Hastings earns chance to walk father’s path
Son of Scotland legend receives first call-up Young trio included in squad for Italy match
Adam Hastings, the son of Scotland legend Gavin Hastings, has been called into the the country’s squad for this weekend’s final Natwest Six Nations game against Italy in Rome.
Along with 21-year-old second row Scott Cummings, teenage back-rower Matt Fagerson and veteran centre Richie Vernon, who has been injured since winning the last of his 24 caps against Australia in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final, 21-year-old Hastings completes a quartet of Glasgow Warriors players to have been called on by Gregor Townsend. Veteran centre Matt Scott is the fifth and final player to get the call from the Scotland coach.
Stand-off Hastings is the only one of the five who has never officially been called up and, with the side desperate to find backup to Finn Russell, is rewarded for some outstanding performances for the Warriors. Glasgow coach Dave Rennie believes the way the young No10 has taken his chance in Russell’s absence shows that he is a player of genuine promise.
“I’ve been really impressed by Adam,” said Rennie. “He is good with ball in hand and has really good footwork. He’s working really hard on his game management. He’s only 21 and we are asking him to poke some pretty experienced players in the chest and be demanding. He is thirsty for knowledge.”
Even allowing for Townsend’s track record for throwing young players in at the deep end, the chances are that, with Peter Horne and Greig Laidlaw both having played at fly-half in a Test match within the past year, Hastings will not be required on the bench.
Cummings also finds himself behind Richie Gray, Tim Swinson and starting locks Jonny Gray and Grant Gilchrist in the pecking order, while Fagerson would need to leapfrog Luke Hamilton and David Denton.
Nevertheless, the inclusion of the three youngsters in the squad over established players such as Ben Toolis, John Hardie and Duncan Weir indicates Townsend’s desire to introduce some of Scotland’s best young talent to the Test arena.
Another Glasgow player who has had to watch from the sidelines is hooker Fraser Brown, who came on for the final quarter in Dublin after a dispiriting spell out with concussion. After coming back from his first concussion, he lasted just five minutes off the bench against Australia in November, and was then concussed again against Edinburgh in the 1872 Cup.
“I had three unfortunate concussion incidents this year,” he said. “It’s frustrating because it’s not like a knee or a shoulder where you know how long you’ll be out. A head is different because there’s so much unknown about it. But taking so long to come back is reassuring in a way because you know everyone has your best interests at heart.”
Unfortunately for Brown, his place has now been taken by Stuart Mcinally, one of Scotland’s standout performers.
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