Glasgow duo Kellock and Low take heart from promising personal displays

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 21:48

TWO of Glasgow's leading forwards finished last year on the fringes of the national team, but ended the 2009 Bank of Scotland Corporate Autumn Test series at the forefront of Scotland's development.

That paled slightly against the disappointment of finishing the three-match run on the losing side, but both lock Alastair Kellock, who reached 20 caps with only his second run of three consecutive Tests, and tighthead Moray Low, who took his cap total to five with his first three starts, provided hope that life without Euan Murray and 20-stone Jim Hamilton may not be as bad as first feared. Kellock was angry that the lineout success drifted with Scotland's overall play, from being excellent in the opening games to falling off at the finish as Argentina heaped pressure on.

But he did enough to ensure that he is part of the mix when Murray and Hamilton return, providing he maintains consistency back at Glasgow.

"That's the challenge now," he said, "and all the guys want to get back to the clubs and start showing we can learn from these games.

"It was a massive disappointment not to get all three wins, but we have to give credit to the Argentine defence, especially in the first half.

"They ran themselves into the ground and tackled superbly. I suppose you could say they did to us what we did to Australia the previous week. But we stretched them and created definite chances.

"We had one late on when we broke out and Chris (Cusiter] was just ahead of me - I was screaming for the pass but he didn't hear me and it didn't happen. We should have won it in the first half.

"When we went down to 14 men in the second half we maybe took our foot off the gas when we should have put it on. Just because you are down to 14 men does not necessarily mean the other team should control those ten minutes.

"But we will learn from this and the test now is to come back stronger."

Low, similarly, shifted uneasily between the disappointment of having lost, being pleased at his first starts and a clear desire to get back on to a rugby pitch and put the lessons into practice.

He said: "It's hard after that result to be positive. That was so disappointing. But as the week goes on I will be able to look back happy at the chance to start all three games, and the opportunity to learn as much as I have about international rugby.

"The wins over Fiji and Australia were great to be involved in, the Australia one in particular.

"You play the game to play at the highest level you can, to get challenged, and I was really pleased with the first game (he won man of the match], against Australia it was a bit scrappy, with free-kicks and penalties here, there and everywhere, and Argentina was the hardest, but probably the most enjoyable because there were a lot of clean scrums, real scrummaging, and it felt good out there.

"Scotland maybe hasn't been known for its scrummaging in the past, but the mindset has completely changed from going out there to hold on to actually looking to dominate every scrum in every game.

"If you just try to hold on out there, at this level, you are going to get smashed.

"For me it's about trying to make an impact on the game, and to do that you have to dominate.

"(Marcos] Ayerza was very strong, but we got a good hit on him a few times, and he came back at us, and then (Rodrigo] Roncero came on in the second half and he is someone I've grown up watching so it was great to play against him. He likes the chat, but that all helps with your experience."

Low added: "Everyone talks about experience, but you can only really get that from being out there playing and I've definitely learned a lot in these three games.

"It has been really enjoyable and given me a desire now to go back to Glasgow and work hard on my skills over the next two months, play well for Glasgow and put my hand up for the Six Nations.

"I know that I have a reputation to live up to now, a lot of expectations probably, but it's up to me to take that forward and work hard to improve."