Lawson warns of USA threat in Churchill Cup

Published on Tuesday 22 May 2007 12:02

CAPTAIN Rory Lawson will draw on the experience of a summer rugby stint in the Long Island area of New York to warn his Scotland A colleagues of the inherent dangers in tomorrow's opening Churchill Cup rugby clash with the USA at Henley.

The Scots will be looking to go one better than last year, when they reached the Churchill Cup final in Canada only to lose to New Zealand Maori.

But first they have to negotiate what ex-Edinburgh scrum-half Lawson views as an awkward hurdle against rivals for whom the only way is up in every sense.

Lawson said: "Forget the fact that the USA lost 3-51 to English Saxons in the opening match of the tournament last Friday because that can only make them better for having a game under their belt whereas we go in cold."

But, looking further ahead, Lawson insists that, with a potentially-massive player base at their disposal, it is a question of when, rather than if, the USA make a major push up the oval ball ranks.

Lawson added: "Spending a summer ostensibly playing seven-a-sides in Long Island during the long university holidays of my student days was a real eye-opener.

"The chat then was about the 64,000 Americans who set their sights each year on aspiring to gridiron's NFL only for the vast majority to end up disappointed.

"Increasingly these talented athletes are being made aware that rugby offers the same type of physicality.

"Setting that recruitment programme alongside the fact that North America now has a national competition, albeit based on a regional set-up also involving Canada, makes you realise there is a lot of development going on.

"So, there is every reason to tread cautiously against opponents who are bound to come out angry after their defeat by England and keen to bounce back.

"The task for us is to withstand what will be a mighty effort by the USA to ensure they are not dominated up front a second time as that was the platform set by England's forwards to allow the rest of their team to play."

On a personal level it will be the second successive season that Lawson has skippered the shadow squad, although, in every other respect, time has moved on rather than stood still for him.

Compared to when he was uncapped a year ago Lawson has now graced the Test arena six times.

So if his team-mates are looking for inspiration then Lawson's own ascent from Churchill Cup to Six Nations will do nicely.

Indeed, Lawson has come so far that he could reasonably be said to have been called upon by default tomorrow. He was the player national coach Frank Hadden turned to when Mark McMillan was required to rest after seeing service with London Wasps in Sunday's Heineken European Cup Final.

Once the USA match is over he will leave the squad to return to Gloucester.

Then Lawson's priority will be conditioning work geared to ensuring he is in prime shape to challenge the two other No.9s capped by Scotland last season, Chris Cusiter and Mike Blair, for a World Cup berth.

Meantime, though, his leadership abilities and all round qualities make him the ideal stand-in at the end of a halcyon season.

That season is drawing to an end but it is still the start of something big as far as Lawson is concerned.

He said: "Yes, it has to go down as my best season." Then, after a hint of a pause, he added: "So far."

Such dramatics, which might be interpreted as throwing down a gauntlet to his rivals, are easily justified. When he left Edinburgh a year ago to escape the shadow of Blair and try his luck at Gloucester the man who captained Heriot's to a Scottish Cup win in 2003 showed he knows how to maximise an opportunity.

"One of the things that has made this season so memorable is that for the first time in my pro career I can say I've had enough games as opposed to bits and pieces stuff.

"As a consequence I'll soon be able to enjoy the unique experience of sitting down and benchmarking how far I've come and where I want to go.

"I view myself as a work in progress and gearing up to those two pre-World Cup tests against Ireland and South Africa at Murrayfield in August is obviously important.

"But first comes the Churchill Cup which, as well as offering a guaranteed three games, also provides opportunity for all, as I hope I've shown."