Scotland South Africa tour: David Denton determined

The squad flew into Johannesburg yesterday for a four-team tournament, which will see them come up against the host nation, as well as Samoa and Italy.

Interim head coach Scott Johnson has named a number of uncapped players in the group but Denton made it clear Scotland fully intend to come out on top.

The Edinburgh forward said: “It’s going to be massively physical. We are going to play on hard ground, against big hitters, big people. That suits my game down to a tee so I’m looking forward to it and I’m sure the rest of the guys are as well.

“Johnno said from the get-go that his selections were going to be based on form. It’s about building a team but we are going out there to win. He’s not selecting people who don’t deserve to play just because they are young; he’s selecting the best players. It just so happens that those guys are young. I’m really looking forward to the challenge and so will all the other guys be.”

At the age of 23, Zimbabwe-born Denton is just one of the prospects for a future he believes is bright for the Scots. He said: “There is no doubt about how much potential this team has got. We’ve got a lot of young players, particularly on this tour, that have a wealth of international experience now. There are a few of us at the age of 22, 23, who have played a few games.”

The Scottish Rugby Union announced last week that Vern Cotter is to become Scotland’s next head coach when his contract with Clermont Auvergne ends in June 2014. Denton welcomed the appointment, saying: “He’s done really well with his club team so I’m looking forward to him joining us. It’s always nice to change things up a bit. I think bringing him in is going to be great, along with the senior players that we have.

“Hopefully now we can get that consistency through to the World Cup. It’s been great working with Johnno and he’s still going to have a big involvement with the team, which is great. I think he has been a real benefit to Scottish rugby.”

Meanwhile, the Scottish Thistles sevens side finished runners up in the Plate final yesterday at the Marstons GB7s Series at Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay.

Thistles began a testing set of ties in Pool 2 by facing Crawshays Welsh in a battle of the Celtic nations. Crawshays made a positive start by establishing a 21-7 interval lead, but a second-half revival and a try by Watsonians’ Liam Steele levelled the scores at 21-21, only for the Welsh side to pull away again and win 38-21.

In their second tie the Thistles fought hard against a strong Marauders side but in the end had to settle for a 21-19 defeat.

Then against Samurai, captained by Selkirk’s Fraser Harkness, the Thistles were overrun 35-5, the Scots’ third defeat placing them bottom of their group. Top scorer for the Thistles in the pool matches was the Melrose stand-off Andrew Skeen, with 15 points while Steele ran in two tries.

Despite a disappointing set of group results, Scottish Thistles showed strong character in being able to bounce back against Pool 1 third place finishers Irish Exiles in the Plate semi-final, two tries by the Melrose player Richard Mill and three conversions from Skeen helping the Scots to a stylish 38-5 victory and a place in the Plate final.

Then in the fine Plate final Thistles looked to be heading for victory but in the last touch of the ball Olorun Marauders snatched a 28-26 win.

The competition moves to Edinburgh this week.

n Castres clinched their first French title in 20 years when they upset Toulon 19-14 in the Top 14 final at the Stade de France last night.

Toulon, who were aiming for a Heineken Cup-Top 14 double, lacked creativity, and Jonny Wilkinson’s nine points were not enough as South African scrum-half Rory Kockott scored a try and kicked eight points and Remi Tales added two late drop goals for Castres. Delon Armitage scored a consolation try for Toulon.

Scotland South Africa tour: David Denton determined

Vern Cotter is new head coach of Scotland rugby team

The Scottish Rugby Union today announced the 51-year-old would begin his role in June 2014, when his contract at French club Clermont Auvergne expires.

SRU chief executive Mark Dodson said: “We always knew we would secure Vern’s services from June 2014, until then, he will be on hand to assist Scott Johnson and the Scotland coaching team with advice during the autumn Tests in November and the 2014 RBS 6 Nations Championship before joining us full-time as head coach ahead of our summer tour next year.”

The SRU announced earlier this month that interim head coach Scott Johnson would make way when it had found a permanent successor to Andy Robinson, who quit after defeat by Tonga in November last year.

Johnson was appointed director of rugby but he will continue in charge of the team for a second RBS 6 Nations campaign before making way for Cotter to have more than a full year in the post to prepare for the 2015 World Cup.

Cotter led Clermont to the Heineken Cup final and the French Top 14 play-offs this season before revealing after a semi-final defeat in the latter to Castres this weekend that next season would be his last at the club.

Cotter joined Clermont in 2006 after being part of the coaching team that helped Canterbury Crusaders to consecutive Super Rugby titles.

Dodson added: “We are delighted to have secured the services of a coach of Vern’s pedigree for the Scotland team.

“Vern is rightly regarded as one of the top coaches in the world and to have secured someone of his calibre is a coup for Scotland.

“He was our first choice as head coach and we are pleased to have secured him on a two-year contract taking us up to and beyond the Rugby World Cup 2015.

“We compiled a shortlist of world-class candidates last December and Vern was top of that list.

“We did our business with Vern some months ago and we believe we have the best man for the role with our national team. It’s a measure of our standing that we have him on board.

“We delayed our announcement out of respect to Clermont and Vern as they prepared for the two most important games in their season. We are satisfied that we conducted our business in an honourable fashion and are sure Clermont appreciated our discretion.”

In an SRU statement, Cotter said: “I’m absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been appointed to the role of Scotland head coach.

“Mark Dodson and the team at Scottish Rugby have a strategic vision and a determination to do something very special in the coming time and working with them and a talented group of players and coaches I look forward to the Scotland team growing in competitiveness and stature. We will build a winning team together.

“I have been in regular contact with Mark and Scott Johnson in recent weeks and I’m delighted that Jonathan Humphreys has joined the coaching team.

“I very much look forward to joining Scotland and until I do permanently I will be on hand to support Scott and the coaches with any advice and support they need.”

Johnson led Scotland to a third-placed finish in the Six Nations and advised the SRU on the recruitment process.

The Australian said: “I believe this is a real coup for Scottish Rugby. Vern Cotter is a top rugby coach who is amongst the most highly-regarded coaches in the world.”

Cotter led Clermont to the European Challenge Cup in his first season in charge and the French title in 2010 after a hat-trick of second-placed finishes.

Vern Cotter is new head coach of Scotland rugby team

Saints star Dickson on England mission

Lee Dickson is a man on a mission – he wants his England shirt back.

The Saints scrum-half has jetted off on the Red Rose’s summer tour to Uruguay and Argentina, and has revealed he is determined to end the trip as his country’s first-choice pick at No.9.

That was exactly what Dickson was a little over a year ago, but he has dropped down the pecking order, with England head coach Stuart Lancaster instead opting for Ben Youngs and Danny Care.

But with Youngs away with the British Irish Lions and Care being given the summer off, the door has been opened for Dickson to reclaim his England spot.

“I have a busy summer ahead of me, and I am looking forward to putting my England hat on now and really trying to push on there,” said Dickson.

“I had a disappointing Six Nations, and autumn, and now I want that shirt to be mine.

“I am going out to Argentina to try to grab that with both hands.

“I want to put my hand up to Stuart (Lancaster) and show what I can do.”

And he added: “A year ago I was first choice and in the team, but that is rugby.

“I admit myself that mid-season I had a bit of a slump, and I didn’t deserve to play for England.

“But I have come back fighting, and I think for the past four or five weeks I have been on top of my game.

“I think I played well on Saturday, and hopefully I can go over to Argentina and really show some leadership skills and experience.”

Dickson is also looking forward to playing alongside plenty of club-mates while on tour.

Tom Wood is captain, while also travelling are Ben Foden, Courtney Lawes, Luther Burrell and Stephen Myler – and it’s the prospect of teaming up with his regular half-back partner on the international stage that really excites Dickson.

“It is brilliant to have the other Saints players on the tour, and a big mention goes to Stephen Myler,” he said. “He has been brilliant for Saints.

“He does have a lot of critics, but he has been phenomenal for the team, and he is such a brilliant bloke as well.

“He is an amazing rugby player, I love playing with him, and I am hoping I can play with him at England level as well as Saints. It would be amazing.”

England play their first match of the tour on Sunday when they take on a CONSUR XV in Montevideo.

They then head off to Argentina for two Tests against the Pumas on June 8 and 15, both of which will be shown live on BBC2.

Saints star Dickson on England mission

Rugby Union: Welsh star Phillips is on a Lions mission

Wales star Mike Phillips is ready to raise the performance bar in pursuit of a prize that has eluded the British and Irish Lions since 1997.

Phillips hit arguably the form his life in South Africa four years ago but it was still not enough to prevent an agonising 2-1 Test series defeat.

The Lions’ previous mission to Springbok territory 12 years earlier remains their last series-winning tour and Australia now await Phillips and company, with defeat Down Under not something he intends contemplating.

“The Lions is the ultimate,” Wales and Bayonne scrum-half Phillips said.

“You want to play the best and, fortunately for me, I thought I played some of my best stuff (in South Africa).

“You are surrounded by great players as well, which tends to bring out the best in you. You don’t want to let anyone down. You know what big occasions they are and what they mean to everyone.

“I was pretty pleased with my performances (in 2009) but I have got to go one step further now, top those performances and be part of a Test series-winning team.

“We lost the series but to finish on a high note like we did and win the third Test was important for this tour and for the players coming into it.

“The 2009 tour was a huge success in many ways and it was just gutting we lost the series, but margins in those games are very small.

“It’s important now we don’t make the same mistakes in this one and we come away with a series win.”

Phillips will line up in today’s opener against the Barbarians at Hong Kong Stadium. With fellow scrum-halves Ben Youngs and Conor Murray also on tour, all three number nines might get just a couple of starts before the first Test in Brisbane on June 22.

“Obviously, we are all building for the Test series and we all want those jerseys,” Phillips said.

“Any opportunity you get you have got to take it and show how much you want it and how much it means to you. Hopefully, I will take my opportunity at the weekend.”

Phillips will be up against a familiar foe today in Dimitri Yachvili, who is a key player for Biarritz, Bayonne’s Top 14 neighbours situated just five miles down the road in south-west France.

And 30-year-old Phillips feels he has benefited from his time playing in France, especially experiencing the fierce Bayonne-Biarritz rivalry.

When the clubs met in November 2011, Biarritz number eight Imanol Harinordoquy’s father ran on to the pitch and became involved in a brawl with players.

“Bayonne and Biarritz are big rivals, and it will be nice to play against him (Yachvili),” Phillips said.

“He is thought of highly in world rugby, so it will be nice to match up against him and hopefully do well.

“The derby games are pretty special, to be honest. The atmosphere is incredible and you have parents running on the field and fighting – Harinordoquy’s old man came on swinging a few – so it is an experience in itself.”

Phillips’ Wales colleague Jamie Roberts took Lions’ man-of-the-series honours in South Africa four years ago, when he forged a brilliant midfield partnership with Irish talisman Brian O’Driscoll. And he is also back for more this time around starting today when he lines up alongside his regular Wales centre colleague Jonathan Davies in what will be a fiercely contested clash.

“In 2009 I played some of the best rugby of my career in the Lions shirt. That’s what I desperately want to recreate,” Roberts said.

“Ultimately, I want to win a Lions Test series with these guys. It’s not about individual goals, it’s about being part of a tour that wins.”

Lions: S Hogg (Scotland); A Cuthbert (Wales), J Davies (Wales), J Roberts (Wales), S Maitland (Scotland); O Farrell (England), M Phillips (Wales); M Vunipola (England), R Hibbard (Wales), A Jones (Wales), R Gray (Scotland), P O’Connell (Ireland, capt), D Lydiate (Wales), J Tipuric (Wales), T Faletau (Wales). Subs: T Youngs (England), C Healy (Ireland), M Stevens (England), A-W Jones (Wales), J Heaslip (Ireland), C Murray (Ireland), J Sexton (Ireland), G North (Wales).

Barbarians: J Payne; J Rokocoko, E Daly, C Laulala, T Ngwenya; N Evans, D Yachvili; P James, S Brits, M Castrogiovanni, M Wentzel, D Mumm, S Manoa, S Jones, S Parisse (capt). Subs: L Ghiraldini, D Jones, A Lo Cicero, J Hamilton, I Harinordoquy, K Fotuali’i, J Hook, M Tindall or R Varty.

Rugby Union: Welsh star Phillips is on a Lions mission

I"ve got no problem with Kidney despite Ireland chop – O"Gara

Ronan O’Gara

Ralph Riegel

– 01 June 2013

IRELAND’S record points scorer, Ronan O’Gara (36), has dismissed reports of a rift with former Irish manager Declan Kidney over the controversial manner in which his international career finished.

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The former Cork Constitution, Munster, Ireland and Lions star also revealed that his burning ambition now is to coach his beloved Munster.

He further scotched rumours that he may play in France under his new coaching contract with Racing Metro.

“No, I’m finished (playing). That is it. Munster is my team, my one and only team. I don’t want to play for anyone else,” he said.

“There were offers (to play) from all over the world, but I only wanted to play for Munster.”

The father of four insisted that there are no personal difficulties with the former Ireland manager over the manner in which he was dropped during his last Six Nations campaign.

SERVICE

The rugby star’s wife, Jessica, revealed in an interview earlier this month that she believed her husband had been “badly treated” after his long and loyal service to Irish rugby.

But the fly-half revealed he has since spoken to Kidney, his former rugby coach in Presentation Brothers College, Cork, and fully respects the decisions he made.

“Deccie does what is best for Deccie. Rog does what is best for Rog,” he said. “But there is no problem there. I did feel I was the better (kicking) option for the Scotland game and I made my feelings known (to him). But I don’t pick the team.”

“Deccie was picking the team that he felt was best for Ireland and I fully respect that. There is no problem there at all,” he added.

O’Gara travels to France on July 1 to begin his coaching career and feels it will take five years or more of international coaching experience before he is ready, potentially with Paul O’Connell, to be in contention for the Munster coach’s job. “It would be a great honour – it is something I would love to do,” he said.

The star said that Munster rugby has been part and parcel of his life for almost two decades and he will continue to proudly wear Munster red as a supporter.

“That’s why the games against Harlequins and Clermont-Auvergne were so important. I went out at the height of my game.

“To be honest, it has been a bit of a relief since I retired. The body is still fine, but I was putting myself under a lot of mental pressure to perform.

“I was pushing myself. That is why when you don’t win it hurts so much.”

I"ve got no problem with Kidney despite Ireland chop – O"Gara

England winger Marland Yarde interview

England rugby union newcomer Marland Yarde recently made his first appearance for the Red Rose against the Barbarians at Twickenham Stadium.

After scoring a try on his unofficial debut, the London Irish speedster spoke to the Voice of Sport about his delight at being called up, the exodus of players leaving Irish this summer and being a huge fan of American speedster Takudzwa Ngwenya.

England winger Marland Yarde interview

Ford injury a blow for Scotland before South Africa

The 29-year-old, who has won 69 caps for Scotland and one with the British and Irish Lions, suffered calf pain during training on Wednesday and scans have revealed a tear, which will require at least six weeks recovery.

The Edinburgh player was hugely disappointed to be told the news, particularly after he missed out on selection for the Lions tour down under, which kicks off in Hong Kong today, but it opens the door for Scott Lawson to bring his 36 caps of experience to the party.

The 31-year-old, who joins Newcastle from London Irish this summer, last played in the fateful loss to Tonga in Aberdeen last November which led to Andy Robinson’s resignation, but with head coach Scott Johnson taking uncapped duo Pat MacArthur and Stevie Lawrie he was keen to have an experienced replacement in Ford’s place.

Lawson joined the squad yesterday morning before they headed to Edinburgh Airport for the start of the flights to Durban, where they will be based in the lead-up to their first quadrangular Castle Tournament Test against Samoa next Saturday.

Johnson revealed: “Ross Ford pulled up in training in Aviemore on Wednesday. He was scanned at Spire Murrayfield Hospital and a calf tear was diagnosed, recovery from which takes, on average, more than six weeks.

“It’s unfortunate for Ross but, looking on the bright side, it will give him the chance to have an off-season, which can do him good. It also gives an opportunity to assess other players, which is one of the key things this tour is about.

“It’s a time then for Scott and the two hookers already named in the tour party, Pat and Stevie, to compete for places.”

It provides a great opportunity for the 29-year-old Lawrie, in particular, who has on form at Edinburgh and is determined to inject fresh competition for the Scotland No2 jersey.

• The Scotsman will be covering the Scotland tour from Durban, Nelspruit and Pretoria, in association with Glengoyne Whisky. Full reports from our chief rugby writer David Ferguson will appear in The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday, starting on Monday, and a unique tour diary will feature on scotsman.com. You can also follow David on twitter – @davidferg – for the latest news and views from the Scotland camp.

Ford injury a blow for Scotland before South Africa