Scotland to have two captains for autumn internationals

Published on Monday 2 November 2009 22:00

SCOTLAND rugby coach Andy Robinson has named two captains for this month's international matches at Murrayfield. Robinson has chosen scrum- half rivals Mike Blair and Chris Cusiter to share the job – with whichever of the two players is on the pitch at the time wearing the armband.

The unusual move is bound to increase the already fierce competition between Edinburgh skipper Blair – who has also captained his country for the last year and a half – and Glasgow's Cusiter, who led the Scotland A team to IRB Nations Cup success in Romania at the end of last season.

Both players have been vying for the Scotland number nine jersey for a number of years.

Robinson told www.scotlandrugbyteam.org: "Leadership is not about one person, it is about developing a number of leaders. This year, we're going to have two captains: Mike Blair and Chris Cusiter – two world-class players, two world-class people. Whichever one is selected will lead the team. But, off the pitch, the two will lead the team together."

Scotland start the Bank of Scotland Corporate Autumn Tests series at Murrayfield against Fiji on 14 November, followed by Australia on 21 November and Argentina on 28 November.

The decision to name two captains is further evidence that Robinson is bringing a fresh approach to the job. Last week, he issued an open invitation to supporters to attend a meet-the-players event at Murrayfield ahead of the forthcoming international matches. Fans can attend a full training session which will take place on the main pitch on the evening of Monday 9 November, five days before the Fiji match.

After the session, the squad will stay behind to meet supporters and sign autographs. Fans who are interested in attending have been asked to register on the SRU website, to help provide an estimate of the numbers that are likely to attend. Meanwhile, the Scotland squad gathered in St Andrews yesterday for a three-day session in preparation for this month's matches.

Medics hope that Chris Paterson will be able to train, after the full-back missed Edinburgh's match against Newport Gwent Dragons on Sunday because of a foot infection.