Price must get it right as he faces his biggest challenge
DAVE RENNIE’S comments last week regarding Ali Price were as damning as they were shocking after he described the scrum-half’s return from Six nations duty last season. ‘overweight, a bit heavy and sluggish’ was how he labelled the player.
Just take a moment for Rennie’s statement to sink in.
Serious questions need to be asked. How can a player for whom so much was expected in the Six nations last year return in such a state?
Perhaps it explains Price’s dramatic and sudden drop-off in the competition.
Who is to blame? The player certainly, but what about those within Gregor Townsend’s Scotland set-up who have responsibility for these things?
Scotland players are kept on a strict diet, looked after well by the strength and conditioning staff and trained at the right level when they are away with the national team. yet something went badly wrong in Price’s case.
The whole thing has obviously been preying on Rennie’s mind for some time as it is six months since all this happened.
but last week, at a very understated press conference to plug his side’s friendly with Harlequins, he gave what all we scribes crave... a line. And it was a belter. Asked about how Price and George Horne had reacted to more competition for their places from Australian scrum-half nick Frisby who signed in the summer, he came out with his damning critique.
‘After the Six nations earlier this year with Scotland, Ali came into training with us overweight, a bit heavy and sluggish,’ said Rennie — excusing Horne of any comment.
‘of course, his whole game is about speed to the breakdown and his ability to threaten, but he came back and he was sluggish and I was a bit surprised.’
Surprised would be just the start of it. Rennie was no doubt furious at how one of his star players lost his mojo. The physical condition of Price didn’t help the player — or Glasgow — at the working end of the Pro14 season.
He lost his starting place to Horne and wasn’t included in the match-day squad for the league semi-final play-off against Scarlets. He has fallen from grace dramatically at Glasgow and runs the risk of doing the same with Scotland.
Even without Greig Laidlaw on the summer tour it was Sam Hidalgo-Clyne who was handed the starting scrum-half jersey ahead of Price, who was on the bench, in the opening game against Canada.
Price picked up a groin strain when he came on in Edmonton which forced him out of the rest of the tour. That allowed Horne to start against USA and Argentina, with Hidalgo-Clyne on the bench.
Against the Pumas, Horne announced his arrival on the international stage with two tries in a man of the match performance.
Henry Pyrgos, who didn’t tour, is enjoying a new lease of life since his move from Glasgow Warriors to Edinburgh over the summer.
That means there are five — Laidlaw, Price, Horne, Pyrgos, Hidalgo-Clyne — all going after the Scotland starting scrumhalf jersey.
before the Six nations, Price was first choice. He certainly won’t have that honour in the next Scotland match against Wales in november.
Whatever happened during the Six nations could come back to haunt him. Rennie may have been having a dig at the Scotland set-up. but it can only be hoped that Price has taken his message on board.