A GROUP of Borders youngsters have been selected to represent Scotland at the Rugby Heritage Cup in France.
The competition, which will take place in Pontlevoy, will act as a curtain-raiser to the World Cup.
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And Scottish Rugby has chosen Earlston High School, with its affiliations to Melrose Rugby, to be country's representation.
The event will be an extraordinary experience for 700 young people from 24 schools around the world.
A group of U15 boys and girls from the region will travel to Pontlevoy, accompanied by teachers and coaches from Melrose Rugby.
Last Tuesday, the pupils gathered at the Greenyards where Richard Harley, from St Andrews Timber, handed over the sponsored strips and Kerry Whyte, from CGI, presented each player with a hoodie.
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After that it was onto the hallowed turf for photographs.
The squad leave for France tomorrow (Thursday) and will be away for one week.
The boys team will play schools from New Zealand, France and Portugal and the girls team will face schools from New Zealand, France and Madagascar.
Teacher Mark Naysmith, who is going on the trip, said: “Earlston High School, along with our partnership with Melrose Rugby Club, are honoured to represent Scotland in the Rugby Heritage Cup.
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“A huge thanks goes out to St Andrews timber and CGI for sponsoring our pupils kit for the tournament.
“It is an amazing gesture and the pupils look fantastic, thank you.
“We are all so excited and can’t wait to arrive in France to get started, what an amazing experience it will be for our young people.”
The travelling party is as follows: Pupils: Kubilai Gulvin, Stuart Newton, Harris Redmayne, Edward Green, Rueben Heneveld, Harry Bell, Ciaran Hughes, Scott Turner, Harris Mcdougal, Ben McLaren, Magnus Macloed, Kohen Williamson, Emily Docker, Holly Leach, Issy Ross, Flora Locke, Dylan Worsley, Erin Will, Emma Hepburn, Zoe Diamond and Lilidh Shortel. Teachers: Mr Naysmith, Mr Anderson and Mrs McGinlay.
Fans can follow the teams progress via the Earlston High School social media accounts.
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