November 26, 2006

Mystery over missing lock

Posted by Editor on November 26, 2006 11:38 AM | No comments | Print | E-mail author

Alastair Kellock replaced Nathan Hines in Scotland's starting line-up
Glasgow's Alastair Kellock says he knew on Friday he would be involved in yesterday’s Test against Australia, even though his selection was not made public until four hours before the game.

Al had initially been selected on the bench, but was called up to the starting XV when lock forward Nathan Hines was ruled out of contention, following the imposition of a 20-day suspension for violent conduct. The SRU will now conduct a full inquiry into the episode, while denying reports that Perpignan, the French club who pay Hines's wages, had effectively sabotaged the player's chances by accepting a ban in his absence. Al, however, insisted the episode had not affected his or the team's performance during yesterday's 44-15 defeat.

"I'm just delighted that I got the call, because I found out on Friday that I would be playing and while it was unfortunate for Nathan, you just have to go out there and do your best," said the Glasgow skipper in The Times. "We've worked out the lineout with the other Scotland squad members during the last fortnight, so I don't think anything which has happened this week impinged on us. I would always prefer playing to sitting on the bench, and it was a really tough battle, but I just got on with it."

Al admitted that he was mystified by the decisions Donal Courtney, the referee, who repeatedly penalised the Scots for allegedly collapsing the scrum in the first half. "To be honest, we felt we were on top in that area, and I suppose the ref had a tough call, but certainly I think we had seized the initiative in the early stages and they still got a lot of decisions in their favour."

Al admitted that the match had demonstrated the gulf which exists between the sides. "They had some world-class individuals out there and while some people might think a mere 30 point defeat wasn't an accurate reflection of the scoreline, that is how the scoreline will look in the papers," he added. "We have to be more ruthless, we have to make our tackles count and we know there is a big challenge ahead of us in the build up to the World Cup."

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