TRY AND MIGHTY
Setting record at World Cup a dream, says Seymour
LOCKED on 19 tries apiece, Tommy Seymour and Stuart Hogg are so close to the all-time Scottish record that they can almost reach out and touch it.
There is a healthy rivalry between the pair who, currently just five short of record-holders Ian Smith and Tony Stanger, are entitled to feel that they are just a hop, skip and a jump away from a slice of history.
That’s certainly how Seymour sees it. By his own admission, with a World Cup looming large, why not dare to dream?
With four warm-up games to come against France and Georgia, there is every chance of closing the gap even further by the time the main event in Japan rolls around in late September.
In the pool stage, the Scots will
face Samoa and Russia; two teams who, with the greatest respect, are of fairly modest ability.
The Samoans are not the force they once were. Like back in 2011 and 2012, when they won away in both Sydney and Cardiff in the space of little over a year.
They are ranked 16th in the world, comfortably the lowest of all three Pacific Islands, while the Russians sit even further down the pecking order in 20th.
Clearly, if Scotland have any aspirations of going deep into the tournament, they should be wiping the floor with teams like this and scoring tries by the bucketload.
Seymour may just be the man to help them do so. A hat-trick hero against Fiji in last year’s autumn Tests, the Glasgow Warriors winger now wants to put on a finishing school in the Far East.
Asked about breaking the record in a World Cup, he said: ‘I wouldn’t say I focus on it, but it would be nice. I’m not going to say I’ve never thought about it or that it’s never a target for me. Of course, it’s something you could only have dreamed of doing.
‘But, for me right now, the focus has to be in putting in training performances that put me in the right spot with the coaches and being picked for warm-up games.
‘Hopefully I’ll pass that, but the competition as everyone knows is incredibly fierce in the back three. We’re pushing each other really well and luckily there’s a great collective mindset to do that.’
One man certain to provide stiff competition for Seymour is his Glasgow club-mate Kyle Steyn.
Since joining the Warriors initially on a short-term deal in February, the versatile South African-born back became a key figure for Dave Rennie’s men in their run to the Pro14 final.
He scored two tries in ten games and earned a call-up to Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad.
There is always one bolter in a World Cup year, one player who breaks from the pack at a late juncture to make a strong case for inclusion. Although Steyn is yet to make his debut, Seymour is in no doubt that his team-mate has made a strong impression on all those around him.
‘He’s been really good,’ said the 31-year-old. ‘The last third of the season, I was playing alongside Kyle, although he was in a different position for him.
‘But he played well for Glasgow during the Six Nations when he was brought in by Dave (Rennie). That was on the wing and he put in some great performances before moving to 13.
‘Having played with him, I know what he brings. He’s talented and calm on the field, he has a good head and doesn’t get flustered. He also brings a lot to the team in defence and attack in terms of physicality and his reading of the game.
‘With Sevens experience, he’s got an engine to match. He’s trained really well, fitted in, always asking questions to get equipped with the new stuff.’
Having suffered a rib injury in Scotland’s Six Nations defeat to Wales in March, Seymour returned to action in April and was immediately back to his best.
He scored five tries in four games towards the end of the campaign — including a brace in the semi-final demolition of Ulster at Scotstoun.
Aware he now has the likes of Steyn, Blair Kinghorn and Darcy Graham breathing down his neck, as well as Sean Maitland, he is ready to rock ahead of what will be a huge couple of months.
‘I’m happy with the end of the season, with Glasgow we put in a lot of good performances and in the Six Nations,’ said Seymour.
‘I was happy to be a part of that. I felt really good, the best I’ve felt. I would never have chosen to get that injury as I did, with the rib, but that gave me time to get a few niggles and other bits and pieces fixed with my body.’