Two men who played for Scotland during what now looks an almost unimaginably successful period could not have been more generous when comparing themselves and their teams with the current squad.

In particular David Sole, the 1990 Grand Slam captain, paid some of the modern players huge compliments when suggesting Jonny Gray is a future British & Irish Lion or that the John Barclay/John Hardie flanker combination were worthy of mention in the same breath as the Finlay Calder/John Jeffrey partnership.

David Sole well supported as a leader

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He rates Peter Horne as ‘exceptional’, mentioned Tommy Seymour in despatches and was effusive about Stuart Hogg but also spoke about friendships made for life with the fellow leaders who surrounded him in his day, the aforementioned Fin and JJ, Gary Armstrong, who would lead Scotland to their last championship win in 1999, Gavin Hastings, who succeeded him as captain, Sean Lineen, the imported creative genius in midfield, all of which invited some interesting comparisons.

The game may have changed, but it is tempting to wonder which of the following Sole and his Grand Slam colleagues would prefer to have alongside them when the chips were down:

Big Gav or Hoggy, the classic Scottish rugby choice between the establishment favourite with the private school background and the cheeky chappie from the Borders?

Establishment figure Gavin Hastings forming part of the Queen's baton relay 

The Herald:

Brilliantly brazen borderer Stuart Hogg

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Lineen, the son of All Black royalty, or Horne, the youngster he brought into the professional game?

All Black royalty Terry Lineen (right) with son Sean who became a great Scotland play-maker 

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Peter Horne, one of the many bright youngs things whose talent was identified by the younger Lineen

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Jedburgh’s finest Gary Armstrong - whom HeraldSport selected as Scotland’s greatest ever player - or record breaking captain and points machine Greig Laidlaw, nephew of Gary’s mentor Roy?

Gary Armstrong: Scotland's greatest ever player

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Greig Laidlaw, maintaining grand Jed-Forest traditions as a record breaking captain and points machine

The Herald:

Which shade of Gray in the boiler-house, the current all Gray variety of Jonny and Richie or the Cronin/Gray version with Damian ‘Del Boy’ Cronin and Chris Gray combination of 1990?

Gray days of yore - Chris Gray (far right) during the 1990 Grand Slam decider

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Gray brothers Richie (left) and Jonny

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What would be deadlier at the breakdown and in the loose, the last ‘Killer B’ John Barclay, teamed up with a vast array of imports – John Hardie, Josh Strauss, Dave Denton and Blair Cowan – or the ‘White Fin Shark’ combination of Derek White combined with Lions skipper Calder and ‘the Shark’ Jeffrey?

Shark attack - John Jeffrey eyes up a tasty morsel with fellow scavenger Derek White also set to tuck in

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'Killer B' John Barclay soars above the oppositionThe Herald:

Sole noted, too, that some Scots considered all-time British greats, the likes of Gordon Brown, Andy Irvine, Jim Renwick and Ian McLauchlan, played immediately ahead of the era which brought Grand Slams and the 1999 championship win, but never came together effectively enough to claim a title, other than in 1973 when there was a bizarre five way share.

Only time will tell whether the current group has what it takes to contend for honours, which leads onto another element of the conversation with Sole and his agreement that it is not just our age which means that whereas the players of his day seemed mature figures, current players appear to require much more in the way of instruction from coaches and PR support.

“I think that is a product of the professional game,” said the partner in the business School for CEOs.

“We all had jobs in life and were exposed to the external world and rugby was just what we did at the weekend, whether it was playing for Scotland or for Bath or for Edinburgh Accies.

“You had a breadth of perspective which is different from the guys now. Because you were making decisions on a day to day basis you took those processes onto the field of play. We had two minutes to have an orange at half-time too and it was just down to whoever’s turn was to arrange things, just a transference of what you did day-in, day-out.”

His message reminded me of the early playing days of the man who had - as outlined here last week - invited me to the ‘Celts: art and identity’ exhibition to see what he gets up to these days.

Stewart Campbell, is now a film-maker but was a gutsy lock forward 20 years ago who played in Scotland teams that contested Grand Slam deciders in each of 1995 and 1996.

Campbell reckons Richie Gray, who has agreed a huge deal to join Toulouse, is a far better player than he was and in terms of pace and power that may be so, but the job of a front five forward in any era is largely just about doing what is required for the team.

My most vivid individual memory of Campbell’s playing days is, aptly then, of a match in France in Dijon in 1993 when he lined up for Scotland under-21 against France and his opposite number was the almost onomatopoeically named Olivier Brouzet. Fluffy blonde hair wrapped in white, ear-protecting binding Campbell looked, in relative terms, like a lamb and Scotland were duly slaughtered.

Yet two years later in the Parc des Princes, when the two confronted one another on French soil once again, Campbell was on the winning side as Scotland ended a 26 year wait for a win in Paris.

That memory invites further questions: did they grow up quicker in those days and if so how come?