I WANTED TO QUIT AFTER WORLD CUP
My time out injured was a wake-up call
scotland prop WP nel is preparing for six nations action against France this weekend after revealing he nearly quit international rugby in the wake of the World cup in Japan. at the age of 33, after a catalogue of injury-hit years, he seriously thought about following Greig laidlaw, John Barclay and tommy seymour into retirement from Gregor townsend’s set-up. that all changed, however, after a period of reflection upon returning to his Edinburgh home. ‘a lot of things went through my mind after the World cup,’ said nel. ‘a lot of guys stepped down and ended their careers and, in the back of my mind, there was that thought from me too. ‘Even when I went back and pulled my calf in the off-season with Edinburgh, I was thinking: “Is it time?”. ‘as it happened, my time out injured turned into a bit of a wake-up call for me more than anything. I realised I still wanted to do it, I still wanted to improve and I still wanted to be pushing for that scotland jersey. ‘When that desire is gone, then I will know that is my time to quit but, at the moment, it is still there.’ Zander Fagerson is favourite to start against France with nel making an impact from the bench. Both will be asked at different times to lock in the scotland scrum under extreme pressure. there may be a nine-year age difference between the two but nel believes the younger man is a top-class international player who can take anything the French front row throws at him. ‘Zander is a young boy and a great player and it is great that he has stepped up and played well. I will be behind him and he knows I am there,’ said nel. ‘obviously, there is great competition for the jersey, so he has taken his opportunity and is doing well, which is great for scotland. ‘If he can build on that, I can help him get even better. ‘From my point of view, it has always been about improving my play in that position. ‘I’m at that stage that if I can start, or even be on the bench against France, or just be there in camp, I can help improve that no3 position for scotland. ‘If I can still be competitive, I will be giving the others that nudge to make sure they are on top of their game because I will be there waiting for my chance.’ nel is delighted the match looks likely to go ahead despite concerns over the spread of coronavirus. confidence is high in the scotland camp following their 17-0 win over Italy in Rome and the south african-born star also believes the defeats to Ireland in dublin and the loss to England in atrocious conditions at Bt Murrayfield were simply games that ‘got away from us’. ‘We were preparing as if the game was going on,’ he said. ‘nothing changes at all for us. ‘We just needed to stay focused on what we want to do on sunday, so we couldn’t get sidetracked by things we don’t have any control of. ‘that first win over Italy was very important for us and we can use it as a stepping stone in the rest of the tournament. ‘It wasn’t perfect in Rome but we can take a little bit of confidence now that we’ve got the win. to get back-to-back
wins against France and Wales will be great for us. Our first two games against Ireland and England got away from us. ‘The first one in Dublin, we definitely could have won. Although we lost both, confidence is still there. No heads are down. ‘The boys know we are close. The group is working hard to get another win and get that perfect game on the field. ‘At this moment, it is about focusing on our job and taking that confidence forward into our next game.’
The French side that have won their first three games have been praised for the exciting brand of rugby they play, with their half-back partnership of fly-half Romain Ntamack and scrum-half Antoine Dupont among the stars of the tournament. Their unsung heroes have been the front row of Cyril Baille, Julian Marchand and Mohamed Haouas. Those three have started all of France’s first three Six Nations wins and will keep their places against Scotland. ‘France are a big pack and they’re almost back to what the French team was back in their best days, which was a powerful team,’ stated Nel. ‘‘Their driving maul and scrum is really strong. ‘That is something we will have to be on top of and all their loose forwards are good ball-carriers. ‘In the back-line, we know they have French flair. ‘They are almost a complete team at this moment but there are places we can take them on.’