Hastings: I thrive when the heat is on

Fly-half on stepping up and replacing outcast Russell

ADAM HASTINGS has been under almost unprecedented pressure during this Six Nations. From the minute Finn Russell walked out of the Scotland camp ahead of the side’s opening fixture against Ireland and Hastings was earmarked as the Racing 92 man’s replacement, the eyes – and the hopes – of the nation have been upon him.

For some, having to cope with such pressure would be a daunting prospect. However, Hasting’s appears to have taken it all in his stride.

The Glasgow Warriors standoff has performed impressively throughout this entire Six Nations campaign, with Hastings’ 13 points with the boot against France on Sunday vital in securing Scotland’s 2817 win at Murrayfield.

And rather than be bowed by the pressure of having to fill the shoes of one of Scotland’s best players, Hastings has thrived and he admits he has always liked having pressure upon his shoulders, with it rarely adversely affecting his performance.

“I do tend to enjoy the pressure,” he said. “And I usually play half-decent when the pressure is on.”

Hastings was just one of a number of players who were integral to Scotland’s impressive defeat of the French, which halted the visitors’ bid for their first grand slam in a decade.

And he admits that the home side were hugely satisfied to have upset the odds to record their second win of the tournament.

“It was a really pleasing day for the team,” Hastings said of Sunday’s win.

“We had been a bit stop-start previously in this campaign and it was frustrating. But we got a good, tough win over in Italy and then I think you saw us in full flight against France.

“We had a good game-plan. We all felt really strongly about it and we really took the game to France. We stopped them from starting well, which they had done in all the previous games. We showed our control in the second half, so it was really pleasing.”

There was a moment of discomfort for Hastings during Sunday’s match though; with the big screens showing his parents, Diane and Scotland legend, Gavin, sharing a quick kiss following one of Hasting’s penalty kicks.

And while the game was a hugely enjoyable occasion for the entire Hastings clan, the fly-half hopes that was the last display of public affection from his parents he will have to witness.

“I saw them on the kiss cam – hopefully that will be the last of that,” he laughed.

“I looked up and saw it and

I was trying to send them a message. I don’t want them necking on national television!

“No, look, it was lovely to have my parents here. It means a lot to them and my mum is probably my number one fan. Both my parents and my sister were in the stand watching.”

Hastings has attracted almost universal praise for his play over this Six Nations, with his kicking displays both impressive and consistent over the four matches, and only the abominable weather conditions for the England clash seemingly derailing his accuracy.

However, the Glasgow Warriors man admits he has not been entirely happy with all of his performances this championship. Scotland may have won their first game of the tournament when they visited Rome last month, with Hastings scoring a try and a conversion in that 17-0 victory, but the 23-year-old revealed he was not entirely satisfied with his own performance at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I was disappointed with the Italy game. Personally, I felt like I was pretty inconsistent in that match,” he said. “That game was tough because you’ve won a Test match, but you’re still disappointed at how you’ve played personally.

“I had time to let that stew. I came out against France just to focus on doing my job and doing the simple things. I felt I managed to do that.

“But it was really pleasing to come through that and bounce back against France.”

The past few days have been filled with speculation that the remainder of the Six Nations could be cancelled as a result of the spiralling coronavirus crisis, with confirmation now through that both the Italy v England game and France’s encounter with Ireland have been postponed until later in the year.

However, for now at least, Scotland’s clash with Wales will go ahead as planned on Saturday and so Hastings and his compatriots are focussing on making it a hat-trick of victories.

Defeating Wayne Pivac’s men