​Gala’s Nairn Moncrieff scores try for Scotland under-20s in friendly v Wales

​Gala’s Moncrieff and Melrose’s Cockburn were named in head coach Kenny Murray’s starting XV, at right-winger and lock respectively, playing for 47 minutes and 65 behind closed doors at Edinburgh’s Hive Stadium.

Peebles’ Wolfenden was among 13 replacements and he was brought on for fly-half Matthew Urwin with 12 minutes of the 80 left to go.

Moncrieff was among those touching down for the young Scots, with outside-centre and captain Johnny Ventisei and hooker Ollie McKenna at the double, tighthead prop Ollie Blyth-Lafferty and left-winger Fergus Watson also racking up tries, five of them converted by Urwin.

Scotland open their age-grade championship campaign at home to Italy at the Hive on Friday, January 31, and Murray, 51, is happy with how their preparations are shaping up, telling the Offside Line rugby news website: “It’s been great the guys getting A games over the last wee while, and we had a number of guys on the bench in the Emerging Scotland game last week, so that was a great experience for them.

“The higher-level opportunities and exposure our guys get, the better it is for them.

“We know when we go and play the Six Nations, we’re going to play against the Henry Pollocks of this world, so we need to make sure our guys get a really good playing opportunity and that’s what these games provide.”