Heineken Cup: Foreign aid to prop up Scottish thistle

The three most important things for any team to thrive are competition, competition and competition – in no particular order. The current Scotland squad has plenty in some positions (scrum-half, hooker) and almost none in others (stand-off, loosehead prop).

Edinburgh’s crowd for the forthcoming Heineken Cup quarter-final against Toulouse (20,000 and counting) proves that the latent demand for top-class rugby is there if the Murrayfield paymasters have the will and the wages to make it happen. In this regard, the Scottish Rugby Union has been helped by belt tightening across the board in England and Wales with the latter especially experiencing an exodus of Biblical proportions, mostly to France, brought on by a healthy dose of financial realism that is afflicting the valleys.

In Scotland players are mostly moving in the opposite direction with an influx of quality augmenting the two professional teams, who have seen what a little bit of success means to the longest suffering rugby fans this side of Milan. The influence of the national selectors can be seen in these imports, although the needs of the Scotland squad are mirrored by those of the pro teams.

The midfield is an obvious area of concern so 20-year-old London Irish stand-off/centre Steven Shingler was called up to Scotland’s Six Nations squad thanks to his mother being from Dumfries. However, his hopes of pulling on the blue jersey have been tied up in red tape. The Swansea-born player had previously played for Wales under-20s against France and the SRU is currently appealing against an International Rugby Board ruling that he is tied to the country of his birth.

His older brother Aaron came on as a substitute for Wales against Scotland in this year’s Six Nations match in Cardiff.

Scotland are still awaiting the outcome of the IRB deliberations on Steven. The length of time it is taking could be good news for Scotland although the outcome is far from certain and the bush telegraph does not suggest success.

Whatever happens, Shingler will remain with London Irish but Greig Tonks will play for Edinburgh from next season. The former Northampton Saint is equally comfortable at full-back or in midfield, which are two problem positions for Edinburgh and Scotland. Stuart Hogg has been outstanding to date but if he was injured (as Rory Lamont was against France) Andy Robinson’s options are strictly limited.

Edinburgh have also spent a hefty sum on giant South African tighthead prop WP (Willem Petrus) Nel. His three-year contract was at least one year longer than is usual in such a tough, physical sport where a player’s career might be ended any day at training. It may not be a complete coincidence that the South African will qualify for Scotland just ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. There were rumours on some internet messageboards that he was already qualified for Scotland, through the usual granny, but this seems to be more wishful thinking than anything else.

One Edinburgh insider stressed that there was no clause in the prop’s contract to prevent Nel from being capped by South Africa, it would be entirely against IRB regulations in any event and, unlike the All Blacks, the Springboks continue to call upon overseas players. It might happen but, if Nel hasn’t received the call by the age of 26, he may feel it is time to cut his losses and look elsewhere for international honours.

For their part, Glasgow have drafted in Newcastle’s Australian/Scot second row Tim Swinson, born in London but brought up down under, and No.8 Viliami Ma’afu with nine Tongan caps to his name.

Both Edinburgh and Glasgow now boast No.8 forwards – Ma’afu and Netani Talei – who hail from the Pacific Islands. Both men have been capped by their respective countries, Tonga and Fiji, meaning that they will never qualify to play for Scotland. It’s a slightly different situation at tighthead prop, where Edinburgh’s new signing Nel and Glasgow’s Yorkshire prop Michael Cusack are both ‘foreigners’ but both men could qualify for Scotland by fulfilling the three-year residency rule.

With just two pro teams developing Scottish talent, there is already a danger that two outsiders in two key positions will restrict the emergence of homegrown talent. That is not such an issue when the foreigners might become Scottish qualified, like the two props, but the No.8s will never sport thistles on their chests and whether they act as a logjam to domestic talent or inspire the Scottish qualified competition, David Denton and Ryan Wilson in this case, to raise their game only time will tell.

Imports are an emotive subject, probably more so in Scotland than anywhere else. It’s a strange one to understand because the country has a miniscule playing population while England, who boast more rugby players than any other country on the planet, host at least five obvious foreigners in their elite playing squad. Kiwi Dylan Hartley is accompanied by Brad Barritt, Matt Stevens and Mouritz Botha (all South African) and Manusamoa Tuilagi to give him his full title and yes, the clue lies in his first name. And that ignores the fact that scrum-half Joe Simpson was born in Australia.

There was no noticeable booing at Twickenham when Stuart Lancaster’s multi-national England side took to Twickenham’s turf to play Wales just 24 hours before two of Scotland’s popular Aussie imports, Dan Parks and Nathan Hines, took their final leave of Murrayfield ahead of the French test.

At a time when others countries are hiring players from all corners of the globe this is the most “Scottish” rugby team to take to the field for many a long year with a noticeable absence of “Kilted Kiwis” or “Tartan Wallabies”.

By the end of the French match, when the Zimbabwean-born breakaway David Denton and Jim Hamilton from the English midlands had both been replaced by Richie Vernon and Al Kellock, the home XV was entirely Scottish born and, mostly, bred.

Australia offers something like 50 scholarships per annum to young Fijian boys with a talent for rugby and they are not alone. Everyone is at it, from the All Blacks to England, there are foreign imports to be found in the ranks of every national side and the one country that needs them most, the one place that is struggling to retain its tier one status, is still squeamish about doing it.

We have already seen several Scottish-qualified Anglos from south of the border heading north in an effort to launch their Test careers and they won’t be the last.

Scotland doesn’t make the rules governing eligibility, it just abides by them.

If someone is firstly qualified and, secondly, wants to play for Scotland they deserve a warm welcome and our thanks.

The current Scotland squad needs more competition, competition, competition.