U20s 6N: France v Scotland: Kenny Murray feels benefit of increased squad depth

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KENNY MURRAY believes having the luxury of being able to make two rotational changes to his Scotland Under-20s pack following last weekend’s win over Wales, ahead of taking on France in Paris on Friday night, highlights the progress which has been made in growing the volume of players coming though the system who are capable of competing at such a high level.

“Joe Roberts has had a few starts at hooker and he’s played quite a lot of minutes in the campaign this year so we felt Seb Stephen probably deserved to get a run as well,” explained the coach.

“We’re really fortunate we’ve got some good competition and good options in that position so we want to maximise it as much as we can and make sure we’re giving them both a start because they both equally deserve the opportunity.

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Stephen, who has played regularly for Edinburgh Accies in the Arnold Clark Men’s Premiership this season, began his rugby life playing for Garioch in Aberdeenshire and played for Scotland Under-18s in 2023 whilst a pupil at Glenalmond College.

“Then in his under-19 year he went to New Zealand to play some rugby and just to get a bit of a different culture, and he was going to spend a full year there however when we got to March-April time we had some injuries around hooker so I got in contact with him about coming back early for the Junior World Trophy,” explained Murray. “He agreed and played for us in the summer, and has been in our player of national interest [PONI] group for this year, and I think he’s actually going to go and do a bit of training with Glasgow after the Six Nations as well [because] I think they’re keen to have a look at him.

“Bart Godsell started against England, he’s done really well when he’s come off the bench and his work-rate and what he’s done on the pitch and in training means he deserves a start against France, with Charlie Moss, who has also done well, now on he bench,” Murray added.

“Sometimes at under-20 level you maybe don’t quite have the strength and depth in some positions that you want, but now we’re starting to get that as you can see with both these changes.

“The front-row is a good example of that as well. We’re starting this week with Oli McKenna and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, but we know that Jake Shearer and Jamie Stewart can come on and do a really good job.  So, that’s important for us at under-20s level and looking ahead for these guys as they go through their careers, hopefully at Glasgow and Edinburgh and then the senior Scotland team. We’ve actually got some good front-row players now which, in all honesty, has been a bit of a challenge in recent years.”

The backline is unaltered from the unit which began last weekend’s home win over Wales, while Ross Wolfenden rotates back into the match-day squad as midfield bench cover in place of Isaac Coates, who has had a frustrating campaign hampered by injury and illness.

“Isaac had an injury earlier in the season which meant he was out for a while and came back into the squad in the middle of the Six Nations training window, then he got a head knock against Wales in one of the friendlies we played in December so that’s why he wasn’t involved initially,” explained Murray. “Since then, he been ill, he had tonsillitis, and he’s just not recovered fully from it.

Coates was first choice stand-off for the age-grade side in last year’s Six Nations but couldn’t play in the World Championship last summer because as an English born and raised player who was schooled north of the Border at Merchiston Castle, he hadn’t completed the mandatory five years as a Scottish Ruby registered player. This situation is now resolved, explained Murray.

“We just had to make sure we were getting through all the proper paperwork and stuff like that, but now its confirmed that he’s fully registered to play for Scotland, and he can play for us in the Junior World Championship.”

Turning his attention back to this weekend’s mammoth task against a French team chasing the Six Nations title, in a match which will be played in front of a crowd of around 15,000 at Stade Jean Bouin in Paris, Murray explained that the focus has been on recovering and refreshing this week rather than ratcheting up the pressure again.

“We’ve gone a bit lighter this week. Last week of Six Nations is always a tough week because whether it’s under-20s or even the national team, it’s the last week of a really intense window. You’ve got to try and just pull it back a little bit in terms of how long you’re on feet and how long sessions are, to keep it fresh.

“We have nothing to lose. We can go there with full confidence and go and have a go at them. We’ve already showed this year, if we get opportunities in attack, we can take them. We’ve scored some excellent tries. Our forwards’ catch-drive has been excellent this year, and we’ve not conceded a drive-try the whole campaign, which is a big positive for us because we come up against some really big packs. I think that’s a testament to the coaching and the players themselves that they’ve managed to keep teams out. I think last week was the first time Wales hadn’t scored a catch-drive try. We’ve also scored a couple of really good kick-pass tries when we get to the 22.

“If they think we’re going to go over there and just lie down and let them play, they’re in for a shock.”

Scotland U20s (versus France U20s at Stade Jean Bouin on Friday 8.15pm – live on BBC iPlayer): J Brown; N Moncrieff, A Hunter, K Yule, F Watson; M Urwin, N Cowan; O McKenna, S Stephen, O Blyth-Lafferty, B Godsell, D Halkon, O Duncan, F Douglas ©, R Logan. Subs: J Roberts, J Shearer, J Stewart, C Moss, M Fyffe, H McArthur, R Wolfenden, C van Wyk.

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