CHERRY ON TOP CAN INSPIRE KID PLAYERS
DAVE CHERRY believes his rugby career is proof to any youngster that dreams can come true.
It took the Edinburgh hooker 12 years before he eventually earned his first Scotland cap during last month’s historic Calcutta Cup win over England.
Cherry, 30, said: “The time I thought it had passed me by was when I was a lot younger and playing in the English
Championship, which is the second tier.
“It’s a notoriously hard place to get out of and there were moments when I wondered whether I was ever going to kick on or not.
“I then went to play in the third tier of French rugby which was a bit of a sideways step to go forward. But I’m here now because I always believed in myself.
“I’ve created my own luck by working hard and I’ve been given my chance.
“If you’re a little boy who dares to dream then you never know what can happen – that was me and here I am today.”
Cherry finally got his big break when Edinburgh signed him in the summer of 2018. He was named on the bench against England and lifted the Calcutta Cup alongside fellow debutant Cameron Redpath.
Next up is Ireland on Sunday and Cherry added: “To have my first cap at Twickenham and win the Calcutta Cup – you really couldn’t write that, especially with the journey I’ve been on in my career.
“Ireland have got a really physical game so we’ve simply got to better it if we want to win.”
LIONEL MESSI could have played his final Champions League game for Barcelona after they were dumped out in the last 16 for the first time since 2007.
The Argentine, coveted by both PSG and Manchester City, is out of contract in June and there appears no sign of him renewing that deal. Last night he tried, as he always does, to haul Barcelona
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to his level and spark another epic comeback against PSG.
But much like in last season’s Champions League he failed. Messi’s magic sparked hopes of a revival when he levelled on the night with a 30-yarder screamer. But Barca’s hopes of matching the 6-1 win that saw them dump the Parisians in 2017 disappeared when Messi missed a penalty on the stroke of half-time.
In August last year the Catalans were humiliated 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals. Last night they failed to make up any ground on that with another early exit. Trailing 4-1 following a first-leg hammering driven by a Kylian Mbappe hattrick, this shadow of a Barcelona side fell foul yet again to the Frenchman.
Clement Lenglet fouled Mauro Icardi in the penalty area and Mbappe had no trouble beating goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen from the spot on 30