I HAVE no regrets playing for Scotland, it was the time of my life.
Scoring two tries in my first start against Australia in the 2017 November Internationals will always be the highlight of my playing career. I messaged Gregor Townsend when I announced my retirement to thank him for the opportunity he gave me by signing me for Glasgow and then picking me for Scotland, which he didn’t have to do. I owe it all to him.
I’d won my first cap off the bench the week before the Australia game against All Blacks and was named as a replacement again. But then Stuart Hogg got injured in the warm-up and I was drafted in at the eleventh hour on the wing and Sean Maitland was moved to full-back. I can remember pretty much everything about it, from the anthems to the final whistle.
Understandably I had a few nerves but I ran over Will Genia not once but twice with my first two touches and I could hear the crowd lift and that gave me a lot of confidence. I managed to score quite early on and then the game opened up after that when they had Sekope Kepu sent off and I got lots of involvements and I scored again. It was a record win for Scotland in the fixture (53-24) and my family was there, so it was a really special moment.
This story is from the May 28, 2023 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the May 28, 2023 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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