TOWNSEND IN BORDER RAID FOR SKINNER
Scots coach gets one over England as he swoops for hot prospect Sam
SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend has stolen one of England’s up-andcoming stars from under the nose of Eddie Jones.
Uncapped Exeter Chiefs second row Sam Skinner, a former England Under-20s player whose father Pete hails from Ayr, is the surprise inclusion in Townsend’s 40-strong squad for the four-match November Test series.
He is one of three debutants including New Zealand-born Blade Thomson of the Scarlets, who has a Wishaw-born grandfather, and Australian Sam Johnson of Glasgow Warriors who qualifies through residency. But Exeter-born Skinner, 23, is the rabbit pulled out of the hat by Townsend having already turned down a chance to tour with Scotland over the summer.
Although Jones hasn’t included him in any of his squads, the player has been on the England head coach’s radar after helping his club win last season’s Premiership title and continuing his fine form in the current campaign. The combative 6ft 5in second row, who weighs in at 17st 6lbs, started Exeter’s 10-10 draw with Munster at Sandy Park in the Heineken Champions Cup last weekend. And club head coach Rob Baxter believes Skinner, who was in the Scottish Exiles programme as a teenager before representing England in the 2015 Under-20s World Cup, is a star of the future. Townsend was delighted at being able to name him in his squad, especially as experienced lock forward Richie Gray has been ruled out for four months with a hip injury. ‘Sam, who I’m sure everyone has been frantically Googling, is a big bonus for us as he’s an excellent player with a big future ahead of him,’ said the head coach. ‘We’d known about his Scottish qualification for a number of years as he was involved in the Exiles programme as a youngster.
‘But it was a message from someone who was speaking to his dad, to say that nothing would make his dad more proud than Sam playing for Scotland, that alerted us (to the fact) he might be again interested.
‘He is an excellent player and is in the leadership group at Exeter. He is line-out leader for one of the best packs in Europe, his decisionmaking is excellent and he runs really good lines, so we’re delighted he’s committed to Scotland.
‘We approached him to go on the summer tour and represent Scotland but that was a big decision for him to make. He’s playing for a club in England and there are repercussions when you are no longer English-qualified.
‘Decisions have to be made on what he wanted to do with his allegiance. It’s great that he’s had an opportunity to think about it and realise over the summer that he wanted to represent Scotland.’
Asked if he thought Skinner had been waiting to see if there was interest from England when he turned down the summer tour, Townsend replied: ‘No, as he is a man of integrity he wanted to make sure he made the right decision in the right circumstances. He wanted to earn his place.
‘I am delighted when we continued these conversations, he was committed and really excited about his decision. I know it will make his family really proud and he is looking forward to meeting up with the rest of our guys.’
Exeter head coach Baxter said: ‘Sam’s been aware of interest from Scotland for a little while. He made us aware of that right from the start, so it hasn’t come as a surprise.
‘I’m disappointed that an EQP (English qualified player) guy, who’s playing Premiership rugby, ends up being capped by another country. But ultimately you want
your players to be playing at the highest level they can. He’s very keen and determined to play for Scotland, they’ve been very positive with their approach to him, so it’s going to be an interesting autumn for him.’
Townsend said all three uncapped players will get a chance to prove their worth at some stage during next month’s games.
‘Blade is the most established from the three, given he’s a bit older and has played Super Rugby for the last three seasons,’ said Townsend of the 27-year-old former Hurricanes player.
‘We’ve known about him and his Scottish qualification for a few years. I was interested in signing him for Glasgow Warriors before he missed a couple of years through injury. So it was great to see him fit and playing No 8 for the Hurricanes, then playing very well for the Scarlets since he moved there in the summer.
‘Sam Johnson is a player I know well having signed him for Glasgow Warriors three-and-a-half years ago. Each season he’s got better and better and he won the players’ player of the season award last year.’
Although available for the games with Fiji, South Africa and Argentina, neither Skinner nor Thomson will be allowed to make their debuts in Scotland’s opening game against Wales in Cardiff on November 3 as it falls outwith the international window.
Defending the decision to play four rather than the usual three Tests in November as it brought his team into line with the other home nations, Townsend nonetheless felt that Scarlets might have been inclined to release Thomson for the game in Cardiff.
‘Scarlets are playing Edinburgh that weekend, so it would be nice of Wayne Pivac to say to Blade: “You are available to play for Scotland”. But we know that’s not going to happen,’ he said.
‘The rules are in place for English and French-based teams and they do not have to release players for our game against Wales.
‘We don’t usually play four Tests but most northern hemisphere teams do. England have done it, Ireland have done it over the past few years and are now playing Italy in Chicago and played the All Blacks in Chicago last year. Wales always do.
‘It’s just our first game that falls outwith the international window and it’s bad luck that Edinburgh are playing Scarlets and Glasgow are facing Ospreys in the Pro14 the night before we play Wales.’