Scotland captain Kevin McCabe believes his strong team can successfully defend the Autumn Trophy against England, Wales and Ireland in a one-day Autumn Fly Fishing international at Llyn Clywedog on Thursday.
A star-studded side has been selected and is skippered by Midlothian-based McCabe (Change FFAC) who has 15 previous caps and was Scottish National Champion in 2013. He has also won the Phoenix Silver Salver on three occasions.
Derek Pozzi (Thalassa AC) is also in the 14-strong line-up and he has six previous caps. The highly-talented angler from Leslie in Fife has won the National Championship on three occasions and is the current holder.
Pozzi was a member of the four-strong Menteith Ospreys team which recently won the inaugural Greys Loch Style Championship at the Lake of Menteith and three other members of that quartet, who pocketed the £3,000 first prize, are also included.
They are Peter Auchterlonie (Menteith Ospreys) from Crieff who has 17 previous caps and was the National Champion in 2010, Ayrshire-based Ronnie Gilbert (Menteith Ospreys) who has made 13 previous appearances for Scotland and is a two-time National Champion, and Glaswegian Martin McCafferty who is a member of Future FF and has six caps.
Whitburn-based Ben Robertson (Phoenix FF) is also in the squad and he has two previous caps and McCabe (pictured), who owns an Edinburgh-based construction company, believes this is the strongest team Scotland has ever picked for an international and he is confident of success.
Members of the team know the water and some have practiced there recently and McCabe from Cousland near Dalkeith added: “We have 103 caps in the team and this is the best team ever assembled. When I was appointed captain and heard the team I could not believe it. This really is a fantastic squad and we are travelling to fish a fantastic water.”
Scotland have won gold medal in the last two Spring and Autumn internationals and are going for a treble which has been achieved twice before according to Tom MacTaggart, secretary of the Scottish Anglers National Association, Competition Clubs, in Autumn 2009, Spring 2010, and Autumn 2010 and then in Autumn 2012, Spring 2013 and Autumn 2013.
The squad, which includes three members of the Lintrathen FF club near Kirriemuir, traveled south on Sunday and practiced on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (yesterday) before the big day on Thursday.
The manager is Derek Keenan (Greenock IBM Freshwater AC) and the remainder of the team are Scott Aitken (Tartan Tyers FF), Tyler Hay, the National Champion in 2022 and Lintrathen FF club-mates, Kevin Neri and Chris Mcallister, Michael Low (Menteith Ospreys), debutants Thomas McMillan (Dalry Garnock AC) and Joseph Wood (Bridge of Weir Loch AC) and Grant Sutherland (Perth RASC AC).
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