FOR those that fear that the Scotland rugby team have entered a never-ending cycle of development with little taste of success, or at least are happy with it, should think again, according to the youngest member of the current squad.
The back row has changed for every autumn Test and 22-year-old John Barclay is the only ever-present. He is not a particularly voluble character, but he does tend to make a lot of sense when he speaks, and he is certainly not happy with narrow defeat
s to the world's leading nations.
The openside flanker said after his club Glasgow lost to Toulouse narrowly in this season's Heineken Cup that talk of plucky losers was "patronising". Did he feel the same after the 14-10 defeat to South Africa, we wondered.
"Yeah," he said, sternly. "After losing sometimes as a nation or as pro teams we sell ourselves short, especially in the pro era. People will forget we ran these teams close and look back and maybe think South Africa played poorly.
"I was angry and frustrated on Saturday night. I know we were not really patronised, but that is what it feels like. People say 'you guys did so well' – my granny phoned and said we played so well – and it's nice that people are encouraged, but we still lost.
"We have played well in the last few games, but have nothing to show for it, and for Scotland to be taken seriously in terms of world rugby, Six Nations and at pro team level we have to win these games; not win one-off games, but do it regularly."
He admitted, however, that he had taken some positives from being
involved in such a close match that he hoped would make him a better player in the future.
"Playing so well against South Africa does give you confidence and if you can get a few wins under your belt it can have a snowball affect, and other teams take you more seriously.
"It is great we ran the world champions so close, but Scottish people want to see us win these games and so do we."
The full article contains 370 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
