FRIDAY 20 MAY: BOROUGHMUIR BEARS V SOUTHERN KNIGHTS

Boroughmuir Bears host the first fixture in the fifth round of the Sprint Series this weekend against Southern Knights (kick off 7.45pm). Bears won their first Sprint Series game last time out against Stirling County, whilst Knights are still looking for their first victory of the tournament.

How to Watch
You can watch live on FreeSports from 7:30pm, Freeview HD channel 64, Sky HD channel 422, Virgin HD 553, TalkTalk 64, BT Vision channel 64 and on the online FreeSports Player. Outside of the UK and Ireland you can watch on the Scottish Rugby website.

Be there
You can be at Meggetland on Friday evening! Tickets can be bought at the gate or in advance here: https://www.citizenticket.co.uk/events/boroughmuir…

Match Officials
Ref – Graeme Ormiston
AR1 – Michael Todd
AR2 – Ruaridh Campbell

What the Coaches said:

Graham Sheil (Boroughmuir Bears): “It is a long time since the Bears have been able to name a settled selection. On the back of a good performance and first win of the season in round four, sees the same back line start round five and only one change in the pack, with Euan Ferrie returning to action after fulfilling his duties for Glasgow Warriors, which meant he missed the last game.

“Murray Johnstone partners Harry Mercer again with the exciting partnership of Robbie McCallum and Duncan Munn starting in the centres and beginning to find their form as a pairing.

“Glen Faulds starts again on the right wing, Adam Scott on the left and Tom Brown at full back.

“In line to make his FOSROC Super6 debut from the bench this week is Scotland U18 hooker Jerry Blyth-Lafferty. Chris Anderson (Boroughmuir RFC) continues with us on ‘emergency cover’ at loose head prop and Marcus Goodwin is covering the tight head. Jack Fisher, Liam McConnell, Mzwandile Mncube and Ronan Kerr will add impact from the bench again this week.

“With a 6/2 split, we are delighted to welcome George Horne from Glasgow Warriors into the Bears squad as he returns from injury and looking to get some game time under his belt. I am sure everyone involved in this game is looking forward to watching George light up Meggetland on Friday evening and sure he will be a handful for Southern Knights when he enters the game.

“After three very tough rounds with the Bears meeting our opposition head on, we travelled to Stirling for round four and what we knew would be another tough challenge and so it proved. With margins extremely tight, the result fell for the Bears which was testament to the effort and commitment shown by the whole squad.

“The challenge now is our ability to maintain that level of performance and find ways to apply pressure on Southern Knights to achieve a home success.

“We were grateful for a week off to recharge.

“Southern Knights possess threats throughout their team and as ever the Bears will need to be accurate in all that we do to compete with Southern Knights as we aim to maintain the levels of competitiveness we have become accustomed to and to build on a successful performance versus Stirling County.

“The last time Southern Knights visited Meggetland, the Bears competed very hard for 60 minutes before the Knights stepped up a gear and took the game away from the Bears winning well in the end, so we know that they can and will hurt us if we drop off our levels of performance in any area.

Bruce Ruthven (Southern Knights): “Paul Eti Slater returns to the starting line up partnering Robbie Chalmers in the midfield on Friday night.

“A half backs partnership of Ben Afshar and Nathan Chamberlain will start the match.

“Alan Ferrie and Dalton Redpath return to the back five of the scrum after two weeks absence in place of Wallace Nelson and Thomas Brown.

“Rudi Brown & youngster Sam Derrick keep their place in the pack after good performances versus the Bulls with Brown shifting into the second Row.

“Scotland U20 players Corey Bowker, Keiran Clarke and Murray Redpath will all be looking to make an impact from the bench and impress in the eye of the selectors.

“Last weekend without a game has given the players a short rest which was much needed to get some boys back to fitness.

“The Knights are keen to restore some pride in their performance after a disappointing match versus the Bulls and are looking forward to the encounter.

“The Bears have played some terrific rugby so far in the Sprint campaign and will be a tough outfit to beat on their home patch.

“Graham Shiel will have his boys well prepared and we expect a tough match on Friday night.”

TEAM SELECTIONS

Here's how @MuirBears & @Sthrn_Knights line up for Friday's clash at Meggetland!#FOSROCSuper6 pic.twitter.com/UAVHcyojYR

— FOSROC Super6 (@Super6Rugby) May 19, 2022

SATURDAY 21 MAY: AYRSHIRE BULLS V WATSONIANS

Undefeated Watsonians travel to Millbrae to take on Ayrshire Bulls, who themselves have only lost one game, in the first of the games on Saturday (kick off 2pm).

How to Watch

The game will be shown on BBC Sport online, BBC iPlayer and the Scottish Rugby website.

Be there

Tickets are on sale now! You can pay at the gate or buy in advance from the link here: https://www.ayrrugbyclub.co.uk/product/ayrshire-bu…

Match Officials

Referee: Jonny Perriam
AR1: Neil Muir
AR2: Alistair Watt

What the Coaches said:

Pete Horne (Ayrshire Bulls): “As always there were some really difficult calls to make regarding selection and a number of guys will be disappointed not to make the starting 15.

“Andrew Nimmo and Mikey Scott come in to the front row either side of Alex McGuire and Lewis McNamara returns to start at six.

“In the backs Elias Caven starts on the wing after recovering from a knock picked up against Heriots, replacing Aaron Tait who was exceptional last weekend and will bring a real impact from the bench.

“I was extremely proud of the squad last weekend. As always the boys put in a huge amount of effort and they got what they deserved.

“This Saturday we will need to take our work rate and physicality up another level as we welcome league leaders Watsonians to Millbrae.

“Our visitors will be full of confidence, they are in fine form and had a fantastic win against Heriots last time out.

“I can’t wait to see my boys go out and express themselves against some top class opposition. I’m sure the challenge will bring the best out of us.”

Fergus Pringle (Watsonians): “There are three changes in the backs from our game vs Heriots.

“Joe Reynolds starts at 12 with Lee Millar moving to 10 and Jason Baggott moving to the bench.

“Matt Currie comes in on pro release and starts on the wing, with Lomond MacPherson moving to the bench.

“Roan Frostwick starts at nine and Rory Brand swaps to the bench.

“In the forwards, Sam Grahamslaw and Angus Williams start in the front row with the rest of the starting pack the same. Gregor Scougall and Shaun Gunn are unavailable through injury.

“Bobby Bratton and is on the bench having just joined us as an injury replacement.

“Gregor Nelson also comes into the squad as an injury replacement while AP McWilliam and Elliot Young provide emergency cover in the front row.

“We know the challenges of going down to Millbrae to take on a strong Ayrshire Bulls team.

“They will provide a real test for us as a squad across the park with their strong set piece, smart kicking game and ability to transition and create scoring opportunities.

“We have had a real focus in the sprint comp on improving week on week individually and collectively.

“We know where we need to improve further and will need to produce our best in order to come out on top on Saturday.

“It’s a challenge that the squad are really looking forward to.”

TEAM SELECTIONS

First v second at Millbrae tomorrow ?

Here's how @AyrshireBulls & @WATSONIANFC will look for the game!#FOSROCSuper6 pic.twitter.com/RDJc5N3Ieo

— FOSROC Super6 (@Super6Rugby) May 20, 2022

SATURDAY 7 MAY: STIRLING COUNTY V HERIOT’S RUGBY

Stirling County host Heriot’s Rugby in the final game of round five (kick off 4.30pm). After four rounds, both teams have won two and lost two games, with County ahead of Heriot’s in the table with two extra bonus points. The winning side will be in the top three for the playoffs, making it a crucial game for both sides.

How to Watch

The game will be shown on BBC Sport online, BBC iPlayer and the Scottish Rugby website.

Be there

Tickets are on sale now! You can pay at the gate or buy in advance from the link here:

Match Officials

Referee: Ruairidh Campbell
AR1: David Sutherland
AR2: Dunx McClement

What the Coaches said:

Ben Cairns (Stirling County): “Ross McKnight and DJ Innes miss out through injury with Ben Salmon moving to 13 and Ratu Tagive released by Warriors to accommodate.

“Ratu is joined by two fellow Warriors, Sean Kennedy and Walter Fifita, who also start.

“The pack welcomes back Adam Sinclair who was desparate to return from injury in time to face his former club.

“Falkirk props John Mckenna and Lewis Skinner start together for the first time.

“Gregor Hiddleston, Max Williamson, Callum Cruickshank, Craig Robertson and Stevie Hamilton all return from injury to take spots on the bench.

“It’s great to be back at Bridgehaugh for the second match on the bounce and with both sides losing last time out, it has made this match a must win for both teams – whoever wins will make the top 3 playoffs.

“With a break week in between, we’ve had a bit of time to lick our wounds and reflect on an under-par performance in our defeat to Boroughmuir Bears.

“Credit must go to Boroughmuir who I thought played with an intent and energy that we could not match on the day.

“The fact that this was at home in front of another big crowd made it all the more disappointing.

“The off-field team have done a brilliant job in really driving supporters down to the club and improving the whole match day experience.

“This is not lost on the players; they are loving the support they are receiving and cannot wait to be back out in front of another big crowd.

“Heriots have played some excellent rugby this season and will want to get back to winning ways after two defeats in a row to the top two sides in the league.

“Our focus has been on execution, we did not put Boroughmuir under enough pressure and did not take enough of our chances, which ultimately cost us the game.

“If we can get that execution right, it allows us to play the brand of rugby we all enjoy and we know we can beat anyone in the league when this clicks.

Andrew Kelly (Heriot’s Rugby): “Sean Johnstone earns his first Super6 start on Saturday in the second row.

“Callum Anderson comes onto the bench for his first call up to the Super6.

“Iain Wilson, Chris Keen and Euan McLaren come back into the starting 15 after having three weeks off due to injury. Camerton Fenton also proves his fitness and comes on to the bench.

“This will be a really entertaining match for the fans. Both teams want to play rugby and move the ball about.

“There is also the added incentive that whoever wins the game will make it into the top three.

“The squad has had a very good couple of weeks of training and are excited to get stuck in on Saturday up at Bridgehaugh.”

A battle for top three at Bridgehaugh ?

The teamsheets are in for @StirlingCounty v @HeriotsRugby.#FOSROCSuper6 pic.twitter.com/SM6XbyHJRg

— FOSROC Super6 (@Super6Rugby) May 20, 2022