IT is going to be a Wallaby weekend for Scotland with both the senior team and the Under 20s taking on the Australians, albeit in different hemispheres.
For Jonny Gray, who was captaining the juniors only four years ago, there is a lot the seniors in Sydney can take from the performance of the youngsters, who are guaranteed a record-high finish of fifth or sixth after coming from behind to beat Wales.
The match was played in the early hours of the morning Australian time so Gray and his colleagues did not watch if live, but caught up with the highlights in the morning before heading out for their training sessions. They were delighted with what they saw.
"I think it is great, it’s a lot of credit to the grass roots and the Academies that there are more and more of these guys," Gray enthused. "We have guys training with Glasgow and it’s great. It’s good experience for them and for us.
"We get to learn from them as well because they always bring great energy. It all comes back to the culture and how hard you work. That’s the number one rule.
"The Under 20 World Championship is a great experience You pick up loads being in that environment and playing against these other teams and playing different styles of rugby."
The seniors and juniors had enjoyed a joint training session before heading their different ways while a few of the current junior side, including current captain Calum Hunter-Hill, have played pro rugby.
"It all comes down to the grass roots," Gray added. "If it wasn't for Cambuslang and the coaches there I wouldn’t be where I am today. Throughout Scottish rugby there is a real community feeling. If I wasn’t playing I’d still care a lot.You just want people to do well."
Gray missed the Scotland Test in Singapore when Gregor Townsend, the head coach, decided the needed another week to rest and recover from a long, hard season.
It says a lot about Gray's passion that the match last weekend was only the second time in three and a half years that neither he nor his brother Richie were in a matchday squad. If he gets his way, it is going to be a long time before the third occasion comes round.
That said, when John Hardie, the flanker, went down in the warm-up, Gray was so desperate to play that he pleaded to be allowed onto the replacements, just so that he got a taste of the action.
Now, he is going to be recalled to the starting line up when it is announced this morning, and can't wait to take out his frustrations on the Wallabies, though he is far from complacent.
"Australia are a world class side and they have been for years," he noted. "The type of rugby we’re playing is exciting. The combinations, the depth, competitiveness and strength of the squad is good. We have a lot of improvements to make, but personally it is a great opportunity to play against these guys.
"Adam Coleman and Rory Arnold are outstanding locks so it is great to compare yourself against guys like that. I know I have a lot of things to work on, but Dan McFarland [the forwards coach] has come in and done a great job and I can ask advice from other guys here as well."
It is an important match for Scotland. Though they made significant progress in winning all their RBS Six Nations Championship home matches, they did not pick up an away win. There were suggestions that when Warren Gatland came to pick the British & Irish Lions squad, that fragility on the road counted against a number of Scots.
"You can see how hard every game is these days," Gray pointed out. "All the games in the [Guinness] PRO12 were very close. The two losses we had against Australia [in 2015 and 2016] were very narrow – it will be a close game again on Saturday.
"It will be very physical and very fast. There is still a lot there from the work that Vern [Cotter] did. One thing that has continued, both at Glasgow and here, is the strong culture. It’s about how much you want ot work for your team. Off the pitch, too, it’s about how much homework you are going to do for your team-mates."
He is likely to be forging a new partnership with Ben Toolis, the Australian-born lock who was the players' man of the match last week.
Gray is looking forward to it. "He’s pretty chilled out. He’s very fast, very dynamic, a big mobile guywith great skills. It’s great working with him and it’s good to hear his ideas," he said.
"It’s good to play with guys you don’t get to play with often. You get different perspectives on things and tips here and there. He is a good guy to play with."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel