Twickenham hero Graham on how his dad almost missed his finest hour
Cheeky boy Graham stole the show in Scotland’s Twickenham miracle but his dad almost missed his son’s star performance
JUST like everyone else across the country, Ally Graham found the first half at Twickenham last weekend painful viewing. As the clock ticked towards half-time, so, too, did his hand move steadily towards the TV remote.
There was an awkward decision to be made. Did he stick with watching England disembowel a Scotland team for whom his son, Darcy, was playing on the wing? Or did he decide that enough was enough?
As many others will testify, it must have been tempting to switch it off and see what was on the other channels.
What about the bowls at Coatbridge, are they not on telly?
Midsomer Murders, perhaps? In fact, hold on, what about the
River City omnibus? All would have felt like viable alternatives last Saturday teatime. Thankfully, Darcy’s dad watched the second 40 minutes.
By the end, his son had written the family name deep into Scottish sporting folklore with two tries in a staggering comeback, having been 31-0 down just prior to the break. Graham can laugh about it now, but his old man almost missed the greatest day of his rugby life.
‘My dad never came down to the game,’ said the Hawick flyer. ‘My mum, my sister and my girlfriend came down and had a girls’ weekend.
‘My dad stayed and watched it on the TV — but he was regretting that. I think he was about to turn it off at half-time as well. He was gutted he missed it.
‘It was all just a rush after the game, pretty mad. I had to do some media straight afterwards, so it wasn’t until the Sunday I got to speak to him.
‘But he was chuffed to bits and fair enjoyed himself. My dad never goes out — he went and had a couple of beers after that.
‘The second half was mad. It was just try after try. We threw the ball about and we had nothing to lose.
‘We were 31-7 down at half-time, just throwing the ball about and seeing what happens, putting a bit of pride back in the jersey.
‘We spoke about going out and winning the second half — and we certainly did that.’
For Graham, his two tries at Twickenham, following on from one against Wales the previous weekend, conclusively put to bed any lingering doubts over his size.
It is now a non-issue. The only stat that matters is not his 5ft 7in frame, but three tries in four caps since making his debut against Wales last autumn.
‘People talk about my size, but I don’t feel it’s a factor — I think I’ve proven that now’, continued Graham. ‘I can take confidence from that and I’ve shown I can do it. I know I can do it. Nothing is going to phase me now.
‘It’s not really changed me (since making his debut). It’s just what I set out in my dream, to play for Scotland. Just achieving that has been amazing for myself and my family.
‘They’ve loved the whole experience. It’s been quite a mad six months. ‘I’m just taking everything in my stride, taking it week by week and learning from the boys. ‘It’s great playing alongside the likes of Finn (Russell). He can make you look amazing and there are other world-class players. Playing alongside them, you just learn off them and feed off their energy. ‘Playing Sevens was huge for me, the attacking side, just getting my hands on ball, finishing those tries. I don’t know how many I scored in the Sevens. ‘But I was getting my hands on the ball a lot and just getting the feeling of running and finishing them
Dad never goes out — but he went and had a couple of beers after that
‘MY PHONE’S BEEN GOING MAD AFTER THAT. BUT IT’S JUST A BIT OF CRAIC AND A GOOD LAUGH’
off. It was huge for me — I just loved it.
‘I’m loving my time in general right now. My confidence is flying high and I just want to take that on to the pitch.’
Certainly, Graham’s confidence was plain for all to see last weekend. Not exclusively in the way he finished both of his tries, but in the way he toyed with England in the second half.
The sight of him taking a ride on a couple of Englishmen’s backs — and with the cheekiest of grins slapped across his face — served as one of the most iconic images of a famous Calcutta Cup clash.
There was also a Tweet from Stuart Hogg, demanding that Graham should be given the freedom of Hawick after his heroics.
‘My phone has been going mad (because of that photo),’ insisted the 21-year-old. ‘But it’s all just part of it.
‘It’s just a bit of craic and a bit of a laugh. Hoggy is a good lad and I’ve always looked up to him — being a Hawick boy as well.
‘So he’s a bit close, easy to speak to, and if you ever need anything, I can easily go and ask him and he’d help me, no bother.’
Graham was back on club duty on Friday night for Edinburgh as Richard Cockerill’s men secured a vital win over Leinster to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Guinness Pro14 play-offs.
Munster complete the second leg of an Irish double-header by visiting BT Murrayfield on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup.
Edinburgh might just feel like they have a score to settle, given that it was Munster who pipped them 20-16 in the quarter-finals of the Pro14 last season.
‘You just want to take your Scotland form on to the Edinburgh team, crack on from there and finish the season on a high,’ added Graham. ‘We are on the final straight now and we just want to finish it on a high.
‘Munster are going to come for us and be coming here to win, we expect.
‘We’ve done really well at home this season and have nothing to lose. We are going to go out, play our game and try and get the win.’