London Scottish have named their team to face Cardiff Blues Premiership Select in round one of the 2016/17 British and Irish Cup.
The Scots are in fine form and will be looking to advance to the quarter finals of the cross-border competition for the first time, in a group that includes Cardiff, Ulster ‘A’ and Jersey Reds.
The starting line-up features nine changes from the side that defeated Jersey Reds last weekend in the Greene King IPA Championship.
Jonny Harris, Cameron Fenton and Ewan McQuillin start in the front-row, with Rory Bartle and Dom McGeekie in the second-row. There is one change in the back-row, with Matt Marley joining Joe Atkinson and Ally Miller at the back of the scrum.
Ed Hoadley starts at scrum-half with Peter Lydon moving from full-back to fly-half. Patrick Kelly is joined by Alec Coombes in an all-Scottish centre pairing. Jason Harries and Craig Holland occupy the wings, with Ben Rath starting at full-back.
Devlin Hope, Ralph Adams-Hale and Phil Cringle offer a front-row alternative, with Alex Humfrey and Danny Kenny covering the rest of the pack. Humfrey goes straight in to the match day squad after arriving on a dual registration deal from Bath, with Adams-Hale also on a dual deal from Saracens.
Hugh Fraser provides scrum-half back-up, with Tom Galbraith completing the match day squad.
Head Coach Peter Richards is calling on his side to continue the momentum after winning three of their last four matches.
“The squad are full of confidence and are growing week on week. We want to start the B&I Cup strongly so the guys will be eager to cross the bridge and secure the win.”
He added: “We’re in a really tough group alongside Cardiff, Jersey and Ulster ‘A’ so it’s vital that we get off to a good start tomorrow afternoon.”
London Scottish team to face Cardiff Blues Premiership Select at Cardiff Arms Park:
15 Ben Rath 14 Craig Holland 13 Alec Coombes 12 Patrick Kelly 11 Jason Harries 10 Peter Lydon 9 Ed Hoadley 1 Jonny Harris 2 Cameron Fenton 3 Ewan McQuillin 4 Rory Bartle (c) 5 Dom McGeekie 6 Matt Marley 7 Joe Atkinson 8 Ally Miller
Replacements:
16 Devlin Hope 17 Ralph Adams-Hale 18 Phil Cringle 19 Alex Humfrey 20 Danny Kenny 21 Hugh Fraser 22 Tom Galbraith
Watch a match preview with Jason Harries below:
