RUGBY UNION
set-up between November 2013 and August 2015 after a falling foul of former SRU Director of Performance Rugby Scott Johnson, who was filling in as interim Scotland head coach at the time while Vern Cotter saw out his contract at Clermont.
He was recalled for the 2015 World Cup training camp but did not make the final cut. His perseverance was rewarded when he was restored to Scotland’s front-line for the opening game of Scotland’s next Six Nations campaign against England, launching an uninterrupted 26-match run in the team.
He took over the captaincy from the injured Greig Laidlaw during the 2017 Six Nations and led the side to their famous victory over Australia in Sydney.
Barclay continued to captain Scotland during the 2018 Six
Nations leading them to their sensational Calcutta Cup win over England as they achieved a better than 50% winning record in the Championship for the first time since 2006.
He moved to Edinburgh in the summer of 2018 but his first season was blighted by an Achilles injury picked up playing for Scarlets. He did manage to fight his way back to fitness for the recent World Cup in Japan but struggled to recapture his pre-injury form and ended up being one of the senior players dropped after the catastrophic opening defeat to Ireland.
He was given one last run in the jersey in the penultimate pool stage match against Russia, and galloped home for a 40-yard try late in that 61-0 victory – which proved to be his last real contribution to an excellent Scotland career.
SUSAN EGELSTAFF
IT IS strange to hear Hamish Watson reveal he felt something of a sense of relief in the aftermath of his injury in Scotland’s opening World Cup game in Japan in September.
He was not, of course, happy to be ruled out the World Cup, his first-ever appearance at the biggest tournament in his sport after narrowly missing out on selection for the previous one.
The 27-year-old was though, hugely relieved when he realised an injury he initially feared may see him sidelined for months, would only keep his out for 10 to 12 weeks.
“When I go down for that long I know it is serious. I knew straight away,” he said.
“If you have ever done your knee, you know straight away and I felt it stretch and felt something snap.
“At that point I was just thinking ‘I hope it’s not my ACL’. And, with any injury, you think ‘how long will this keep me out for?’”
As soon as Watson was in the dressing room, the medical staff told him the good news; his ACL was intact. That good news was tempered, however, by being told he had injured his medial ligament.
Watson admits he was “gutted” to realise his World Cup experience had lasted less than 40 minutes.
He was flown home and, instead of being in the thick of the Scotland squad, was forced to watch the remainder of the tournament from his couch. The flanker was, though, able to be pragmatic about it all.
“There was no point in keeping me out there and they wanted me back here to start my rehab as soon as possible,” he said.
“I got a week or 10 days off at home to get my head round it and chill with the family.”
Almost as soon as Watson landed back in Scotland, his mind turned to regaining his fitness for Edinburgh.
He made his first appearance of the season last week in the team’s impressive victory against Munster in Cork, which was a touch ahead of schedule.
Watson managed the entire 80 minutes last week and, while he admitted he wasn’t quite at his best, he emerged unscathed injury-wise.
The flanker is likely to make his second appearance of the season for the capital club on Friday, when they face Wasps at Murrayfield in the European Challenge Cup.
And Watson has timed his return perfectly, with a double-header against the English Premiership team then followed by a doubleheader against Glasgow Warriors, while selection for the Six Nations is on the horizon.
Watson admits he is delighted to be thrown in at the deep end with such an important run of games looming.
And, as he looks ahead to the clash with Wasps, he knows his side will have to be on their game to get the better of the former English Premiership champions.
“It is great to come back and have some tough games,” he said.
“It’s an important part of the season with those back-toback European games where we know we are going to have to, after that draw, win both to have a chance – of that top seeded spot, anyway.
“It is going to be a tough game against (against Wasps). They are maybe struggling a bit for form but are a great team with great individual players.”
SUPERIOR discipline and defence gave Stewart’s Melville a decisive edge as they overcame their great Edinburgh rivals George Watsons to claim their fifth Scottish Schools’ Cup title at Murrayfield last night.
First-half tries from second-row Dominic Gray, hooker Duncan Hood and centre Matthew Russell sent them on their way to victory.
While tries from Max Raitt and Conor Myles either side of half-time kept Watson’s in touch, Kayson Davidson got the score that finally made the victory safe.
“We knew from minute one that it would be a forwards battle,” said victorious head coach Stuart Edwards afterwards.
“The first half was outstanding, the second half we spoke really clearly about exiting and how we were going to get out of their half, but we did everything we didn’t want to do – but, in terms of our attitude, desire, defence, I couldn’t be any prouder of these boys.”