Scotland have an additional cutting edge and will be able to call upon extra overall firepower following the introduction of a Blade and two Sams to the squad’s weaponry as the process of building up a stockpile of armaments capable of making a global impact at next year’s Rugby World Cup continues.
There were varying levels of expectation associated with the trio of uncapped players named yesterday and head coach Gregor Townsend is clearly hoping Blade Thomson and Sams Johnson and Skinner will live up to their lethal-sounding surnames as he included them in a 40-man squad for the forthcoming autumn Test series.
In the case of Glasgow Warriors’ 25-year-old Australian-born centre Sam Johnson it has been clear that it has been only a matter of time until he completed his residency qualification and was introduced to the national squad, while fellow antipodean Blade Thomson’s Scottish eligibility has been known about since the 28-year-old arrived at the Scarlets from New Zealand at the beginning of this season. However, while there had been some speculation that his clubmate Ollie Atkins, the former Edinburgh lock, might receive a call up, the inclusion instead of 23-year-old English-born Sam Skinner, who like Thomson can play both second and back row, was very much a surprise.
“They are excellent players and that is first and foremost why we brought them in,” said Townsend.
“We believe the rugby they're playing now and that we believe they can bring to international level will help us be a better team.
“Blade is probably the most established from the three, given he's a bit older and has played Super Rugby for the last three seasons.
“We've known about him and his Scottish qualification for a few years. I was even interested in signing him for Glasgow before he missed a couple of years through injury.
“So it's great to see him fit and playing number eight for the Hurricanes and playing very well for the Scarlets.
“Sam Johnson is a player I know well having signed him for Glasgow three-and-a-half years ago. Each season he's got better and better and won the players' player of the season award last year, so that shows you how well he's performed.”
The coach meanwhile once again demonstrated his penchant for springing surprises in explaining the timing of Skinner’s selection.
“Sam Skinner, who I'm sure everyone knew about and you've not been frantically googling him, is a big bonus for us as he's an excellent player with a big future ahead of him,” he said.
“I spoke to him prior to the summer tour. We'd known about his Scottish qualification for a number of years as he was involved in the Exiles programme as a youngster, but it was a message from someone who was speaking to his dad to say that nothing would make his dad more proud than Sam playing for Scotland (that alerted us), so we've been tracking him really closely. We'd have liked to have taken him on tour but Sam didn't think it was the right time.
“He wanted to start the season and earn his place and he's done that. He's an excellent player. Line-out leader for one of the best packs in Europe, his decision-making is excellent and really good running lines so we're delighted he's committed to Scotland.”
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