RUGBY UNION : Scots are offered rest

The Scottish Rugby Union will grant any club with at least one international permission to postpone their league matches this weekend, to enhance Scotland's prospects of securing their first Grand Slam since 1990.

Melrose have four players - Craig Chalmers, Bryan Redpath, Craig Joiner and Doddie Weir - in the Scotland squad which travels to Twickenham on 18 March for the Calcutta Cup match with England that will decided the Five Nations' Championship. They will almost certainly postpone their match with Jed-Forest - but the SRU could face claims for loss of revenue if the postponed fixtures are rearranged for midweek dates.

Heriot's, whose game against Stirling County was due to be televised, will almost certainly seek compensation as they had already indicated that they were prepared to rest their international, Ken Logan. Other matches which could be affected are Boroughmuir v Hawick, Gala v Currie and Dundee High School FP v Watsonians.