Looking ahead to Round 3 of the FOSROC Super6

Looking ahead to Round 3 of the FOSROC Super6

The third round of the FOSROC Super6 kicks off tomorrow night when Boroughmuir Bears entertain Heriot’s Rugby at Meggetland in an Edinburgh derby.

The Ayrshire Bulls will travel to the Borders to face the Southern Knights on Saturday evening and Watsonians host Stirling County on Sunday afternoon which will be broadcast live on Scottish Rugby TV and on the BBC Scotland website.

Boroughmuir Bears will be looking to record their first win of the Championship despite two competitive performance in the competition so far.

Boroughmuir Bears Head Coach Graham Shiel is optimistic his team can produce a positive performance. He said: “The players are responding well to the increased level of training and competition and continue to build on each performance taking positives out of both our games. The squad are continuing to work hard to find more consistency in their performances for the full the 80 minutes.

He added: “Although there are some alterations to the squad this week, all players have been involved in the first two rounds other than Tom Drennan, who makes his first competitive start in the FOSROC Super6.”

After a quick turnaround from their game against Watsonians last Sunday, visitors Heriot’s Rugby will be looking to bounce back from a rare home defeat.

Head Coach Phil Smith said: “The squad are desperate to show that it was very much a controllable blip during the second half last week. We have picked up a couple of key learnings that we hope to change this weekend. Despite many, outside the squad, thinking the world had ended last weekend, having now completed the analysis, if we could have controlled a couple of circumstances better, we would have been in a great position to win.

“The Bears, despite the two close defeats, are in good form and will be very difficult to beat, particularly on their home patch. This should be another tight derby.”

Smith’s squad for tomorrow night will see several players earn their first starting jersey in the competition.

He added: “Six members of the squad Josh Scott, Callum Marshall, Dan Nutton, Ben Chalmers, Scott King and Robbie Chalmers will get their chance to shine with a first start in the FOSROC Super6. The rest of the squad is fairly settled with us looking for an impact off the bench.”


Peter Murchie’s Ayrshire Bulls will play their first game on the road this weekend, where they will be looking to build on their home win against Boroughmuir Bears.

He said: “We are looking forward to our first away match of the season, The Greenyards is always a great ground to visit.

“The Southern Knights showed some resolve to fight their way back into the game last week and I am sure they will be eager to secure their first win of the season.

“We were improved last week but we know that we can still deliver much more. We need to show the same, if not more, effort and be more accurate in certain areas of the game to pick up the win on the road.”

The hosts the Southern Knights will looking to record their first win of the championship.

Southern Knights Head Coach Rob Chrystie sticks with all but one of his forwards who ground out the first draw of the tournament against Stirling County last weekend.

The pack that finished the match start, with only Neil Irvine-Hess coming in for Rory Darge.

Experienced scrum-half Bruce Colvine starts whilst James Head and Iain Sim come into the match squad for the first time.

He said: “Saturday night under the lights at The Greenyards is sure to be a great occasion. The Ayrshire Bulls had a good win last weekend and will be in confident mood.

“They [Ayrshire Bulls] have experience across their squad, I’m sure they will impose themselves early on. We know this is going to be a hugely physical test that will require a huge amount of effort and are looking forward to the challenge.”


After recording the tournament’s first draw last weekend against the Southern Knights, Stirling County currently sit in second place in the FOSROC Super6.

They will travel to Edinburgh on Sunday for a top of the table clash with league leaders, and fellow unbeaten side, Watsonians in the final game of the weekend which you will be able to watch live on Scottish Rugby TV and BBC Sport Scotland website.

In the front row the visitors have rotated Murphy Walker to the bench which allows Charlie Brown to earn his first competitive start in the tournament. Further changes in the pack see James Pow come into the second row for injured Cameron Henderson and in the back row Connor Gordon is handed a well-deserved first start.

Their back line has also had a reshuffle with Josh Henderson and Brandon Thomson swapping positions at fullback and fly half, Landon Hayes returns to the centre for the injured Grant Hughes.

Stirling County Head Coach Ben Cairns knows that it will be a tough task to take on the league leaders at home. He said: “Like us Watsonians are also unbeaten which means this match is set up to be a cracker. They have played some excellent rugby so far and their defence has been solid, they’ve shown a real clinical edge in their attack.

“Most FOSROC Super6 matches have remained in the balance until the end, which has been great for the competition and we expect Sunday’s encounter to be no different.

He added: “There was a definite feeling of frustration and disappointment after the way the second half unfolded last week. However, in some respects it’s a good position to be in being disappointed when we are one of only two unbeaten sides in the league.”

The hosts Watsonians have made only two changes to the starting team who were victorious against Heriot’s last weekend. Scrum half Murray Scott replaces Roan Frostwick who moves to the bench while Mesu Kunavula replacing James Miller in the back row.

Head Coach Fergus Pringle is happy the way his side has started the tournament. He said: “We’ve had a solid start to our campaign with two wins on the road, but we are under no illusions that Stirling will be a big challenge for us this weekend, having made a strong start to the competition. They were unlucky not to get the result against the Southern Knights last weekend and I’m sure they will be fired up to come to Myreside and make amends.

Despite a winning start to their campaign there are still things to work on for the hosts. He said: “We are looking to improve on some key areas of our game and will need a disciplined, 80 minute performance to give ourselves a chance of coming out on top.”


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