Kelly Brown eager to get back in action

Published on 05/07/2012 00:00

HE missed the Six Nations, Scotland’s tour to Australasia and the final few months of the Aviva Premiership season with a dislocated fibula but now No 8 Kelly Brown is convinced he will be fit and ready to hit the ground running come September.

Brown had been due to lead Scotland into the Six Nations but the injury ruled him out of the rest of the season as well as the summer tour. The 30-year-old, who is just one cap short of bringing up his international half-century, is refusing to take for granted that he will walk straight back into the Scotland XV or be handed back the captaincy.

But Brown, who was Scotland’s international player of the year in 2007, admits a spell on the sidelines has left him hungry to recapture the form that saw him win the Premiership with Saracens in 2011 and put him at the front of the queue to captain his country.

“I’m not focused on Scotland at all presently. I’m focused on getting myself fully fit and making sure I can play as well as I can for Saracens and if that leads to international rugby then obviously that’s great,” said Brown, speaking at the launch of the JP Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series.

“But I’m aware I’ve got a fight on my hands to get back into the Saracens team, let alone the Scotland squad or regain the captaincy – I don’t want to get carried away.

“The leg’s good – I’ve been training very, very hard and I will hopefully be back soon.

“You never know when though – I am gradually increasing my rehab and my training in the hope I’ll be back for the start of the season but it’s very hard to put an exact date on it.”

Although admitting to being a frustrated spectator this summer, Brown was not surprised by the performances of Scotland on their Australasia tour that included wins over Australia, Fiji and Samoa.

His confidence is a stark contrast to their recent form that has seen Scotland fail to reach the quarter-finals of the 2011 World Cup, while their Six Nations win percentage under Robinson – after this year’s Wooden Spoon – is just 13 per cent. “Obviously we had a very, very good tour,” added Brown. “In the Six Nations it didn’t go as we would have planned exactly but there were signs of improvement.

“I thought we played some good stuff in the first few matches but we just couldn’t get those wins in the Six Nations.

“So it was great to win in Australia, both in terms of confidence and in terms of ranking points, because we need to get in the top eight before the draw for the next World Cup.

“Obviously you want to win every time you go out there but we were aware of how far we had slipped down the world rankings and it’s important to get back up. I’m not entirely sure where we were prior to the Australia tour but it wasn’t very good. So we just want to keep on playing well and keep on winning.

“As a squad we have always thought we had the talent and sometimes you need a bit of luck to get that first win. Once you get on a roll, it’s almost easier to keep that going.

“Against Australia we really dug in. We maybe got a bit of Scottish weather but the guys really worked hard and got that win.”

lThe JP Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series kicks off on 13 July at Harlequins, with rounds at Sale Sharks and Gloucester Rugby, and the final at Bath Rugby. Visit: www.jpmorgan7s.com to find out more.