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Saracens' bold prediction 'once Gregor sees Andy in the flesh'
If there was one social media post that surely made every rugby fan smile this past week it was that of Saracens back-rower Andy Christie posting to Twitter the wonderfully enthusiastic reactions of his family as he told them about his first-ever call-up to the Scotland squad for the upcoming Six Nations.
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The 22-year old was named by Gregor Townsend last Wednesday as one of five uncapped players in the 39-strong squad that will prepare for a championship that begins with the February 5 match in Edinburgh against England.
Townsend reasoned: “We have been aware of all of the uncapped players for a while now and recently they have all experienced a breakthrough in terms of their performances at club level.”
That was a summary wholeheartedly endorsed by Saracens boss Mark McCall when he fielded questions about new Scotland pick Christie at his weekly media briefing ahead of Sunday’s Challenge Cup game versus London Irish.
It was November 2018 when Christie debuted as a 19-year-old for Saracens, appearing as a sub in a Premiership Cup match versus Sale, but it has been in more recent times that the back-rower has really kicked on and his Scotland selection now comes on the back of ten club appearances this season, seven as a starter.
When @AndyChristie43 found out he was named to the @Scotlandteam #GuinnessSixNations squad, he recorded his family's reaction to the news.
What resulted are moments they will never forget. pic.twitter.com/mdTuuwIy2u
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) January 20, 2022
This Test squad selection of Christie for Scotland thrilled Mark McCall, the long-serving Saracens boss. “It’s absolutely brilliant news,” he enthused in a week that was bittersweet for the club regarding their England squad representation. While Maro Itoje, Jamie George and Max Malins will link up with Eddie Jones in Brighton on Monday, Owen Farrell has had to pull out with a fresh injury setback while there were no recalls for the out-of-favour Vunipola brothers and Elliot Daly.
“I know Gregor has been impressed with Andy during the course of the season,” continued McCall. “He has been at the club for a long time, come through the system but he has made real progress I guess over the last 18 months but he has really sped through in the last six months, in particular, with just a series of good performances. We are absolutely chuffed for him.
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“It just kind of reminds me that if young players get an opportunity then they can often continue to get those opportunities and Andy is one of those players who has managed to do that. He has impressed us all the last 18 months, has really matured.
“He is only 23 now but there has been a really growing up the last 18 months, a much more level in his approach to everything to be honest. He is a fantastic athlete, a very skilful player but he has added some really important things to that in terms of the consistency of his collision-winning and low error rate, that kind of thing. He deserves it and once Gregor sees him in the flesh, I wouldn’t be surprised if he accelerates quickly into their 23.
“He is just a good guy, somebody who has got his head down and works really hard. He is full of energy, as you can see from his performances,” continued McCall, who added that he wasn’t exactly sure if it was when Townsend was scouting for the Lions and watching Saracens in Championship action last April and May when Scotland first took a shine to Christie.
“I don’t know. Andy has been on the radar for a relatively short space of time but I know Gregor has been watching him closely. We have obviously got Sean Maitland here as well and Callum Hunter-Hill, so there is interest from the Scottish coaches in some of our players and Andy was probably the one that took them by surprise just how well he has done.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
I don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould'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.
24 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.
24 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 🤐
24 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….
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