A FORMER Scotland rugby international is due to stand trial next month on a rape charge.

The trial involving Norman Pender from Hawick, Roxburghshire, has been fixed for December 13 at the High Court in Glasgow.

He is accused of raping a girl on occasions between 1990 and 1997 in Hawick when his alleged victim was aged between 12 and 19.

The 65-year-old faces further charges of indecent assault and lewd and libidinous practices.

He has previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Pender was capped four times for Scotland in the late 1970s and played club rugby for Hawick. He also served as a LibDem councillor on Scottish Borders Council between 1998 and 2003.