POINT TO PROVE
Skinner vows to seize his chance after Scotland recall
Better late than never. Now Sam Skinner is desperate to show Gregor townsend what he has been missing after being called up to Scotland’s Six Nations squad for this weekend’s match with Ireland.
the exeter Chiefs star admits he was ‘gutted’ to have been left out of townsend’s original pool of players. Watching club-mates Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray in the victory against england at twickenham and narrow loss to Wales only heightened his sense of personal disappointment.
the Champions Cup and english Premiership winner, 26, who is equally comfortable playing in either the second or back row, has been drafted in for Sunday’s match against the Irish at Bt Murrayfield after injuries ruled out forwards Blade thomson, Gary Graham, Josh Bayliss and richie Gray.
edinburgh back-rower Nick Haining and Glasgow’s American-born full-back or wing rufus McLean have both also been called up.
‘I’m extremely grateful to be back,’ said Skinner, who scored two tries for exeter at the weekend in their Premiership victory over Bath.
‘You never take these things for granted. I was gutted and massively disappointed not to be involved from the start of the Six Nations, but Gregor is the man whose opinion matters and I wasn’t involved.
‘I was never disappointed to see Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray go up from exeter as I have a great relationship with those guys and I was really pleased to see them continue to perform and lead Scotland in the way they have, which has been exceptional. But, obviously, it was disappointing not to be with them.
‘I had to look inwardly a little bit and think of areas of my game I could knuckle down and really focus on at exeter and get a run of games together and improve my performances. Hopefully I have done that.
‘I’m grateful to be back up here in the Scotland camp and I’m going to put my best foot forward and see what comes out the other end.
‘I flew up Sunday night and we had a few meetings on Monday but there was no proper training, just some stuff in the gym. It’s been a relatively light day which eased me back in, which is nice.’
Skinner’s omission from Scotland’s initial 35-man Six Nations squad was a big surprise as he had played a major role for his country in the Autumn Nations Cup last year.
As well as that, he can play anywhere in the back row and also at lock, with that versatility vital for a team in an arduous competition like the Six Nations where injuries, particularly among the forwards, come thick and fast.
Skinner would not say specifically why he had fallen out of favour with townsend but admits there is room for improvement in his game.
‘Naturally, there are areas of the game I can improve and I am aware of what my work-ons are,’ said Skinner, who has ten caps to his credit. ‘Hopefully, Gregor has seen that in my recent performances with exeter.’
Skinner has been unlucky with injuries — a hamstring strain on the eve of the 2019 World Cup in Scotland’s warm-up match against France ruled him out of the tournament. He now hopes to hold down a place for the remainder of the Six Nations.
‘the stop-start nature of my time with Scotland is one thing I’ve been aware of and I’m trying to get the opportunity to get a string of games together for Scotland and play consistent rugby,’ he said. ‘I’m extremely passionate to see that happen and I’ll keep pushing as hard as I can.
‘What hasn’t always been on my side is that I’ve had injuries at key times but that’s the way it goes. If I get a few opportunities I’ll do my best to take them with Scotland. I had games here and there but it hasn’t really gone my way early on because of injuries.
I’ll just keep cracking on and hopefully get there eventually.’
Skinner is likely to start on the bench against Ireland and is desperate to be retained for the final two Six Nations matches against Italy and France.
the Paris fixture is expected to be played on Friday, March 26, provided agreement is reached that english-based players such as Skinner will be released by their clubs for the fixture.
Skinner believes the game should be played come what may and dismissed suggestions Scotland should be handed a 28-0 walkover because Covid breaches in the French camp forced the match to be rescheduled.
‘everyone’s in the same boat and if there’s a way of making the game go ahead, let’s make it happen,’ he said. ‘It’s a great fixture and we as players want to play it. We don’t want freebie points at all. I imagine spectators want to see it that way as well, so I’m all for making it happen, definitely.’