The
2020 AUTUMN NATIONS CUP PREVIEW | DODDIE WEIR CUP REVIEW
SCOTTISH RUGBY’S NEW DIGITAL MAGAZINE
#AsOne
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS | JONNY GRAY | CHRIS HARRIS | JOHN DALZIEL | JIM DAWSON | TYRONE HOLMES
ISSU
E #
2
HASAUTUMN
ARRIVED
TEASER TEASER EDITION
EDITION
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 3
SCOTTISH RUGBY BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh EH12 5PJ 0131 346 5000 | scottishrugby.org | @scotlandteam
CO
NTE
NTS
Jonny Gray After a recent club double with Exeter Chiefs, the Scotland star is ready for the Autumn Nations Cup
5
Tyrone Holmes The Scotland Women Assistant Coach reflects on lockdown learnings
11
Scotland Women France performance provides much hope for the season ahead
16
Chris Harris The Scotland centre talks through his journey to international recognition
25
John Dalziel After joining the Scotland set-up in August, the Forwards Coach discusses his new role
35
Pitch Perfect We chat with Scottish Rugby’s Head Groundsman Jim Dawson
39
EditorStuart MacLennan
DesignGemma Law
GraphicsLaura Chessar, Rory MacColl
CommercialMhairi McComish
Emma Rogers, Anna MacLeodPhotography
SNS Group
The list of contents in the full Issue #2 of “The Front Row” are listed below.
If you like what you see in this sample and want to see the full edition, please SIGN UP FOR SCOTLAND and buy a NEVIS or a MACDUI membership now.
AVAILABLE NOW AT SHOP.SCOTTISHRUGBY.ORGOR AT THE OFFICIAL SCOTTISH RUGBY STORE, BT MURRAYFIELD STADIUM 0131 346 5044
OR AT THE OFFICIAL SCOTTISH RUGBY STORE, 44 QUEEN STREET GLASGOW - G1 3DX
Having reached the 20-cap mark for Scotland, it’s fair to say that Chris Harris is an important part of Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad, three years on from making his debut against Samoa in an explosive November Test at BT Murrayfield in a game that finished 44-38 to the hosts and one that contained no fewer than 11 tries. In the time since, the Gloucester centre has featured in an incredible Calcutta Cup draw and featured at his first Rugby World Cup, in Japan in 2019.
His life as an international player coincides with some pretty handy stats, too. Harris has only been on the losing side six times in those 20 games, being part of winning efforts in his last four caps, against Italy, France, Wales (all in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations) and Georgia in an autumnal warm-up match.
It’s been quite a journey for the former Newcastle Falcons man, who hadn’t reckoned on playing international rugby until relatively late in his development.
“I went to Northumbria University, playing for Tynedale in the final two years of that degree and had a few run-outs for the Falcons Academy. I injured my shoulder and was out for the best part of a season, then went on loan to Rotherham and that year I made my debut for Falcons first team in the European Challenge Cup [in 2014].
CHRIS A SPECIAL CONTINUES CAREER CURVE
Celebrating the Auld Alliance trophy success earlier in 2020 with Magnus Bradbury and Blair Kinghorn
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 7
“I was playing between Falcons and Rotherham for a while, coming in for some European games and then just after Christmas in 2014, I replaced Alesana Tuilagi early in a Premiership game against Saracens. I ended up having a concussion so went off for an HIA, passed that, came back on and scored two late tries, so as far as debuts go it was pretty good – even though we actually drew the game!
“That led to some more game time but it was a slow burner, and then the season after I got much more involved.”
That whirlwind to the top table of English club rugby game was certainly not something Harris had anticipated when he embarked on life as a student back when he was a teenager, as he explained: “Rugby honestly wasn’t on the cards. I went to uni when I was 18 and I wasn’t in any academies or age-grade squads or anything like that. I played county level but that was about me until I went to Tynedale which was National One, which seemed like a big jump up to me.
“So when I finished uni it was straight into Falcons academy stuff. I did Architectural Technology so after that I would have been going to be something along the lines of that, something around the built environment.”
With a degree to his name already, Harris knows that it’s never been more important for professional players to ensure they are thinking about life after the game, whenever that may be. He added: “I haven’t looked at my degree or what comes next but I’ll pick it back up when I stop playing, dip my toe in some capacity, although I’d like to think I have a few more years left in rugby yet, touch wood!”
Harris’ ascendancy to international honours was as rapid as his rise to the professional game, with Head Coach Gregor Townsend picking him for Scotland duty only a couple of years since making his full Falcons debut. The centre, who can also operate on the wing, explained: “I think from memory I got a call from [former Director of Rugby] Scott Johnson about my eligibility about a year before I got selected for the 2017 Autumn series. I remember I got a text from Gregor
I lived a uni lifestyle and wasn’t thinking about a career in sport, but playing for Tynedale maybe made me think it could be a thing, and when I was in my penultimate year at uni I was offered a retainer contract with Falcons, which essentially got me a bit of pocket money.
“
In action in the recent international win over Georgia at BT Murrayfield
C A M E R O N H O U S E . C O . U K
LOCH LOMOND | WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE | SCOTLAND | G83 8QZ
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 01389 310 7 7 7 OR EMAIL [email protected]
UNR I VA L L EDEXPER I ENCE S
G R A N D R E O P E N I N G S P R I N G 2 0 2 1
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 9
after a European game with Falcons saying ‘well played, just to let you know you’re going to be named in the squad for the autumn’.
“Coming into that camp I didn’t know any of the guys really; I actually had a few run-outs with Mike Blair with Falcons, which is funny given we’re both part of the Scotland set-up now – he was the only person I think I knew in my first camp in 2017.
Harris made his full debut against Samoa in that chaotic game 44-38 win (a scholar of the game, he immediately knows when asked that fellow debutants that day were front-row trio Darryl Marfo, George Turner and Jamie Bhatti) and then earned a first start against Wales in the following 6 Nations.
Further involvement around the 2018 Summer tour and Autumn Tests followed, before he featured consistently in a busy 2019 schedule, including that aforementioned Calcutta Cup feast at Twickenham and the World Cup later that year.
On that competition, Harris recalled:“The whole build-up to the World Cup, being selected in the initial squad and then gain selection for the final 31. I was over the moon with that, absolutely buzzing, and then to play in all four games was an amazing experience. It was obviously gutting the way we went out but that aside, it was an incredible 2019 summer journey.”
If 2020 represents something of a shift in sporting events, the return of international rugby has been something of a saving grace for players and fans the world over at such a difficult time.
Harris has featured against Georgia and Wales since the sport resumed in earnest in October and says the mood around the Scotland camp is ebullient, saying: “There’s a real buzz despite circumstances through coronavirus. But when it comes to training and selection, everyone wants to be involved over a really competitive campaign.
“At centre, there’s a lot of competition with myself, Langers [James Lang], Sammy J, Squiggsy [Nick Grigg], Huw – we all want to be playing but at the same time we all get on pretty well so we talk about stuff and better ourselves, which is part of what makes a team better.”
With 20 caps already to his name and plenty more to come, Chris Harris’ is a tale of a player who has really taken to every rugby challenge presented to him on his rugby journey so far.
Trying to escape the clutches of Wales’ Liam Williams in Scotland’s recent win in Wales
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 11
Fosroc, a leading international manufacturer and supplier of high performance chemicals for the construction industry, are proud to be supporting grass roots rugby in Scotland.
The Fosroc Scottish Rugby Academy represents the nation’s most promising male and female rugby players, with a national academy structure designed to give Scotland’s young rugby stars a pathway into the professional game.
constructive solutions
Specialists in Constructive Solutions
www.fosroc.com
SCOTLAND-CAN DRAW ON FRANCE SHOWING FOR FUTURE INSPIRATION An unprecedented year for sport saw Scotland Women have to wait to attempt a finish to the 2020 Six Nations, having seen no fewer than three of their scheduled fixtures fall foul of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Opening games with Ireland and England ended in defeat, although the former match reaped a losing bonus point after finishing 18-14 at Donnybrook in Dublin and the latter was played in horrendous conditions at BT Murrayfield on a weekend of nearly unprecedented torrential weather.
The halting of sporting affairs meant Scotland, under the previous tutelage of Phillip Doyle, still had away fixtures to play in Italy and Wales, as well as a home encounter with fourth-ranked France. It was the third of those scheduled fixtures,
against the French, which gave Scotland the opportunity to get international rugby up and running again, with Bryan Easson taking the reins after Doyle stepped down early from his post after shielding in Ireland as a result of the pandemic.
The outcome of Easson’s first match in charge could scarcely have been predicted, his charges tasked with facing a France side that had in the five previous instalments of the fixture only conceded 13 points in total.
How fitting, then, that a mightily impressive Scotland fought out a 13-13 draw against an opponent ranked some seven places above them in the world rankings?
Both the try and resulting conversion were fitting of any game of international rugby. If Rachel Shankland had dreamed of a
Helen Nelson was cool under kicking pressure
The post-match huddle
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 13
perfect debut the night before, she lived that reality, racing home after being put in by the excellent Jade Konkel to cap surely the most memorable day of her career to date; Helen Nelson’s cool kick from nigh-on the touchline was calmness under pressure personified.
Those telling contributions grabbed the headlines and rightly so, but this was a Scotland performance made up of numerous notable parts, from a sturdy pack effort to patience from a backline that had to wait for attacking ball at the same time as relentlessly resetting to maintain an outstanding defensive effort.
It was a result that perhaps few outsiders saw coming, yet the positive nature of the current generation of players always felt they had it in them to push their visitors all the way and so it played out, with the final whistle coming too early for the hosts if anything.
After such an historic result, it was cruel that the pandemic robbed Scotland of the opportunity to back up their French effort with a Women’s Six Nations fixture away in Wales the week after, as it was announced on 10 November that the remaining championship fixtures, including a World
Cup 2021 qualifier with Italy in December, had been cancelled. That Italy fixture is subject to rescheduling in due course.
Rachel Shankland celebrates her try with Hannah Smith
SP Energy Networks Player of the Match Jade Konkel in action
GNS Six_Nations_Matchday_Programme_170x245_SCOTLAND.indd 1GNS Six_Nations_Matchday_Programme_170x245_SCOTLAND.indd 1 04/11/2020 16:3704/11/2020 16:37
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 15LEADERSHIP . ENGAGEMENT . ACHIEVEMENT . ENJOYMENT . RESPECT14
THINKING OFJOINING THE
ROYAL MARINES?
ROYAL MARINES COMMANDO – IT’S A STATE OF MIND, YOU MAY ALREADY HAVE IT.
INTERESTED?
Saturday 14 November, 12.45pm (GMT) | Stadio Artemio Franchi
ITALYv SCOTLANDItaly will host Scotland for a 14th time this November, with the visitors enjoying a narrow 7-6 lead in that particular head-to-head count. Encounters between the countries have enjoyed their fair share of drama in the past, with Duncan Weir’s last-gasp drop goal in 2014 a fine example of such theatre.
LAST MEETING: 22 February 2020, Stadio Olimpico ITALY 0 - 17 SCOTLAND
A three-try win in Rome got Scotland’s 2020 Guinness Six Nations campaign on track in the Italian capital, with tries coming through Chris Harris, Adam Hastings and a scintillating solo effort from captain Stuart Hogg. An attritional fixture at the Stadio Olimpico witnessed some stellar Scottish defence, rewarded with a clean sheet - a rarity in international rugby. Scotland have not lost in Rome since a 13-6 defeat in 2012.
ITALIAN INSIGHTItaly have finished bottom of the Guinness Six Nations table for the last four years and are yet to register a point in the truncated 2020 edition of the championship. The peerless Sergio Parisse has just turned 37 and it remains to be seen if he will don The Azzurri top for one last hurrah. In his absence it is important the other members of the Italian squad step up to a leadership role and in Tommaso Allen a former Scotland U20 cap they boast a player who already has 50 caps for his country and appears to enjoy playing against the nation he represented as a youngster.
In the Italian pack, Parisse’s absence is tempered somewhat by the emergence of
the talented Jake Polledri, Sebastian Negri and Brahm Steyn, all of whom have the ability to compete with most countries on their day.
The combative Matteo Minozzi brings flair and excitement to their back division and has 10 tries for only 15 international starts to date.
STAT ATTACK IN ITALY6 Italy Wins 7 Scotland WinsScotland player stats in the fixture: Most Appearances 14 Sean Lamont 13 Ross Ford 12 Chris Paterson
Most Drop Goals 1 Gregor Townsend
Most Conversions 19 Greig Laidlaw 11 Chris Paterson
Most Points 118 Chris Paterson 107 Greig Laidlaw 37 Kenny Logan
Most Tries 5 Tim Visser 4 Stuart Hogg
Most Penalties 27 Chris Paterson 23 Greig Laidlaw
Italy player stats in the fixture: Most Appearances 19 Sergio Parisse 18 Martin Castrogiovanni 16 Alessandro Zanni
Most Drop Goals 4 Diego Dominguez
Most Conversions 7 Tommaso Allan 5 Diego Dominguez
Most Points 94 Diego Dominguez 56 Tommaso Allan 29 Mirco Bergamasco
Most Tries 3 Tommaso Allan
Most Penalties 24 Diego Dominguez 9 Tommaso Allan
Chris Harris with his eyes on the prize
THE FRONT ROW AUTUMN NATIONS CUP 2020 17LEADERSHIP . ENGAGEMENT . ACHIEVEMENT . ENJOYMENT . RESPECT16
We caught up with Scottish Rugby Head Groundsman Jim Dawson about how 2020 has looked for the team that maintain elite sports pitches.
When Scotland beat France on 8 March of this year, many anticipated some upheaval in our lives, albeit perhaps not to the extent or time that it has led to.
As he approaches a decade in the role of Head Groundsman at Scottish Rugby, Jim Dawson says that although it’s not quite been a case of business as usual, the turf team have been working as tirelessly as ever during the ongoing pandemic.
“As soon as the France game finished we knew the potential of a lockdown was there so we were able to sit down as a group of staff at the time and almost prepare for what might happen. It all moved very quickly and when the furlough scheme came into effect, almost all of the ground staff were subject to that. In fact, it was just me for a while as a one-man band!
“Luckily, at that time of the year, the grass doesn’t grow at the same rate as it does in the summer so I managed to keep on top of things for a few weeks before the likes of Alex [Latto, Assistant Head Groundsman] came back to support me, to help with back pitch renovation.
“In terms of the main pitch at BT Murrayfield, in the same way as so much of life, we have had to be clever in our work with suppliers, what we can and can’t do by way of improvement, and planning ahead for what’s to come.”
“It was actually nice from a groundsman’s perspective to let the pitches recover and have a bit of breathing space. At the time of the first lockdown, we had Edinburgh training out on the back pitches most days because of their league and European commitments at the time.
“So to let the pitches result and do their natural thing, without having to use fertilisers or the like, was in a sense a good thing for the ground itself.”
PITCH PERFECT
It’s a busy time around the BT Murrayfield complex with Edinburgh Rugby’s new home, under the title Project Eden, close to completion in an exciting development. Although Jim and his team have not been a part of the actual building process, they will oversee the pitch in the same way the main international playing surface is under their auspices.
Jim added: “The turf team with Project Eden is something we don’t have involvement in at the moment, but there will be a handover coming soon I believe, so we’re very much looking forward to getting on site and seeing what we can help with in terms of Edinburgh’s training schedules and so on.”
As he celebrates a decade as Head Groundsman, Jim says parts of the job have naturally changed, especially given the upheaval brought about by Covid-19 and all that entails: “Ten years have flown by of course,” he said. “This challenge is something new for everyone and we always knew rugby would return, likely without fans at first. It’s very strange being inside a national stadium, having games with nobody there – all you can hear is what the players and coaches are saying and it’s all so different. From our point of view, it’s a new concept of how sport is being played in the current climate.
“For instance, having had the Georgia game at BT Murrayfield, we have some experience of how things are done now. We would
normally walk on to the pitch and carry out our duties before and during games, whereas now you have to radio in to say you’re about to disinfect the post pads and corner flags and so on.
“Even at half-time you’d see us devoting the pitch but now it’s a case of ensuring that everything possible is sterilised and cleaned as a priority during that break before we get on to other work.”
It’ll be as busy a November as normal in 2020, even with the new way of working for the ground staff. However, one thing remains unaltered as Jim and his team have, as recent tradition dictates, sprayed giant poppies onto grass pyramids along the M8 as part of the country’s Remembrance celebrations. “It’s something myself and the turf team are very proud of doing; and I think it’s something everyone at BT Murrayfield is also proud of.
“We feel privileged to have the opportunity to do it and it’s something I think the public appreciate as well – I believe a few folk post on social media about it so it’s nice to know, and of course we will be doing our traditional poppy display around the memorial at BT Murrayfield like we do every year.”
Even in a year like no other, it’s nice to see some things are able to be continued despite the unique nature of how we are currently living.
It’s very much been hands-on, despite limited resources and that’s been the case across the country of course at all sports grounds.
“
PERFORMANCE+COMFORTPROUD SUPPORTER TO SCOTTISH RUGBY
Thank you to all
SCOTTISH RUGBY PARTNERS
Principal Partners
Official Partners
Sports
