Lineen relaxed for Ireland challenge
THE Under-20s Six Nations is a step into the unknown at the best of times and that is especially the case this year given how little rugby has been played below full-time professional level since Covid brought everything to a standstill last March.
For the Scotland team, who kick off their campaign against Ireland in Cardiff this afternoon, the loss of around half a dozen players who have either played at this level before or have experience in the pro game through injury has made the task even more daunting. Glasgow Warriors scrum-half Jamie Dobie, Edinburgh centre Matt Currie and Edinburgh full-back Harry Paterson are among the missing men.
However, head coach Sean Lineen is a ‘glass-halffull’ type of guy, and he is determined to harness any adversity his side faces and to redeploy it as a positive.
“More than half of them are a year young (17 of the 32 players in the squad are eligible to play again next year) so there’s going to be times in the game when they are going to have to work really hard, no doubt about that, but I have been impressed by their first-class attitude,” he said.
“We came down on the bus on Monday, had a relaxing day on Tuesday, Wednesday was a double session and yesterday they hit a bit of a wall, as can be expected. The boys were a bit tired, mentally as well as physically, but that comes with maturity as well being in a tournament environment. We’ve taken the handbrake off a little bit and just let them relax a bit today.
“After the first game we will see where we are. We know what the Irish are about, the environments they come from, so we know what to expect. But we have concentrated on this group of 26 players who will have the Scottish jersey on. They haven’t played a game like this for a long time so it will be interesting to see how they shape up. But I’m confident they’ll play with a lot of energy.”
Murray Redpath, son of Bryan and younger brother of Cameron, will start at scrumhalf this afternoon.
“We have lost Jamie Dobie because he had an unfortunate ankle injury and Murray is a year younger – he had his 19th birthday two days ago – but he is an impressive young man,” said Lineen. “We’re looking for him to develop throughout the tournament. Some parts of his game are really powerful and one thing that has impressed me is his maturity on the field. You can see he’s a leader already.”
There is a good chance that the Redpath-Townsend axis from the senior Scotland side of the 1990s could be rekindled at some point during the championship, and maybe even during this match, with Christian Townsend – son of Gregor – covering stand-off from the bench today.
“Christian is a good player as well,” added Lineen. “He’s like Murray in that he is pretty mature on the field. He’s got that bit of magic as well that he tries now and then, so that’s positive. He attacks the line really well and has a good passing game.
“They will both be with the under-20s next year as well so you may see a bit more of the Redpath-Townsend partnership as it moves on but there are other players out there as well and we’re looking forward to seeing them all play.
Lineen has opted for
Cameron Scott at stand-off on this occasion. The playmaker is one of only four veterans from last year’s under-20s campaign, and actually scored a bonuspoint securing try off the bench against Ireland in the opening game of that campaign.
“Cammy is in the leadership group,” explained the coach. “He’s where Ross Thompson was a few years ago, just finding his way. It takes a while. You get the ball a lot as a 10 and there is a lot of pressure so we need to look at how we can help and support him.
“He’s got a nice break and he’s got a good pass, he’s brave and I’m really looking forward to seeing him play. He’s really developed in the leadership side of things as well.
The side will be captained Alex Samuel, who is partnered in the second-row by Max Williamson. Both are full-time members of the Glasgow Warriors Academy and trained with the senior Scotland squad during their Six Nations campaign.
The pack also contains three players who have had competitive game experience at senior pro level with Edinburgh recently in hooker Patrick Harrison, No.8 Ben Muncaster and open-side flanker Harri Morris.