chris Cartmell, Malcolm Wood Downey Dug Berezford, Ashton Squires, Ludo Meaby, Rob Lind, Ruari Bell, James Wardle. Replacements: Alex Whyte, Dan Cox, Michael Sutherland, TJ Akinjobi, Alexi Kulukundis, Finn Murphy, Mark Wilson. Women’s match (kick-off 5pm):University of Edinburgh: Amy Walter; Natalie Guy, Megan Gaffney, Lisa Thomson, Rhona Lloyd; Sarah Law CAPTAIN, India Birrell, Aisla Luke, Hannah Kurtz, Katie Dougan, Debbie Lee, Nicola Howat, Lucy Winter, Sally Stott, Rachel Law. Replacements: Isobelle Hammond, Alison Glass, Emily Marsden, Judith Oguguo, Helena Scullion, Elizabeth Musgrove, Raphaëlle Duché.University of St Andrews: Alexis Jenkins; Lanita Gutieva, Myrtille Génot, Rhiannon Fox-Rothwell, Anna Shackleton; Abbie Henderson, Erika Machan; Amy Parry, Imogen Hooper, Kate Saunders, Emily Bruton, Naomi Boon, Eileen Igboanug, Nathalie Becker, Fiona Cooper. Replacements: Katy Barker, Rachel Ng, Beth Tappenden, Comfort Ogbonnaya.