The pressure and privilege of playing at the highest level

Rugby blogger

Thursday 9 February 2012

This blog has become a welcome bit of mental stimulation for me and I hope you’re all enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it.

In this busy time the neglect I have given to my university course has left me with little else to keep my under-active mind ticking over so it always provides a bit of fun putting some of my experiences on to paper - or at least to digital record.

I’d had a good start to the season but generally I feel coaches are inclined to make selection decisions on fresh memories and taking current form into account is very important. I thought I was in contention for a place in the Scotland team but I knew the weight of the competition I was against, not to mention the importance of the last month of Edinburgh Rugby games to our season. It’s the same game that I’ve been playing since I was a fresh-faced boy challenging my dad to daily 1v1 touch rugby “world cups” in our back garden. Admittedly my face is no more rugged 15 years later and the challenge remained the same! After triple-checking my bag and double-checking my iphone playlist it was onto the bus and off to Murrayfield. People lined the road as we approached the stadium and queues grew by the second as Scottish supporters stacked up the pints before making their way in the Stadium for the massive pre-match build up and the beginning of the famous game – the oldest international fixtures in history no less. It’s cliché but it must be said that the highlight for me was running out of the tunnel before the anthems: fire, lights and a thunderous roar from the home support made for an unbelievable experience. It’s an experience that very few people will be lucky enough to have and I for one am thankful for it. I hope there are many more winning than losing feelings in the rest of my Scotland career, which continues against Wales this Sunday – in another huge stadium, with another huge atmosphere.

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The pressure and privilege of playing at the highest level

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