Scotland ace Allan Jacobsen takes pride in rise of fellow prop Kyle Traynor

Published on Thursday 19 November 2009 09:14

TEAM PLAYER Allan Jacobsen has told of his pride at seeing an Edinburgh Rugby colleague emerge as a contender for his Scotland starting role.

Kyle Traynor (left) and Allan Jacobsen

It was a long, long way from "The king is dead, long live the king" when Kyle Traynor took over at loose head prop from Jacobsen during the second half of Scotland's opening Autumn Test win over Fiji last weekend.

And, at the age of 31, the man they call "Chunk" surely has plenty of fields left to conquer.

Nevertheless, as Australia advance on Murrayfield this Saturday to confront an unchanged Scotland squad, the unselfish Jacobsen was keen to express satisfaction that the talent conveyor belt appears to be in good order.

He has undoubtedly played a part in cultivating the next generation – a case of the national cause being bigger than individual rivalries – and he can still recall the emotions experienced by Traynor.

It was in 2002 that Jacobsen got the nod to step off the bench for a debut Scotland cap in the unlikely surroundings of Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, as Scotland tackled Canada in a tour Test.

Jacobsen said: "It was when Matty Stewart stepped off the pitch and I took his place that I got a first Scotland appearance. I've been in Kyle's shoes and it is a great feeling.

"Having someone new come on the scene is part of the game. Although we are challenging for the same jersey, I'm proud of Kyle coming through to become Edinburgh's newest internationalist."

In his first interview, with the Evening News, since being capped Traynor, 23, paid tribute to the help and support he had received from Jacobsen.

And Jacobsen clearly takes satisfaction from the fact that the tips passed on to the young pretender have proved useful and not fallen on deaf ears.

Chunk, capped 38 times, will hand over the baton when the time comes but he is still very much on top of his game – as his performance against Fiji showed. And, with the front row one area where tactical substitutions are essential, it is a feather in the Edinburgh Rugby cap that the two best loose head props are from the Capital.

Their contribution in a specialist area is set to be tested still further by twice world champions Australia, although Jacobsen insists there is much more to come from Scotland.

He said: "It wasn't by any means a case of perfect scrummaging against Fiji and there's a couple of things we have to work on. Having said that, it is always good to come up from a scrum and see one of the boys flying across the gain-line, which is what happened when we scored our second try.

"Australia will be tougher in the set-pieces but we have got to have confidence in ourselves. Scotland have a good team just now with good individuals. It's a matter of just going out and playing as we know we can.

"Compared with Fiji much more is known about this opposition and to an extent we have to be careful not to over analysis.

"But I think that is unlikely because this is an Australian party who, in making their first trip to Scotland for three years, are quite new in several positions."

Indeed, based on the Wallaby team which started against Ireland last Sunday – they name their side for Murrayfield later today – there could be only four survivors from that previous visit and Jacobsen, capped against them at Hampden Park in 2004 and Murrayfield two years later, added: "There is plenty to be learned about the Australians although mostly we'll be concentrating on what we have to do."

From the Australian camp have come mutterings that their line-out is not up to scratch but Jacobsen is wary.

He said: "I'm sure that, if the Wallabies say their line-out needs improving, that is something they are currently working hard on.

"From our point of view there's plenty we can tidy up in that department. Last weekend was the first time the majority of us had played together as a team and, in looking to improve, we have kept a bit of powder dry."