Centre admits Test snub felt like ‘punch in the gut’
MATT SCOTT was enjoying a near-perfect rugby career.
When injury-free, the centre was basically a first choice for club and country.
He was going great guns and scoring tries for fun with new club Gloucester in the Premiership.
So when he was unceremoniously dropped from the Scotland squad for the autumn Test series, it was both a novel and nasty experience.
“Jason O’Halloran was calling around the guys who hadn’t made it and it was like a punch in the gut when he told me,” said Scott, 26.
“It was really tough to take. It was probably the first time I’ve been dropped when I’ve been fit, so it’s something I hadn’t really had before and it did come as a bit of a surprise.
“It was so difficult watching us play Australia. Obviously I was rooting for the boys but it was difficult knowing I was fit, feeling like I was playing decent rugby and could have been out there with them.
“I did sulk for a day or two but then I said, ‘This isn’t going to do me any good, moaning about this and that’.
“You can take these things in one of two ways and I just said, ‘Look, the coaches are obviously looking for me to do something else and I had to work hard on that’.”
“That” was a flaw in Scott’s defensive game that Vern Cotter and his backroom team had perceived.
“They wanted me to make better decisions. My defence coach at Gloucester said, ‘Look, if you want to get back in the squad you need to work on this’, so I used it as a big motivator and went off to work on it,” said Scott.
“I was prone to making bad decisions at certain moments in the game, whether I was tired or trying to solve problems on my own in defence, jumping out the line occasionally, things like that.
“I felt I drifted in and out sometimes in games mentally.
“It wasn’t happening all the time but at international level the key decisions at key moments can cost you seven points at any time.
“So I’ve worked really hard on my skills in defence and also on the mental side, making sure I’m concentrating 100% of the time.”
The coaches have seen the work Scott’s done on his defence and included him alongside fellow-centres Alex Dunbar, Mark Bennett, Huw Jones and Duncan Taylor in the squad for the RBS 6 Nations
opener against Ireland next week.
“Everyone agrees it’s the most competitive it’s been in years and you could make a case for any number of guys playing in the first match,” nods Scott.
“It’ll bring us on as players. We all want to pull on the jersey. All of us are responding, training well and putting our hands up for selection. We know one mistake might mean an opening for someone else.”