Sunday 7 September 2014

Andy Nicol and Rory Lawson Q&A: Former Scotland captains give their thoughts ...


  • Andy Nicol and Rory Lawson QA

  • Former Scotland internationals give their thoughts ahead of Pro12 season

  • Nicol and Lawson also discuss the World Cup, academies and more


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Rob Robertson











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    The Guinness Pro12 kicks off on Friday night with Edinburgh facing a tough away fixture against Munster while on Saturday Glasgow take on defending champions Leinster at Scotstoun.


    The matches signal the start of a season that will culminate with the World Cup in England next year. It is safe to say that Scotland head coach Vern Cotter will be keeping a close eye on all the players in contention for a place in his squad.


    Off the field, the SRU have vowed to invest wisely the £20million they secured through selling the naming rights of Murrayfield to BT — but where should that cash go?


    In what is shaping up to be an exciting year for Scottish rugby, Sportsmail brought together former Scotland captains Andy Nicol and Rory Lawson for an exclusive question and answer session with rugby correspondent Rob Robertson.


    QA: AnGlasgow Warriorsdy Nicol and Rory Lawson gave shared their thoughts ahead of the new Guinness Pro12 season


    QA: AnGlasgow Warriorsdy Nicol and Rory Lawson gave shared their thoughts ahead of the new Guinness Pro12 season


    Sportsmail: Edinburgh finished a disappointing eighth in the league last season. How much pressure is head coach Alan Solomons under?


    Andy Nicol: I think he is on trial and might be given only to Christmas unless he gets things right. By then Edinburgh have to be winning at home and picking up away points.


    He has signed players who I, and the majority of rugby people, have never heard of. As a result, he has lost a lot of credibility with the public and needs results to get it back.


    The Scots at the club need to show the way. Last year there were so many South Africans at Edinburgh — and with the head coach being South African — the fear was they were running the culture of the club. Let’s hope things are different this season.


    Rory Lawson: This is his real test. He has had a full pre-season and brought in his own conditioning coach. Now is the time for him to deliver after a very poor season last year.


    Edinburgh’s start, at Munster, is tough and it certainly won’t be easy to pick up points in some of their early games. Some of his overseas signings haven’t helped and I feel the club have lost their identity.


    Tough: Rory Lawson said Edinburgh face a tough start to the season and will be lucky to pick up points 


    Tough: Rory Lawson said Edinburgh face a tough start to the season and will be lucky to pick up points 


    Edinburgh have lost some big players in Greig Laidlaw, Nick de Luca and Ross Rennie, which is why the likes of Matt Scott and David Denton, when they are fit, as well as Grant Gilchrist and Sean Kennedy, have to take the lead and tell the overseas players this is how we do things at Edinburgh.


    Sportsmail: Glasgow Warriors have been fourth, third and now second in the Pro12. Can they take it one stage further and win the title this year?


    AN: Yes. There has been a gradual progression and last season they were the most consistent team in the league: they won the most games, scored the most tries and had the least number of defeats.


    Gregor Townsend has managed his squad better than any other coach in the Pro12. I must admit when he started doing it so much, I didn’t think it would work.


    It was brave to change a winning side from week to week, especially the key positions of nine and ten. It looked like a risk to me, but he got it spot on when it came to his rotation.


    RL: They have a chance. The structures and empowerment that Gregor has given his players is second to none. His ability to rotate players comes off the back of him having the framework in place to allow guys to slip in and out of the systems.


    He has also been clever in his new signings by bringing in experienced non-Scots such as Irishman James Downey, who can fill in during international breaks.


    Glasgow lost four games last season, three in the international windows. The more matches they can win when the international players are away, the better chance they have of winning the league.


    Title: Nicol and Lawson believe Glasgow Warriors have a chance of improving on last year


    Title: Nicol and Lawson believe Glasgow Warriors have a chance of improving on last year’s second place


    Sportsmail: This year Glasgow Warriors are the only Scottish club to qualify for the elite European Rugby Champions Cup, with Edinburgh dropping into the European Rugby Challenge Cup. How important is it for Scottish rugby’s credibility that Glasgow do well in the top tournament?


    AN: Success in Europe is always the benchmark. Glasgow’s credibility, and that of Scottish rugby, will rise if they make it. But it is going to be tough for Glasgow to qualify out of their group this season as the changes make it even more of an elite tournament.


    RL: Glasgow have Montpellier, Toulouse and Bath, a very tough group to get out of.


    To reach the quarter-finals will be harder than ever. It would be fantastic if they made it into the knockout stages but I feel they have a better chance of winning the Pro12 — and I think that will be their priority.


    Sportsmail: Edinburgh play their home games at BT Murrayfield in front of only about 5,000 fans in a massive ground that can hold 67,000. How big a disadvantage is it to play in an arena devoid of atmosphere?


    AN: It is a big problem as it takes away the club feel that Edinburgh want to generate.


    Glasgow Warriors have that at Scotstoun and I was lucky enough to be there for their semi-final win over Munster last May with 10,000 inside the stadium. The atmosphere was just fantastic that night.


    That is never going to happen for Edinburgh as long as they play at Murrayfield.


    RL: When I played there with Edinburgh you did feel a bit lost at times but, to be fair to the people at the club, they have worked hard to make being there as positive an experience as they can by having supporters pitch-side.


    What counts against Edinburgh is that some opposition players are inspired by playing at the famous national stadium and undoubtedly raise their game.


    Atmosphere: Nicol and Lawson said that when Edinburgh play at Murrayfield, it can have an adverse effect


    Atmosphere: Nicol and Lawson said that when Edinburgh play at Murrayfield, it can have an adverse effect


    They enjoy the experience and the ones I spoke to never saw it as a daunting venue as the crowd was not on top of them.


    Sportsmail: This is a huge season for the Scotland national side with the World Cup to be staged in England next year. Is Vern Cotter leading the squad in the right direction to peak at the showpiece?


    RL: It’s too early to say. You can’t read too much into the summer tour, his first in charge of Scotland, as you effectively had two separate squads playing on different continents.


    You’ll see his first-choice players when Scotland face Argentina and New Zealand in November and that will be the time to evaluate progress.


    Right now the players will be focusing on their clubs but in the back of their minds they’ll be aware of how those performances will count towards Scotland selection. Having that mindset is vital.


    AN: It was a bonus that Cotter got to look at 45 players on that tour. They won three out of four matches, fantastic for confidence.


    For me, the summer tour is when Scotland’s World Cup preparations began. Cotter will have spoken to Alan Solomons and Gregor Townsend about player management.


    Sportsmail: Looking towards the World Cup, who are the Scotland players who can make an impact on the tournament?


    RL: Matt Scott and Alex Dunbar stepped up to the plate last season and it is a shame Matt is injured and won’t make the autumn Test series, which means we won’t see them as a combination again until the Six Nations.


    Stuart Hogg has returned to the pre-season at Glasgow determined to do himself justice for both club and country. Up front you have Grant Gilchrist, who has captained Scotland, and he has the potential to become a vital player.


    AN: I agree about the quality of a Scott-Dunbar centre partnership as I felt we had struggled in that area. And Finn Russell could become a key player for Scotland.


    Partnership: Alex Dunbar and Matt Scott impressed last season but Scott is now injured


    Partnership: Alex Dunbar and Matt Scott impressed last season but Scott is now injured


    Sportsmail: The SRU tempted non-Scots to Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors with the carrot of possibly playing for Scotland in the 2015 Rugby World Cup once they had fulfilled the IRB’s three-year residency rule. Would you include ‘project players’ such as Josh Strauss of Glasgow and WP Nel of Edinburgh in your World Cup squad and is it right for them to be promoted to the exclusion of homegrown Scots?


    AN: I have been against so-called ‘project players’ being included in the Scotland set-up right from day one.


    Am I a fan of Strauss and will he be able to cope with international rugby? Yes, on both counts.


    Is it right for him to play for Scotland? No.


    I would not include them but Vern Cotter might if he thinks they will benefit the team but I would be very uncomfortable if he did.


    RL: Like Andy, this development does not sit right with me, but what I can’t ignore, or forget, is the passionate way Dan Parks used to play for Scotland. He isn’t Scottish but I’ve rarely played with someone who it mattered more to than Parksy.


    Guys like Strauss and Nel must have come here because they wanted to play international rugby. Are they head and shoulders above the other guys? Not right now, so they have to show they are worthy of selection.


    International: South African born Josh Strauss may get a chance to play for Scotland at the World Cup


    International: South African born Josh Strauss may get a chance to play for Scotland at the World Cup


    Sportsmail: The SRU have sold the naming rights to Murrayfield for £20m and some of the money will go towards setting up four youth academies in the regions. How important is that move?


    AN: Very — and it’s long overdue. The development of young players has been lacking with not many players coming through the system.


    Whatever the SRU are doing has not worked. I am not saying if you throw money at something it will work, but it does help when it comes to facilities and strength and conditioning to set up an academy structure for young players.


    RL: Scott Johnson (SRU director of rugby) has spoken about the responsibility the ruling body have in providing foundations for the next generation of Scottish players to come through, so it is good to hear that youth academies are to be the priority.


    They are a vital step given that there must be huge talent in the Highlands. And we need to get the identity back in Borders rugby and tap into the talent in both the east and west coasts. Equally, we need to maximise the Scottish exile numbers, so I would like to see investment down there too.


    Cash: The SRU have sold the naming rights to Murrayfield, with some of the proceeds going to academies


    Cash: The SRU have sold the naming rights to Murrayfield, with some of the proceeds going to academies


    Sportsmail: The SRU want to use some of the cash to help fund an elite eight-team semi-pro league in two years’ time but some clubs have concerns. Are their fears justified or is such a venture vital to the redevelopment of Scottish rugby?


    AN: Ian McGeechan said if you have a semi-pro league you have something that is semi-good. You are not amateur and you are not professional. It is a strange dynamic.


    If you earn, say, £30,000 as a management trainee in a legal firm and you are a pretty good rugby player but not quite at the top, are you prepared to sacrifice a future career in law to chase a one-in-10 chance of becoming a rugby player? I think we know the answer.


    You can’t just flick a switch and set up a semi-pro league, so I can understand why clubs want more time to think about the proposal.


    RL: The fine details have to be looked at and I understand why some clubs have concerns, but it could be a good move. There has to be a lessening of the gap between the amateur leagues and the pro level in Scotland but the clubs need to be kept in the loop and given more information.


    Third option: Many fans believe the money should go towards setting up a third pro rugby team in Scotland


    Third option: Many fans believe the money should go towards setting up a third pro rugby team in Scotland


    Sportsmail: Many Scottish rugby fans feel the vast majority of the £20m should be used to set up a third professional team based in Aberdeen. The SRU say that, financially, it cannot be done.


    What do you think?


    AN: A third pro team is essential for Scottish rugby.


    Martin Gilbert of Aberdeen Asset Management has said he would like to be part of a discussion to get a new side up and running in Aberdeen. The north-east is a cash rich environment and I am sure a pro team could succeed there.


    RL: We are getting closer to having the playing resources to set up a third professional team but I don’t think we are there yet.


    The more guys playing pro rugby that are Scottish the better but the finances and structure have to be right — you can’t just set up a team for the sake of it.


    You would need a side that would be competitive and not one set up just to give young players a pro game but, like Andy, I am all for it in principle. 



     


    Article source: http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/brilliant-ireland-cruise-into-world-cup-semifinals-30495477.html


    Andy Nicol and Rory Lawson Q&A: Former Scotland captains give their thoughts ...

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