Never mind the Lions — playing for Scotland is no consolation prize
CAPTAIn John Barclay insists pulling on the dark blue jersey is ‘no consolation prize’ for those scots overlooked by British and Irish Lions head coach warren Gatland.
Fresh from leading his scarlets side to victory over Munster in the Guinness Pro12 final in dublin on saturday, Barclay is now fully focused on the challenging trio of matches against Italy, Australia and Fiji.
while he remains on standby should the Lions party suffer injuries, Barclay has stressed that any disappointment from missing out on warren Gatland’s initial selection has long disappeared.
‘Playing for scotland is no consolation prize,’ the scotland captain insisted. ‘It’s a new environment, a new challenge under Gregor Townsend.
‘All three games will be tricky playing in different conditions. It will be completely different to what most of the guys have sampled before.’
Greig Laidlaw, stuart Hogg and Tommy seymour were the only scots among the Lions travelling party which touched down in new Zealand yesterday as the build up to their Test series with the formidable All Blacks begins.
The small size of that tartan contingent was a surprise, with the likes of Barclay, hooker Fraser Brown, lock Jonny Gray and stand-off Finn russell among those whose form put them in contention before the 41-man squad was announced back in April.
Those left out now have the consolation of a seat on the plane carrying scotland to singapore on saturday to take on Italy as they start their own three-week Asia-Pacific tour.
Barclay insisted playing for his country is always a huge honour and added: ‘I have not heard anyone mention the Lions to be honest. That’s the nature of the group. we’ve got some humble guys and we just get on with it.
‘some might be disappointed but we’ve got an exciting tour to go on. we’re not far from new Zealand. You don’t want guys to get injured but if they did you’d like to think some of our guys will get a phone call.’
Barclay is now keen to help Townsend, his former coach at Glasgow warriors before he moved to wales, create success on the international stage with scotland.
‘I’m feeling good, the body’s good and to still be playing at this point of the season and keep my match fitness up is pleasing,’ he said. ‘Also to come off the back of the season having won something is good.
‘I’ve not trained with the squad yet but I watched the training session yesterday and you can see already that there’s not huge changes.
‘He’s tinkered with some of the structures and moves and the way we approach things. It’s a breath of fresh air and the other new coaches bring great enthusiasm as well.
‘Gregor has spoken about building on the momentum built up by Vern (Cotter). He’s keen to work on things that have gone well, while at the same time putting his own stamp on things.
‘Gregor is similar to Vern in that they are both very driven and motivated. Both are hugely respected. Hard men with high standards. They maybe have slightly different ways they want to play the game, different ideas.
‘we played some good stuff in the six nations, especially at home. now it’s a challenge to go away, and for some of the more inexperienced guys, to learn about touring and how hard it is to win on the road.
‘Australia, Fiji and Italy will present tricky conditions. You learn a lot more about players when you go to places like this.’
Barclay said he was delighted to have been named Townsend’s first ever captain but realised he had only got the nod because regular skipper Laidlaw was unavailable.
‘Gregor phoned me to say I’d be in the squad and then, after Greig was called up, he asked me whether I would like to be captain and I was obviously very happy to do so,’ said the scarlets skipper.
‘You always want a coach to be motivated and driven. Vern was all of those things, and I think Gregor is too.’