Scots lose top centre

Press, 21 May 1987, Page 38

Scots lose top centre

The Scotland rugby team for Saturday’s World Cup match against France at Lancaster Park was named last week, but in the hustle and bustle of the Cup countdown it was not released to the media until yesterday. The coach, Derrick Grant, said yesterday that he had purposely named the team early so that the players involved would have plenty of time to prepare for the vital French game. “It is obviously a very important game for both teams, and there is a bit of extra spice through the fact that we ran France fairly close in the Five Nations. This was no mean feat in Paris,” he said.

Mr Grant has had one setback. Scott Hastings,

who is the first choice centre, pulled a leg muscle when Scotland trained in Auckland last weekend, and he will probably miss the first two games. Otherwise, Mr Grant is happy with his team’s preparation, a day trip to Oxford on Tuesday giving both an excellent training session and “a wonderful taste of New Zealand hospitality.”

Mr Grant has had the Scottish team for the last two years, and for the two years before that he was the assistant coach to Colin Telfer. He said that both from his own experience in New Zealand with the 1966 Lions and from the urgings of his Howick clubmate, Hughie McLeod, who came with

the previous Lions in 1959, he has been a great disciple of New Zealand forward play. “I consider it a great compliment when someone says that our forward play can be likened to that of the All Blacks. I just hope we can play like them on Saturday; we may need to win,” said Mr Grant.

The Scotland team to play France is: Gavin Hastings; Matt Duncan, Keith Robertson, Iwan Tukalo; Doug Wyllie, John Rutherford; Roy Laidlaw; lain Paxton; Finlay Calder, Alan Tomes, Derek White, John Jeffrey; lain Milne, Colin Deans (captain), David Sole. Reserves: Peter Dods, Alan Tait, Greig Oliver; Jeremy Campbell-Lamberton, Alex Brewster, Gary Callander.