'It was good to start in my normal position given I won my first cap on to the wing and I was thrown into the back-row'
Scott Steele admits he is on cloud nine after getting the chance to impress at last for Scotland in his favoured scrum-half slot.
The Harlequins ace made his first start for Scotland as Gregor Townsend’s team ran up a record-breaking 52-10 triumph over Italy.
It was a day to remember for the 27-year-old as he capped off a superb display with his maiden Test try in a game that saw the Dark Blues record their biggest ever win in the Five or Six Nations.
But Steele was just relieved Townsend finally gave him the opportunity to show his full capabilities as a half-back having been chucked on as an emergency forward against Ireland last week.
His international debut against Wales last October also saw him shunted to the wing as a string of injuries forced the Scots into a hasty reshuffle.
But Steele has now emerged as a real threat to Ali Price’s status as Townsend’s first-choice nine after setting the rapid pace which helped cut the Azzurri to shreds at Murrayfield.
“It was just good to know I would be starting in my normal position given I won my first cap coming on to the wing then last week I was thrown into the back-row,” he said.
'I used to go in to training every Monday and make sure no-one was looking at the scales when I was weighing in'
It took getting dumped by London Irish and 11kg for @Harlequins 9 @ScottSteele247 to start realising his potential, writes @JLyall93 ??? https://t.co/Bb1h1O4P0g
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 17, 2021
“It was exciting to know I would be getting a proper crack at nine.
“It was a bit less nerve-wracking playing in my usual position rather than coming on in the back row and not really having a clue what was going on.
“And the game was great. To score eight tries was good for everyone and shows we played some good stuff out there.
“There are still a lot of things we can fix up but personally for me to get a try and a first start was amazing.”
Steele is not the only one who has been forced to adapt to new surroundings.
Captain Stuart Hogg was shunted forward from full-back to take over the injured Finn Russell’s number 10 jersey and Steele admits he had to talk his 84-cap skipper through the game just as much as Hogg had to dish out advice on how to cope with debut nerves.
Gratuitous. #SCOvITA
Credit: @SixNationsRugby pic.twitter.com/mz8QK09CQe
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 20, 2021
“Hoggy and I had a lot of good conversations through the week,” he said. “Finn was able to help us both out a lot too even though he wasn’t up for selection.
It was exciting to know I would be getting a proper crack at nine
“There’s a lot of experienced guys in the back line too with the likes of Sean Maitland.
“So we just made sure we all caught up after training to look at stuff and ensure we were all on the same page because it was his first game at 10 and my first game at nine with the team. I think it went well.”
Saturday’s win was a much-needed shot in the arm after back-to-back defeats against Wales and Ireland.
And Scotland now plan to use that morale-booster to fire up their bid to kill off Championship-chasing France’s title hopes.
Too easy for the men in white on the day! pic.twitter.com/es6gxMab3p
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 20, 2021
“I think it will help the confidence levels,” said the Dumfries-born ace. “I think there are still things we can improve on.
“We gave away a couple of penalties around the half-way line which were probably unnecessary and one or two bits in our attack we didn’t quite get right.
“But to score as many points as we did will lift our confidence.
“We’re still searching for that 80-minute performance so we’ll go away this week and work on that.
“But there is definitely a better feeling in the camp after Saturday’s win.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Should've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to comments