Having started all five matches during last year’s Six Nations, scrum-half Roan Frostwick is an old hand in the Under 20s – or as much as it is possible for a 19-year-old to be – so the scrum-half wasn’t too despondent when he was dropped to the bench for Scotland’s Six Nations clash against Italy a fortnight ago, with Kyle McGhie starting in the No.9 jersey.
“That’s the way squads work, you’re presented with different challenges,” he shrugs. “All credit to Kyle, he’s a good nine and in both the previous games he came on and made a difference, so he deserved his shot.”
With the shoe on the other foot, it was Frostwick’s turn to add energy towards the end of the game against Italy – and that is exactly what he did, as the young Scots battled back from 29-18 down going into the final quarter to secure an excellent last-gasp win thanks to late tries from Robbie McCallum and Connor Boyle.
As assistant coach Shade Munro acknowledged this week, Scotland Under-20s are very fortunate to have two strong options at scrum-half – and it was a toss-up over which one would get the nod tonight, with Frostwick’s extra experience ultimately edging it.
“Roan is more of a leader and against France we thought that was important, but there wasn’t a lot in it,” Munro said.
Frostwick was on a steep learning curve during last year’s Six Nations when it was his first year out of North Berwick High School and he was struggling to get regular game time at club level for Currie Chieftains. He battled through it but, by his own admission, he is a far more accomplished all-round player this time round.
“I’ve moved on massively,” he says. “I was lucky enough to be invited to pre-season with Edinburgh which kicked on really well and I’ve stayed on to train pretty much full time with them since. Being in a professional environment with the likes of Henry Pyrgos and Nic Groom, old boys who can pass on their wisdom and knowledge, has been huge.
“Also, playing regularly in Super6 with Watsonians has helped massively. I’ve definitely noticed that certain aspects of my game have really improved, such as game management, which is something I’ve really focused on this year.”
Scotland have never beaten France in 14 previous encounters at Under-20 level, but Frostwick believes this crop of players can get that monkey off the back.
“We had a good go at them last year, so I think it’s on the cards,” he says. “If we come out the gates firing, France will be shocked and then we just need to carry on the momentum.”
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