We’re gambling
Forgotten man Brown hails our star No 7 — but worries about Scots’ lack of back-up
KELLY BROWN marvelled at the quality of John Hardie’s display in the opening World Cup match against Japan. Coming from a man who won 64 caps for his country and was one of the nation’s top back-row players for nearly a decade, it was praise indeed.
The former Scotland captain, who won the Aviva Premiership with Saracens last season, was hugely impressed by the way the New Zealand-born No 7 took his try against Japan.
And as for that under-arm looping pass which somehow found Matt Scott? Well that was one of the best pieces of individual skill Brown had seen by a Scotland player.
Behind the compliments heading Hardie’s way, however, the Saracens flanker has a worry, one probably shared by the majority of Scotland fans during this World Cup.
What if the only specialist No 7 in Vern Cotter’s squad gets injured? Can Hardie possibly play in all the group encounters without falling foul of wear and tear?
Cotter made 10 changes yesterday as he made full use of his 31-man squad, but Hardie will be primed for action again just four days after his man-ofthe-match encounter with Japan. The Scotland head coach doesn’t view it as a gamble.
With South Africa and Samoa still to come, Brown sees things differently.
‘There was no doubt about John Hardie’s skills as a player,’ said Brown. ‘He has played Super15 rugby for a number of years and he was close to All Black selection.
‘He was magnificent against Japan, took his try well and showed some superb pieces of skills.
‘With regards to whether it was too soon for him to play for Scotland after only arriving in the country a few months ago? That is not something for me to be involved in.
‘The coach felt John would bring something to the side and he has been proved right.
‘John is a vitally important player for Scotland and they will be fine during this World Cup as long as he stays fit. If he doesn’t, then there may be concerns.
‘There is cover within the squad but I was quite surprised John Barclay wasn’t included. John is an out-andout seven and to have a couple of specialist open-sides is a good thing in such an important tournament.
‘Also, John played really well in the World Cup warm-up games he played in but sometimes selection can be a funny thing.’
Despite those concerns, Brown sees no reason to fear the USA tomorrow and is equally confident Scotland can pick up the results required against Samoa and South Africa to go on to make the World Cup quarter-finals at the very least.
‘Scotland will be OK against the USA,’ Brown t ol d Sportsmail. ‘The turnaround is short, only four days, but this is a strong squad and they will go in as favourites.
‘Everything points to a Scotland win in Leeds as they are ahead of the USA in the world rankings.
‘The Scots performed well in their four World Cup warm-up matches and also against Japan. The States will be dangerous but Scotland have enough to win.
‘I was part of the team that didn’t make it out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and that was bad for our rugby — but I would back Scotland to get out of their pool this time.
‘If they don’t, then it would be a case they had underperformed, although I can’t see them getting it wrong.
‘I can see them make the knock-out stages and from then on, I would never bet against them in a one-off game.’
Brown concedes his time as a Scotland player is probably over for ever but that has not dimmed his enthusiasm for the national side.
Ironically, he feels part of the reason why he was frozen out by Cotter was because of his role as skipper under previous head coach Andy Robinson.
‘Early in our trip to North America, I sensed I may not be part of Vern’s plans for Scotland going forward,’ he said. ‘I had been in the game long enough not to stress about it but obviously I wanted to be involved all the way to the World Cup.
‘But I did have my doubts about my future during that first tour last summer.
‘Every coach has a slightly different way of doing things and it transpired my gut feeling that I would struggle to be picked in the future was right.
‘I was lucky to have the Scotland career I had and was fortunate enough to captain the team, but in hindsight, that was also something that probably counted against me.
‘Vern wanted to start again, put his stamp on things and create a new team. Maybe he thought I was too associated with the old regime. Having the old captain around though was not an ideal thing for him.
‘I still want to play for my country. Although I will always make myself available, it looks unlikely I will be picked again.’
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