Marr head coach Craig Redpath is very pleased with how the players have committed themselves to the pre-season training and friendly matches. The boys are fit and eager to get the season underway having worked extremely hard since pre-season began in the first week of June.

The season kicks off with a tough away encounter against Aberdeen Grammar in the Scottish Cup first round. Rubislaw is always a hard place to get a result & many supporters will remember last year’s match at Rubislaw when we were victorious 47 points to 37. An amazing match where the lead changed no less than twelve times. The game was won only in the last ten minutes with Marr scoring the last two tries to secure the vital away win. The boys will need to repeat that 80 minute performance should they wish to progress to the next round. As usual there will be many Marr supporters travelling and with the weather forecast not looking good, I ask you to give yourselves plenty of time to travel, before the 3pm kick off.

There will be no less than 6 players making their competitive debut for the club. In the front row, Zimbabwean Brandon Sweet makes his first start at loosehead in the absence of William Farquhar who is on holiday. He is joined by centurion Ollie Rossi & Calvin Henderson.

Kiwi Cody Cunningham packs down in the engine room with Ewan Hamilton-Bulger & Vice Captain Mackenzie Pearce takes on his usual position in the back row alongside all action debutants Robert Brown at openside and Kiwi Benedict Grant at no.8

Jack Preston makes his first start at scrum-half having joined from Ayr over the summer and partners Colin Sturgeon for the first time. Familiarity in the midfield as Captain Conor Bickerstaff continues his partnership with Richard Dalgleish, while debutant Greg Montgomery who has been impressive throughout pre-season joins Scott Bickerstaff & Jack Scott in an exciting back three.

The bench has yet to be finalised but plenty of options including 17 year old FOSROC Academy front rower Jamie Drummond and exciting new addition in Fijian winger Iosefo Turaga

Scottish Cup (Men's) / 2019-2020
Aberdeen Grammar Rugby 1st XV vs Marr RFC 1st XV
31/08/2019 KICK OFF 15:00

1 Brandon Sweet (0) *Debut
2 Oliver Rossi (104)
3 Calvin Henderson (23)
4 Ewan Hamilton-Bulger (44)
5 Cody Cunningham (0) *Debut
6 Mackenzie Pearce (VC) (78)
7 Robert Brown (0) *Debut
8 Benedict Grant (0) *Debut
9 Jack Preston (0) *Debut
10 Colin Sturgeon (112)
11 Jack Scott (18)
12 Conor Bickerstaff (C) (172)
13 Richard Dalgleish (35)
14 Scott Bickerstaff (204)
15 Greg Montgomery (0) *Debut

REPLACEMENTS FROM

Jamie Drummond (1)
Curran McMillan (13)
Callum Steel (15)
Findlay Hazel (21)
Gregor Paxton (49)
Gregor Ness (118)
Iosefo Turaga (0) *Debut