PROUDFOOT SAYS HIS BRIEF SPELL WITH ADOPTED NATION WAS A SPECIAL TIME
BUS journeys to Wales lasting 12 hours, indelible memories blending with the folklore learned at his grandfather’s knee. Recollections of being leapt upon by room-mate Gregor Townsend — and having his eyes opened by those first training sessions under legendary taskmaster Jim Telfer. Matt Proudfoot’s relationship with Scotland runs so much deeper than just the four caps won over an injury-affected five-year period. Born and raised in South Africa, the current Springboks forwards coach can rightly claim to be one of the first ‘project players’ recruited just as the Scottish game was taking its first tentative steps into the pro era. ‘I qualified through my grandfather, who was born in Kilmarnock,’ Proudfoot said, the former forward happy to take an enthusiastic walk down memory lane yesterday. ‘I was recruited with Jim Telfer through Melrose, back when there were still four franchises and just as they set up the Celtic League. ‘We were travelling up and down to Wales on the bus. It was the start of the real professional era. It was great. They were special times. I came over with memories of a grandfather who brought me up on Five Nations rugby. ‘I have fond memories of the David Sole side, with Tony Stanger scoring his try on the right wing. Those were my memories as an Englishspeaking boy in South Africa. ‘When I came here and got given my chance it was like living a dream, living an adventure. Even though you were on a bus for 12 hours, you were on a bus with your mates. ‘Rugby is about memories. You spend a very short time of your life doing what you love with your best mates. In rugby you are a custodian of the game for the next generation — and, if you leave it in a better state than you found it, those memories are happy memories.’ That’s not to say there weren’t a few early shocks, Proudfoot extending his meaty paws to full size as he recalled: ‘Yes, my eyes were this big at first. The first game I played here was at Kilmarnock, and it snowed. I thought, “What am I doing here?” ‘In South Africa, everything was up in the air. We carried high, tackled high, scrummed high, mauled high. ‘I came here and Jim Telfer wanted me way down low. I was 20-stone
and I looked at him and said: “Are you mad?” He said: “Get down there boy”. It took me right out of my comfort zone. ‘When we drove down Princes Street this week, the memories came flooding back. ‘I wish I could’ve been here longer. But I treasure the happy memories and the good people of Scotland.’ The friendships made during his brief time as a Scotland player have endured, with Proudfoot describing former team-mate Carl Hogg as his best mate. Scotland head coach Townsend also gets a mention, the man mountain revealing: ‘On my first tour, to Australia, Gregor and I were room-mates. ‘I recall the day I found out about my first cap. They slipped the team sheet under the door in those days. ‘He pulled it out, jumped on top of me and started giving me gip. It’s one of the special memories I’ve got, that day in Australia.’ A neck injury and a broken leg contributed to the stop-start nature of Proudfoot’s Scotland career. After that 1998 summer tour of the Southern Hemisphere, he had to wait until 2003 to pull on the dark blue on ‘home’ soil. ‘I played one game at Murrayfield, against Ireland,’ he said, pausing before adding: ‘It was emotional. ‘I’d had my neck injury in the runup to the autumn internationals. ‘The first game was South Africa and I would have played, had I not been injured. ‘I was watching in the stands and thinking: “I wonder if I will ever get this opportunity”. In the leadup to the World Cup, I then played against Ireland. Just standing there, looking at that stadium, I was thinking: “What’s happened? How did I get here?” It’s iconic. ‘Driving in on the bus this week, I pointed Murrayfield out to some of the guys who had never seen it. They were all blown away.’ There are likely to be at least a couple of South Africans in the Scotland side this weekend, a subject on which Proudfoot is an expert — and a strong advocate for the ‘foreigners’. ‘We respect what those guys are doing, respect that someone took a decision for his life and his career and went into a foreign environment,’ he insisted. ‘They’re adding value and we respect that. ‘They’re not on a free ride.’