FORMER Dunfermline fly half Gregor McNeish says that the club’s youth section can produce players who will follow him into international rugby.

The 22-year-old left McKane Park to join Premiership cracks Heriot’s in the summer, who are coached by another former Dunfermline player, Phil Smith, and they will team up for the Scotland Club XV for two international matches against Ireland Club International and English counties in February.

Smith, who also coached at McKane, will take charge of a squad for the first time that is made up of the top players in Scottish club rugby who are not playing with either of the country’s professional sides, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

McNeish admits he was surprised to be included in the 28-man pool that will gather for their first training session on 15th December and he told Press Sport, “I had the opportunity to go to Heriot’s over the past couple of years but I decided this summer to give it a shot. I feel I’ve improved a lot but there are a lot of good players coming through at Dunfermline who I would say should stay there for a couple of years at least and play first XV rugby, even if the opportunity is there to move on to a bigger club. At every age group, I’ve seen a handful of players who are decent and there are a lot of guys at the club who are working really hard, so there is no reason why they can’t go on and do well. I’m pretty pleased at being selected as it wasn’t something I was really expecting straight away. I was just trying to get a few games with the Heriot’s firsts but I’m delighted with how it’s going so far. I only ever played at junior for Fife so it will be a good test for me to step up another level.” Smith, who guided Dunfermline to their finest hour in recent years by winning promotion to National Division Two, said, “I played there for a few years and then I came back to coach five or six years ago, which was great for me to get my hometown club up to their highest level. My dad still goes to the games and their score is still one I look for on a Saturday. They are always producing younger players and it is a case of keeping them. If they can do that and get some momentum then they can do well.

“Gregor is doing very well in his first season and has the attributes to go to the top level. It is a huge step for him and the biggest learning curve has been to trust the players around him. His reward is being called into the squad and it is up to him to take the opportunity. It shows other players at clubs like Dunfermline that if they are good enough then they can move up to a higher level if they believe in themselves.”