Wednesday 4 February 2015

Rugby - Six Nations

I have been attending international matches at Murrayfield, on and off, since 1968. I still watch rugby on television and occasionally, when I want to freeze my backside off, my local side Stewartry RFC. Over the years I have seen Scottish Rugby XV's both of startling mediocrity as well as sides brimful of genius and talent.

My early hero was P.C Brown, one of Scotland's finest number 8's who on one occasion headed the ball back to the scrum half from the back of a line out, had a thunderous boot and, unusually for a number 8 took all Scotland's penalties and conversions. Ian Robertson a fly half with a great side step and as fleet of foot as any of his contemporaries John, Spencer or Duckham. Then it was folk like McLaughlin, Carmicheal and Gordon Brown, Andy Irvine, Jim Renwick,  Laidlaw and Rutherford. As the years trundled on it was friends who were now playing for Scotland, the Burnetts Jim and Harry, Finlay and Jim Calder and eventually it was lads who I knew through working with young players such as the Hasting's brothers and David Johnstone. Then flair players like Gregor Townsend.

Today I was out walking the dog, thinking about Scotland's prospects in the six nations when I decided, sadly, Scotland will realistically be competing with Italy for the 'wooden spoon' and it hit me there is not one single player in the current Scottish XV who actually gives me a sense they could be a game changer in the loose like a Fin Calder or with ball in hand like a Robertson, Irvine, Hastings or a Townsend. There is no one player in the current squad who gives me any buzz of expectation or has the potential to do the unexpected.
 

They will be well drilled, Vern Cotter's sides always are, but they are just work-a-day international players, solid, striving to do their best and yet I can not see any one of them threatening to get into a current world international XV. The Laidlaw and the Redpath families have supplied Scottish scrum halves for the last four decades but to this old fogy Grieg Laidlaw is a pale imitation of his ancestors - solid but lacking the niggle and guile once famously described by Bill McLaren in one of his forebears, "Redpath wriggled through the gap, like a baggie up a burn." 

On Saturday, in Paris, where will the burst of inspiration came from in this Scottish side that will send a high quality French side back, reeling in shock and surprise, just who will be their Gregor Townsend, Kenny Logan or Gary Armstrong and pull the rug from under their feet? 

We will see a Scotland Rugby side striving to the best of its abilities but sadly that will not be enough against France, playing in Paris. Scotland's only hope is an excess of French hubris and over confidence or I am proved wrong, there is more to this Scotland side than meets my eye and somewhere in the spine of this Scottish XV is that ten seconds of magic and genius which can change this sporting conflict in their favour, sending the French XV reeling into confusion, chaos and self destruction.

4 comments:

  1. "there is more to this Scotland side than meets my eye and somewhere in the spine of this Scottish XV is that ten seconds of magic and genius which can change this sporting conflict in their favour, sending the French XV reeling into confusion, chaos and self destruction."
    I hope so.

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  2. You really got me going back in time. I remember all the players you mention but do you remember Mike Campbell-Lamerton and Franz ten Bos? I met Mike in HK when he was a major in the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment.

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  3. Bill of the older generation I only personally knew Major Sid Smith of the RADC - better known for the oft repeated footage of him, as Scotland's full back, diving helplessly to try and tap tackle J.J Williams to stop a try in the corner (and missing) at Murrayfield. A piece of footage which I know still causes him to cringe up to this day when it is shown as part of Scotland / Wales build ups. I do remember Campbell-Lamberton now you mention him, played for London Scottish along with McHarg.

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  4. Didn't mean to imply that I knew MCL but I met him as he was sailing-captain of an Army sailing club and I sailed a lot in those days. I believe Franz ten Bos was actually English of Dutch origin. Don't know how he got to play for Scotland. I remember 1962 against France when MCL stood up in the scrum, grabbed the French lock Le Roc and whacked him to the back of the scrum. Didn't get sent off. Different days. Ken Scotland was full back.

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