Allan Massie calls for more interest in the Borders from Edinburgh in The Scotsman.
"Actually, it would be a good idea if Edinburgh were to decide to play a handful of their Magners League (or indeed Heineken) games at Netherdale. The crowd would probably be no smaller than the usual one at Murrayfield, and by playing some games in Galashiels they might persuade more Borderers to make the trip to watch them in Edinburgh. It's not essential to play all your home games on the same ground. Munster, after all, play matches in Cork as well as Limerick. A spot of enterprise would be welcome.
"As for local interest Edinburgh can field almost a complete XV with Border origins or connections. For example: Jim Thompson (Bill McLaren's grandson); Mark Robertson (Melrose), John Houston (Hawick), Nick De Luca (Border Reivers), Lee Jones (Selkirk); Chris Paterson (Gala), Greig Laidlaw (Jedforest); Nicky Little (Hawick) or Robin Hislop (Langholm), Ross Ford (Kelso), Geoff Cross (Galashiels Academy), Scott MacLeod (Hawick), Craig Hamilton (Border Reivers), Scott Newlands (Border Reivers), A.N.Other, Roddy Grant (Border Reivers and Bob Burrell's grandson). There's a No 8 missing, but A.N.Other could be Natani Talei, no less a Borderer than an Edinburgh man. Two other Border backs would still be available for the bench: James King (Melrose) and Gregor Hunter (Gala)."
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