Big Nathan Hines has announced his retirement from International Rugby, making the game he played against England in the World Cup at Eden Park his last in Scotland colours. A stalwart of Scottish rugby, Nathan combined a vibrant offloading game with a “rugged” streak that often found him in the role of on-field enforcer dishing out a bit of street justice, like someone took Chuck Norris and put him in Willy Wonka’s gum stretching machine.
It has been confirmed today that Scotland and Glasgow lock Richie Gray will move south next year to take up duties with Premiership side Sale Sharks. The new poster boy of Scottish rugby has quickly risen to be a key player for both Scotland and Glasgow over the last 18 months and it is probably no surprise that he has chosen to continue his career south of the border. Hopefully Richie will be able to continue his development in the week in, week out dogfight that is the English top flight which can only benefit the national team in the long run. Whilst Glasgow will undoubtedly miss his whole-hearted, hard-hitting displays it will create an opportunity for someone else to step into his (what must be!) huge shoes – hopefully a young Scot!
Surprising though is the timing of the announcement, given the Heineken Cup and the need to be one big happy family in the coming weeks. Sale could be forgiven for their excitement though, as for them it is a major signing of one of rugby’s fast rising stars and he should slot into the squad alongside old Glasgow mucker Richie Vernon and fellow Scots Ali Dickinson and Fraser Mackenzie. Who would you cheer for in a Sale vs Gloucester match now?
Something is afoot down South. No,no, no. Not the goings on at Twickenham, but south of the Equator.
Like it or not we are in the throes of a new season.
Out of work and now out of luck, Hugo Southwell is set to miss the World Cup in September after failing to recover from a knee injury.
Apparently there is an African proverb, “Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet.” In our case, though, Andy Robinson is being cautious to the extent of bringing out a dinghy.
At the U20s World Cup, in Italy, Scotland have lost twice. Once to a pumped up South Africa side and once to an out of sorts England side.
Two losses is still the most important fact, but I feel myself looking at performances.
The scoreline above does not really do justice to what was a vastly improved performance by the Scotland team who could quite possibly (but not easily) have won this game. In the end, England’s wings showed a little more confidence on the ball than the players inside – who handed over a glut of possession to Scotland (some of which was handed straight back) – and finished a couple of simple tries to put the gloss on the score.
As the RWC looms large teams seem to be panicking. Players have been jumping on and off the Rugby Union merry-go-round as Glasgow sign up 6 players and Edinburgh only produce rumours of past players rejoining.
There is a fine line between realism and negativity. I know this myself, having been described as a wee bit *just a wee bit* negative.
In Scottish rugby we are often accused of dwelling on the negatives. Results, finances and the press almost ensure this. The outlook is usually grey.
The alternative, though, is to be optimistic.
What does a player need to develop?
For some it is competition, for others it is hard work they are not used to. Freedom comes into it but restriction and focus can be the answer for many more. Success is a something attainable but the recipe is different for every individual and establishment. The legendary Pele once said “Everything is practice”. Many people have said that what made the late Seve Ballesteros so great was his flair and tenacity: personal qualities he had freedom to express.
I’m afraid that neither of these make Graham Lowe’s life any easier.
Troubled Wales Number 8 and lover of medieval facial hair Andy Powell was announced as Sale Shark’s new signing, after a raft of players and staff were cut from the club last week. Good move for Sale, assuming Powelly finds somewhere safe in the North to hole up away from football fans and golf courses, and then finds the rampaging form that first brought him to notice.
Last night, at the RDS in Dublin, youngster Mark Bennett started his first pro game at the age of 18.
As Rory has chosen to focus on the backs he has left me with the slightly easier task of looking at the forwards.
The reason this is easier is because Andy Robinson has a pretty samey starting pack and, barring injury, I can’t imagine it will change too much for the first game in the World Cup. So this means the warm-up games against Ireland and Italy will help pick a bench, and the training sessions before hand are hugely important for individuals.
So who is a dead cert to go, and who “could do better”?
The club season is done. The pro-team season is almost over, unless you happen to be challenging for a playoff place (hint: Edinburgh and Glasgow are not). All eyes turn now to the World Cup, at least in this part of the world.
