Outgoing Scotland under-20 head coach, John Dalziel, could not have ended his tenure in a better way than see his charges finish the Georgia-staged World Rugby junior championship in a highest ever fifth position.
One of a new breed of highly rated home-grown coaches, Dalziel, who held the reins at London Scottish for part of last season, will now move on to take charge of the Scotland Sevens squad, succeeding fellow Melrose man Callum MacRae.
Reflecting on what was an unexpectedly high finish for the young Scots, Dalziel said: “We had a couple of really good warm-up games before we went out to Georgia.
“I think at that point they really came out of their shells. I’m very proud of what this group has achieved. They had their critics early doors but they have progressed over the season.” added Dalziel.
Once glance at the young Scots’ results in the Six Nations under-20 Championship in February and March underlines this remarkable improvement, the Scots losing all but one of their matches to finish second bottom.
Significantly Scotland lost at home to both Ireland and Wales in the Six Nations under-20. But in Georgia the Scots reversed these results with deserved wins against their Celtic cousins.
Dalziel believes that his side’s ability to front up against the outstanding tournament champions, New Zealand, was key to their overall success. “We had a good start against New Zealand and the boys fed off that. We got momentum from that game and improved throughout.” he suggested.
Scotland needed their big names to perform and in the event they did. But it was the lesser known team members, unsung heroes like second row Alex Craig from Dumfries, flanker Luke Crosbie and inside centre Stafford McDowall, who made the difference to a team effort that deservedly earned its place Scottish rugby history.
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