Horne sizes up his chance to revive Scotland’s hopes

George Horne must feel at home in Japan. Standing 5ft 9in tall and weighing in at 12st 9lb the wee Fifer might even be a little on the tall side in this country, but when barking out orders to the behemoths of the Scotland pack on the training ground he looks almost Lilliputian.

However, when Scotland play Samoa on Monday, Horne’s impact may turn out to be as big as that of any one of his team-mates.

At the time of writing the matchday squad had yet to be announced, but no matter whether the scrumhalf starts or is unleashed off the bench – and the former is a real possibility as coach Gregor Townsend seeks to inject positivity into the line-up – the 24-year-old Glasgow Warrior may be the perfect antidote to the lack of energy that hamstrung Scotland against Ireland.

Horne is a jack-in-the-box whose searing pace off the mark and remarkable fitness stats have endeared him to every coach who has worked with him. Warriors coach Dave Rennie once said: “George is a bit of a freak – you come across players who have endless stamina and other players who have gas to burn, but it’s a rarity that you find a player with both, as George does.”

The scrum-half ’s flubber-like bounciness, willingness to take on back rows and high number of second touches in multiphase play explain why his old Scotstoun coach Townsend will pitch him in against Samoa after Ali Price went home.

It also helps that before Finn Russell’s departure for Paris, Horne spent a season playing with the Scotland pivot, and even more that he is a prolific try-scorer who has registered three tries in just two starts for Scotland (including a brace in their big victory in Argentina) and five caps as a replacement, while scoring a try every other game for Glasgow.

“I definitely think I can bring energy to the team, that’s one of the main things in my game,” Horne said. “I’m absolutely buzzing to get a chance to play at the World Cup.”

Against Ireland, the decision to play a relentlessly expansive game yet start with Greig Laidlaw, who rarely takes on the opposition back row and whose pass is not as quick as it was, rightly attracted criticism. It has certainly been the case that Scotland have fared well when he has come on in the game to relieve a running scrum-half in Price.

It is easy to forget just how far Horne has come in a short period. At the last World Cup he was still at Edinburgh University and watching his brother Peter’s exploits on television. “It was a different atmosphere back then,” he laughs. “I was watching on from a flat in Edinburgh when Pete scored against Australia and my phone went mental. It was like I had scored, all the texts coming through.”

There are, of course, risks to playing Horne, notably that he is still raw at this level and not yet a proven tactician and game manager. He is the first to admit that he is not as vocal as Laidlaw, and that “I try not to overdo the communication”. But the game plan in Yokohama certainly did not work, and if Scotland start with Horne it will be a powerful statement of intent that they plan to play it fast and loose.

Either way, Townsend needs to signal his determination to be positive with his selections. He could hardly be more obvious than taking a risk on including Horne in the hope of harnessing the infectious enthusiasm he always brings.