Scotland can wait as Johnny-come-lately focuses on derby win
With not only the 1872 Cup to play for but also a Champions Cup place
JOHNNY MATTHEWS recalls sitting in the bar at Meggetland, home of Boroughmuir rugby club, back in October 2017, when he was bemused to find himself being interviewed by a solitary rugby reporter who had noted his try scoring exploits in the essentially amateur Scottish Premiership.
The Liverpudlian had crossed the whitewash six times since joining Boroughmuir that summer, carrying on a happy scoring knack he had demonstrated playing for Sedgley Park in National League Division Two – the fourth tier of rugby in England during the previous season, when he dotted down 29 times in 26 games.
At that stage, Matthews was happy working as a rugby development officer in North Berwick and playing in a different environment. He was not looking too much further ahead than that, and certainly did not see himself usurping three full internationals to become first choice hooker at Glasgow Warriors just fourand-a-half years later.
“I remember being sat in the Meggetland clubhouse and if somebody had said to me then that I would be starting at Glasgow ahead of Fraser Brown … [it] would probably have been inconceivable, but I think that just shows the progression at Boroughmuir and then Glasgow that has put me in a position to able to take the spot,” reflects the 28-year-old, who was named the club’s player of the month in April, and who is the team’s top try-scorer for the season with 11 touchdowns.
The nature of Scottish pro rugby is such that if you are Scottish qualified – as Matthews is through his Blantyre-born mother – and playing regularly for one of the two pro teams, then you are not going to be far away from full Scotland honours.
And with Stuart McInally and Dave Cherry both facing lengthy spells out injured, while Brown is struggling with a shoulder issue, there is a possibility that Matthews will be called up for Scotland’s summer tour to Argentina.
It is a prospect the player considers only briefly, before stressing that his focus is purely on helping make sure that Warriors retain the 1872 Cup and secure qualification for next year’s Heineken Champions Cup by beating
If somebody had said I would be starting ahead of Brown it would have been inconceivable
Edinburgh at Murrayfield next Saturday evening.
“I’d be delighted if I got a Scotland call up, it would be fantastic for me, and a great achievement given where I’ve come from in the club game,” he says. “But I’ve always said my focus is wanting to get in the Glasgow team, keep my spot and see what happens from there. “On a personal note, I think this season has gone pretty well. I’ve had a good run of games through one reason or another and I think I’ve taken my chances.
“There are some really good established players in my position with Fraser Brown, George Turner and Grant Stewart – three internationals – pushing for one spot, so it does take a bit of time and the confidence of the coaches to make you realise you’ve got that ability.
“So, if I get the opportunity to go on the summer tour then that’s fantastic but my ambition at the moment is to make sure Glasgow finish in the best possible position in the league. I don’t think we’re looking at that 13-point lead we have from the first leg of the 1872 Cup. Our objective is to win the game. If we win the game we win the Scottish-Italian Shield and then that qualifies us for the Champions Cup, so from our point of view that’s the focus, not just win the 1872 Cup.
“My experience of GlasgowEdinburgh matches is it’s always feisty. There are close relationships on and off the pitch – boys are in Scotland together and stuff – so there’s always that added edge. It’s derby day, it’s at BT Murrayfield, and we’re hoping to bring quite a few supporters over to not just make it a neutral venue but hopefully make it like a home game for us.”
Matthews wore the thistle at Under-18 level and was part of the Under-20 set-up in 2012-13 before picking up a knee injury which ruled him out of that campaign. He had hoped to return to the squad but did not quite get himself in a position to do that.
“I got really unfit, if I’m being honest,” he admits.
He ended up playing English Counties Under-20s instead and then graduated to the senior English Counties side the following year – but he clearly had not slipped completely off the radar of those tasked with tracking the best Scottish qualified talent south of the border because it was Rob Brierley, his old Scottish Exiles mentor, who engineered his move to Boroughmuir.
“My mum’s side would be buzzing if I got a call-up, in fact both sides would be pretty happy – Liverpool’s not really a rugby city, so as long as I’m not playing for the Reds the family would be happy!” concludes the Everton fan.