TALKING ABOUT MY GENERATION
Hastings insists magnificent seven colts from his age grade can make a big difference at World Cup
The standing of the current Scotland Under-20 team may be at an all-time low, but Adam Hastings believes his age-grade generation can help the full side do well at the World Cup in Japan. There are seven members of Gregor Townsend’s World Cup training squad — Hastings, Scott Cummings, Jamie Ritchie, Zander Fagerson, Darcy Graham, Blair Kinghorn and the uncapped Rory Hutchison — who played in the same Scotland Under-20 team that was relatively successful compared to the present one.
A humiliating 59-34 defeat by Fiji in the World Cup relegation play-off yesterday meant the current Scotland Under-20 team drop out of the group of elite nations that will play in the tournament next year. Instead they will drop down into the second-tier World Trophy, which is a competition set up for lesser nations.
That was not the case when Hastings played at that level two years ago, with his team beating Australia and Italy in the 2016 Under-20 World Cup before finishing sixth in the competition.
Seven of that team have gone on to make the current World Cup squad and the camaraderie and friendship forged back then has helped all of them settle into the training camp for Japan, which Hastings believes is massively important.
‘From the Under-20s, you can look at all these players who have kicked on and done so well with Scotland,’ said Hastings (below).
‘Rory Hutchison has joined us and he was also part of that agegrade group. We were chatting about old times and how it is special, how we have all come this far and all have the chance to go to Japan.
‘There is me, Rory, Blair, Zander, Scott, Darcy, Jamie Ritchie. We have played and trained together before and that does help. ‘We were completely different players back then at Under20 level but it does help ahead of the World Cup in terms of the camaraderie and wanting
to work for each other more. It brings all that out.’ Hastings, who will go to the World Cup as understudy to Finn Russell, knows more about the potential of Hutchison — the only uncapped player among the seven — than others in the squad. They both came through the Scotland age-grade system and played in England at the same time.
Although Hastings can look out his passport for Japan already, Hutchison has a tougher task to make the plane.
While he was in great form for Northampton Saints at the end of last season, he has Nick Grigg, Chris Harris, Peter Horne, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Kyle Steyn and Duncan Taylor all trying to be one of the four centres who will go to the World Cup.
‘Rory is a good lad and we are all very fond of him,’ said Hastings. ‘He is a special player, who was really unlucky with injuries. This season he picked up an injury at the start of the season but you just have to look at how he has come back since. It is good to see and I am happy for his deserved call-up.
‘We were talking about how far we had come as we both remember sitting on the bench — him for Northampton, me for Bath — when we both played in England and neither of us got on the pitch.
‘We were chatting about that at the Scotland World Cup training camp in Inverness. We know it can all change in a year for you — and it has done for me and him. It can also change the other way and you can fall off. Staying grounded is vital.’
Hastings is already dreaming of playing in the World Cup and although he is taking nothing for granted, he cannot stop thinking about taking the field in Japan.
‘It is still far away but we are looking towards it,’ said the Scotland fly-half. ‘Everyone would be telling lies if they said they were not thinking about selection. Everybody will be thinking they will want to get on that plane to Japan. It is just about getting stuck into training and, hopefully, that will help lead to selection as well.
‘As a young boy, I wanted to play for my country. I have done that a few times now and playing in the World Cup has been a goal of mine these last couple of years. Fingers crossed, I get the chance to go.
‘I went to Newcastle for Scotland versus South Africa, and Japan versus Scotland in Gloucester in the World Cup in 2015. That’s the cool thing about rugby. I watched the last one. Now I have a chance of going to the next one and I would much prefer to play in this one.’