Lawson optimistic about Scotland’s future
Very few people can claim to come from such fine rugby pedigree as former Scotland captain Rory Lawson. Grandson of the legendary commentator Bill McLaren, Lawson followed his father into the Scotland scrum-half jersey, representing Scotland 31 times before retiring in 2013.
One of Lawson’s career highlights came in 2009, when he led Scotland to their first win over Australia in 28 years. He also featured at two Rugby World Cups, in 2007 and 2011, and is now looking forward to seeing the game’s biggest event touch down at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester, the ground he called home for six years.
The mercurial scrum-half sat down with rugbyworldcup.com to talk about Scotland’s chances at this year’s tournament.
TURNING PERFORMANCES INTO RESULTS
The current Six Nations standings may make grim reading for Scotland fans, but despite losing three from three Lawson believes that there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
“Big performances in the Six Nations can give teams a lot of focus and remind them what they are capable of. From a Scottish perspective, we might not have won any matches yet but there have been a huge number of positives to take away. The key now is to do more of the same, but a little bit better, and turn these performances into results. We are definitely capable of beating some of the best teams in the world.
“Looking ahead to Rugby World Cup 2015, I’m expecting Scotland to head into their last two matches at St. James’ Park against South Africa and Samoa safe in the knowledge that a win in either one of these fixtures will put them through to the quarter-finals. The match against Samoa in particular will be a huge occasion. They often peak at Rugby World Cups as it’s the only time they get such a long period together. They have world-class individuals in their ranks and this match is going to represent a huge challenge for Scotland.”
AVOIDING A SLIP-UP
Lawson may be optimistic of Scotland’s chances of securing a win in Newcastle, but is by no means underestimating the threat posed by their first two opponents, Japan and the USA.
“The USA are an emerging side and Japan are the best team in Asia, and as a Scot I’m all too aware of the threat posed by the so-called smaller teams at the tournament. We were run very close by Georgia and Romania in 2011 and I hope that there aren’t any banana skins this time round. Rugby World Cups have given us plenty of cases of relative minnows of the game running the big guns close. These teams will arrive at Rugby World Cup 2015 with just as much hope and excitement as the favourites and, whether it’s Japan or the USA, these sides can’t be underestimated. That’s one of the many things that make this such an exciting tournament.”
WATCH SCOTLAND’S RUGBY WORLD CUP ARCHIVE
TIPPING ALL BLACKS FOR SUCCESS
Having played in Scotland’s 40-0 defeat to New Zealand at Rugby World Cup 2007, Lawson has first-hand experience of playing the All Blacks on the game’s grandest stage, and is tipping the reigning world champions to defend their title this year.
“In terms of who is going to lift the Webb Ellis Cup this year, I struggle to look beyond the defending champions New Zealand. They are a phenomenal force and would be my favourites to win the tournament. I certainly can’t see an outsider winning it. To my mind, England, South Africa and – assuming that they can improve their set-pieces –Australia are the other main contenders.
PUMAS CAN PROVIDE INSPIRATION
“If Scotland make it into the quarter-finals, they would be considered underdogs no matter who they play. But this is knock-out rugby and anything can happen in this sort of environment.
“If you look back at past Rugby World Cups you can see that the form and belief that a team carries comes from performances in the pool stages. It moulds the rest of your tournament. You just have to go back to Argentina in 2007 to understand that. They were a squad with an enormous amount of self-belief and confidence, beating some of the best teams in the world and finishing third. For me, Scotland should look at teams like the Argentina of 2007 as an example of what can be achieved.”
Tickets for 10 Rugby World Cup 2015 matches, including Scotland v Samoa, are on sale via the official ticketing website tickets.rugbyworldcup.com.