Vellacott vows to use hostile Scotstoun atmosphere To his advantage
HAVING come of age in adult rugby playing for Gloucester, Ben Vellacott has got a fair idea about what a hostile atmosphere in a derby match looks and feels like, with West Country showdowns against Bath the stuff of English rugby legend.
Those days taught him how important it is to embrace the crowd’s enmity and turn it into a motivating factor to drive your own performance.
It is a lesson which will come in handy if, as expected, he is selected to wear the No. 9 jersey in the Edinburgh team which will look to steal a march on Glasgow Warriors in the opening leg of this festive season’s 1872 Cup double- header at Scotstoun tomorrow night. Warriors have not lost at home since European champions La Rochelle visited Scotstoun in the pool stage of last season’s Champions Cup in January, but Vellacott insists his team have nothing to fear from their nearest and fiercest rivals.
“It is cool when the crowd is against you because that fuels the fire a bit,” he said. “We’ll stick together as a group and use that emotion.
“But emotion in the heat of the battle can sometimes spill over with a lot of discipline issues, and I feel that whoever keeps on top of the discipline will win the game, so our 9s and 10s – the half- backs – will have to keep control of the forwards and keep a lid on things.”
Vellacott was born and raised in England but qualifies to play for Scotland through his mother from Peterhead.
He wore the thistle at Under- 17, Under- 18 and Under- 20 level, before establishing himself in the senior game playing in the English Premiership with Gloucester between 2016 and 2019, followed by Wasps between 2019 and 2021.
During the period he turned down multiple approaches to move north and spent a period on the periphery of the senior England squad, before finally deciding to throw his lot in with Scotland by signing for Edinburgh at the start of last season.
He clearly has no regrets over that decision given that it was announced yesterday that he has agreed a contract extension with the capital outfit which will run for an undisclosed period of time.
“The style of rugby that [ coach] Mike Blair wants to play really suits my game and I feel that I’m playing the best rugby of my career at the moment,” Vellacott said. “Re- signing was a very easy decision to make because of how tightknit a group we have at the club and the ambition the club has. We’re getting better season- on- season and I want to help get Edinburgh back to the top.”
He made his senior Scotland debut off the bench against Italy during the 2022 Six Nations but has failed to add to his cap tally since then, and the 27- year- old knows that tomorrow night’s match will present
It is cool when the crowd is against you because that fuels the fire a bit. We’ll stick together and use that emotion
a golden opportunity to make his case to national team head coach Gregor Townsend that he should be in the selection mix for the 2023 Six Nations – especially as he is set to face two of the players currently ahead of him in the international pecking order if Glasgow Warriors name both Ali Price and George Horne in their match- day squad.
“There are two things I really need to do if I want to get back into Scotland contention,” said the player. “The main thing is to stay injury free, and the other thing is just to put in some good performances for Edinburgh.
“I want to help the team get back to the top of the table, and after that it’s one man’s decision as to who is selected for Scotland – so if I fit that then perfect, otherwise I’ll just keep playing for Edinburgh.”
The scrum- half is a huge threat braking from the base and as a support runner, but he has struggled at times to balance that with the more strategic demands of his position. This is something he is actively taking measures to address, although he is determined not to stray too far away from core attacking principles.
“At the end of the day, I like to play rugby for fun,” he said. “I’m trying to work on my kicking game which I think has vastly improved over the last couple of seasons, but if I’m not playing my natural game then I won’t be enjoying it and I won’t be able to perform at my best levels.”