Gala skipper called up by Borders
January 21, 2005

Gala captain John Dalziel will start for The Borders in their Celtic League match against Leinster at Netherdale on Saturday.

Dalziel has put in good performances for The Borders and deservedly wins his starting berth at blindside flanker in place of the still-injured Kelly Brown.

The other club player in the squad is the Berwick hooker Rob Haggerstone. Commenting on Haggerstone's selection, Borders coach , Steve Bates, said : "Rob takes over from Will Kay, whom we're resting. We can't risk any injury to Will, because, if Ross Ford is in the Scotland squad, then we will be down to one hooker.

"Rob is a tough player with a lot to prove. We'll be looking at him for the future" added Bates.

Looking ahead to the game Bates suggested that his side, despite having a two week break from competition, were highly motivated. "There are a number of factors firing the guys right now. First there is the prospect of playing against the only unbeaten team in the Heineken Cup.

"Second, there are places up for grabs in the Scotland team and third they players feel there is a need to show what professional rugby is all about. We've worked hard in the gym over the past two weeks and think there is a marked improvement. We've trained well on the pitch and are feeling very positive about playing Leinster.

"They beat us in Dublin but for the first 20 minutes of that game we were very competitive. I think they we surprised them a bit. We're a better team now and have shown at home that we're capable of winning" stated Bates.


Borders team:
15 Stuart Moffat; 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Calum MacRae, 12 Charlie Hore, 11 Simon Danielli; 10 Alistair Warnock, 9 Chris Cusiter; 1 Paul Thomson (captain), 2 Ross Ford, 3 Bruce Douglas; 4 Scott MacLeod, 5 Colin Stewart; 6 John Dalziel, 7 Andy Miller, 8 Scott Gray
Subs:16 Rob Haggerstone, 17 Tom McGee, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Mark Blair, 20 Johnny Weston, 21 Alistair Dickson, 22 Gareth Morton

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