Rugby: A beacon of sporting hope for the nation?

 Those who have recently followed Scottish sporting endeavors (outside of Mr. Hoy) will know that optimism is, more often than not, rewarded with heartbreak. Think Barcelona’s last-gasp winner against Celtic; Edinburgh […]


 Those who have recently followed Scottish sporting endeavors (outside of Mr. Hoy) will know that optimism is, more often than not, rewarded with heartbreak. Think Barcelona’s last-gasp winner against Celtic; Edinburgh falling at the penultimate hurdle in last year’s Heineken Cup; Andy Murray at Wimbledon. Brave, noteworthy, inspiring even, but disappointingly, seldom successful.

After the Scotland rugby team kicked off 2012 with the least successful Six Nations in almost a decade, you couldn’t fault those who said Scottish sport was going backwards, not forwards (the last time Scotland ‘earned’ the wooden spoon with a whitewash of losses was in 2004). However, with wins in Summer tests against Fiji, Samoa, and most impressively Australia, there is cause for optimism once again. The question is: with tough contests against the All Blacks, South Africa and Tonga in the coming weeks, can Scotland continue to progress and give their fans something to cheer about?

Having never beaten New Zealand, most in the rugby world are expecting Scotland to be put to the sword. However, as former Scotland captain Al Kellock told me on Tuesday, the squad aren’t letting the daunting task faze them: “Exciting is probably the way to describe it, we have the opportunity to go up against the best in the world,” he said. The talismanic lock is under no illusions; he continued, “we’ll have to be at our best to have any chance of winning, so the focus for this week and next week will be making sure we’re at 100%.” Faith within the squad is clearly growing, full of experience and enthusiasm. You can’t help thinking though, even if Scotland play to their full potential, the Kiwis must have an off day for Kellock’s men to have a fighting chance.

The task is made harder still with the growing number of players on the injury list. Lock’s Jim Hamilton (ribs), Al Kellock (back) and Richie Gray (ankle), flanker Ross Rennie (shoulder), stand-offs Ruaridh Jackson (shoulder) and Greig Laidlaw (neck), centre Nick De Luca (ankle) and wing/centre Sean Lamont (facial) all sustained injuries limiting their capacities to train. The position posing the most serious of problems for head coach, Andy Robinson, is prop. With three of the four props in the 34-man squad carrying injuries, the coach was forced to bring in a relative unknown in the form of Grant Shiells. The Newcastle Falcons man, 23, has represented Scotland at under-19 and under-20 level having been born in Melrose. When asked about the worryingly long injury list, Kellock again seemed optimistic: “It’s just part of rugby, you carry injuries. If you look at our strength in depth, there are players more than capable of coming in and doing a good job, but I think if you give it a week or two most people will be back on form.” Undoubtedly Scotland will need their key players if they are to challenge the Southern Hemisphere giants; the likes of Gray, Rennie and even Kellock himself will be hoping for a bit of luck, along with the help of team doctor, James Robson.

The belief in a squad of so many experienced, World Class players alone is enough cause for optimism. If, as Kellock suggests, those injured can get back to full fitness and if Scotland can muster up some magic then maybe, just maybe, a smile can be brought back onto the faces of this proud nation’s supporters.

 

Photos by Blair Robertson and Hannah Blitzer