Scottish clubs’ European elimination no real surprise after poor Pro14 campaigns
European Cup interest is over for Edinburgh and Glasgow, both falling at the first hurdle in the last 16 knock-out stage. In one sense, no surprise here. Both clubs have had a dismal season in the Guinness Pro14, their combined record reading: played 32, won 11, drawn 1, lost 20.
Of course there have been good reasons for failure. These are weird times. Coaches Richard Cockerill and Danny Wilson might be excused for thinking that the task of making bricks without straw that Pharoah set the Israelites was no tougher than the challenges they have faced. What with Covid, the completion of last season’s Six Nations, the improvised Autumn Nations Cup, and then this year’s Six Nations, they have seen so little of their Scottish internationalists that they might be hard put to recognise them coming through the door.
So, fair enough, they’ve not had their troubles to seek. Nevertheless they had their Scotland players back last weekend, and still both lost. It is no disgrace to lose to Racing 92 in Paris, but to lose as Edinburgh did by more than 50 points is shameful. Glasgow came closer to winning away to Montpellier, but the French club has itself had a fairly dismal season in the Top14, its record reading: played 20, won 7, lost 13. Depressingly neither Glasgow nor Edinburgh scored a try. Both had opportunities to do so, chances lost by all-too-familiar errors: knock-ons, careless passes, penalties conceded for not releasing, all in the opposition 22.
Both will be without an important player next season, Adam Hastings moving from Glasgow to Gloucester, Duhan van der Merwe from Edinburgh to Worcester. As against that Ross Thompson is one young player who has taken the opportunities given him this season so well that Hastings, who has been available for only a handful of matches, may not be greatly missed. Likewise the young scrum-half Jamie Dobie has had more game-time than he might have expected, with George Horne out injured and Ali Price on Scotland duty. Rufus Mclean, whether on the wing or at full-back, is another Glasgow youngster who has stepped up convincingly.
Edinburgh will surely miss van der Merwe who has scored more tries for them than anyone else in his three seasons with the club. They have, however, just signed a wing from Bristol Bears who is, at least physically, comparable to the South African. Freddie Owsley, Scottish qualified by ancestry, stands 6ft 4 and weighs some 90 kilos. He has also been a successful 200 and 400 metres runner, representing Britain at under-20 international level. Concentrating on his athletic career took him away from rugby for two or three years, so that, aged 24 now, he is fairly inexperienced. This is certainly an interesting signing.
Meanwhile, Sean Lineen, Scotland’s under-20 coach, has just announced a 41-man training squad for this year’s under-20 Six Nations Championship which is to be played somewhere sometime in June. Over the years we have usually struggled at age-group level, despite some good results. This isn’t surprising. It’s not only a question of numbers, but also of the standard of rugby which young players have experienced. That said, it’s a rare season from which one or two future full internationalists don’t emerge. Most of those named in a season’s training squad, even U20 match squads, won’t go on to play for the senior Scotland team – even in these days when there is so much more international rugby and so many more caps are awarded. One has, however, to remember that an U20 squad represents the cream of a couple of years. A Test Match career on the other hand may last ten or more years. Stuart Hogg, for instance, was first capped against Wales in 2012. Two members of that XV, Lee Jones and Richie Gray, are still playing for Glasgow and Gray has indeed been capped again this season. Duncan Weir also got his first cap in that year’s Six Nations.
The elimination of both Scottish clubs from the European Cups means that none of their players will have another opportunity in a big match to impress Warren Gatland who is expected to announce his Lions squad early in May. One hopes that Hamish Watson has done enough to secure a Lions place, likewise Rory Sutherland who is currently injured, and probably van der Merwe. But other home-based Scots who might be, or have been, on the fringe of possibles – Jamie Ritchie, Zander Fagerson, Price – can only hope they will not be forgotten.