Pleasant banter from friends in his adopted home will not distract Scots captain Barclay
THE good-natured Six Nations banter began the minute Scotland captain John Barclay returned to his home in Wales after the November Tests. ‘Well done John in beating Australia, but we are going to smash you in the Six Nations,’ was some of the chat as he walked to his local coffee shop in the picturesque seaside resort of Mumbles the day he returned home.
The wind-ups have been ongoing ever since. Being the only Scotland international in that part of rugbymad Wales was never going to be relaxing with the Cardiff clash approaching. Barclay doesn’t mind. The Scotland captain loves Wales and its people.
The beautiful place on the Gower Peninsula, where Welsh actress Catherine-Zeta Jones and husband Michael Douglas have a house overlooking the Mumbles Lighthouse on scenic Bracelet Bay, has been home for the Barclay family for the last five years.
Two of his three kids were born in Wales and eldest son Finn goes to a Welsh-language school. He will leave the idyllic setting in the summer with a heavy heart when he joins Edinburgh from the Scarlets.
From now until then he will enjoy his last few months in Wales, although his love affair with the country and its people will be put on hold for the Six Nations opener next weekend.
Everywhere he goes in the area he calls home the match between Scotland and Wales is brought up. His Welsh friends wish him well, but not too well in the fixture. The postman and coffee shop owner, too. They’d like him to captain Scotland well but come back to Mumbles on the losing side.
‘The build-up to the Wales game started as soon as I arrived back in Mumbles after the autumn Tests,’ said 66-time capped Barclay.
‘Wales and rugby just go hand in hand and they have been looking forward to the game for ages .
‘I live in quite a small place, and if I go down for a coffee, I get spoken to about rugby every single time.
‘Ever since the autumn, people have been saying, ‘big game in the Principality first up’. They’re saying nice things like how we had a good autumn Test series.
‘But I also know how passionate the Welsh are and how driven they are to be successful and how they want to beat us.’
Barclay has a lot to thank Wales for in terms of kick-starting his career and the fans of the Scarlets have a lot to thank him for after his special contribution to the club.
It is fair to say it was unclear what the future held for the back-row forward when he was allowed to leave Glasgow Warriors six years ago. The Scarlets made him the best offer and off to Wales he went.
Being out of sight turned out to be out of mind to begin with in terms of Scotland. Interim head coach Scott Johnson and Vern Cotter didn’t pick him.
It got to the stage, though, that Cotter could not ignore him and Barclay found a way back into the squad after some outstanding performances at club level.
The highlight of that was being Scarlets captain when they won the Pro12 play-off title last season.
‘This is my fifth year in Wales and I’ve loved it,’ said the Scotland captain. ‘I’ll leave with really fond memories. Not just winning the league but the friendships and how I was settled into the club. The whole place has been fantastic.
‘We’re having a good year with Scarlets. We’re sitting in a nice place in the league and for the first time in my career I’ve made the knock-outs of the Champions Cup.
‘I’ve loved it, but I’m equally excited about coming home to Edinburgh. Just now, though, my main focus is the Wales game.’
Barclay can expect to face up to nine of his Scarlets team-mates who could start against Scotland.
Part of that is down to the great season the Llanelli side are having, the other is many key Welsh players are injured.
‘I don’t know how many will play on Saturday, but I’d be surprised if there wasn’t quite a number,’ said the 31-year-old. ‘It will be a big challenge for us; the Principality is one of the toughest places to play and the atmosphere is great.
‘It would be fantastic to go down there, silence the crowd and start the Six Nations with a win — but it is going to be tough.’