International comeback on the cards for Bradbury
Magnus Bradbury could make a return to international rugby this weekend following a dynamic display against the Dragons for Edinburgh Rugby last Friday night.
The 23-year-old from Oban returned to action, following a four-month stint on the sidelines, with a man-of-the-match performance which included a try, great carrying and several crunching tackles during the Guinness Pro14 clash at Murrayfield.
Magnus injured his shoulder in October’s Heineken Champions Cup victory over RC Toulon, but there seemed to be no ill effects last weekend as he added serious firepower to Edinburgh’s back-row, helping the capital side to a 34-17 victory over the Welsh outfit.
His 63-minute try proved pivotal in the game but, having spent the last four months in the gym, he admitted it took him a while to get his game head on again.
Speaking to The Oban Times on Monday night Magnus said: ‘It was great to be back. It took me 20 to 30 minutes to get going but then everything just clicked into place.’
As well as working on his recovery from a shoulder operation, Bradbury has been working on his strength and conditioning and having gained 3kg during this time has some added power to his play.
‘It felt real good to be out there playing again and I felt fitter and stronger than I ever have,’ he added.
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was in the crowd watching the game which gave every indication that stepping back into the international squad this weekend would not be an unreasonable challenge for Magnus. After the match, the former Oban Lorne RFC forward received a call from Townsend inviting him to train with the Scotland squad this week.
Scotland travel to the Stade de France this weekend for the third round of the 2019 Six Nations Championship where the hosts will have an axe to grind having been humbled 44-8 by England at Twickenham last time out.
The Scots themselves have something to prove, however, having been similarly underwhelmed when losing 13-22 to Ireland the same weekend.
Bradbury was reluctant to get drawn into a conversation about the possibility of inclusion in the travelling squad, but considering the raft of back-row players who have been ruled out of the Six Nations Campaign through injury in recent weeks a call-up may just be around the corner.
‘It would be a dream come true if I were selected to play for Scotland this weekend, but I’m not getting ahead of myself,’ he said. ‘My main focus at the moment is playing well for Edinburgh. We’re in a play-off position in the league and have the semi-finals of the Champions Cup so there is plenty exciting rugby coming up.’ Friday night's victory lifted Edinburgh up to second place on the Guinness Pro14 Conference B table, 22 points behind runaway leaders Leinster after 15 games.
Bradbury earned his first full cap at international level in November 2016 when he played a part in Scotland’s 19-16 victory over Argentina. He has made another three appearances in the 1st XV since then, his last in June last year.