TAKING THE LEAD

While not quite on a par with the fabled Jedburgh scrumhalf factory which has gifted Scotland the talents of Roy Laidlaw, Gary Armstrong and Greig Laidlaw down the years, a more untapped part of the country could be about to deliver another midfield star.

Dumfries and Galloway is far from a rugby backwater yet, equally, wouldn’t be described as a hotbed, but in the burly shape of young centre Stafford Mcdowall the south-west has another prospect to follow in the bootsteps of Nick de Luca and Alex Dunbar.

The 20-year-old product of Stewartry RFC hails from Dundrennan, a Kirkcudbrightshire village of just 200 people which was put on the map by the nearby and now defunct Wickerman music festival which was held annually until a few years ago.

Mcdowall, who has been playing for Ayr and made his Glasgow Warriors breakthrough with a Guinness Pro14 debut against Southern Kings at the end of the year, is now looking forward to ending his time in the junior ranks on a high as he leads the young Scots into the World Under-20 Championship, which gets under way in the south of France today.

Under-20s coach Bryan Redpath has handed Mcdowall the captaincy for the tournament, replacing Six Nations skipper Robbie Smith, and he will lead the team out in this evening’s opener against Italy in Béziers.

“It is a massive honour,” said Mcdowall. “But I’ve got a great group of boys around me and although it is a young squad there is a core of experienced boys.

“Robbie was captain during the Six Nations and was at the Worldchampionshiplastyear

“It is a massive honour. I’ve got a great group of boys and although it is a young squad there is a core of experienced boys”

STAFFORD MCDOWALL