Opinion

John M Bannerman played thirty-seven times for Scotland 1921-29, not missing a single match. His record of caps stood till Hugh McLeod passed it in 1962.

There is no doubt that Lennart Johansson, whose recent passing was marked by fitting tributes at all Euro 2020 qualifiers, was one of the most widely respected football administrators of all time.

Not many players land their dream move at 29. It’s taken Greg Stewart a while to get to Rangers, the club he supported as a boy. No one can claim he has not put the work in.

Two years ago as Scotland were heading towards a resounding win under Vern Cotter over Wales in the Six Nations at BT Murrayfield the big screen camera focused in on a certain Warren Gatland. The jeers were almost as loud as the cheers for the Scottish tries that day.

Well, at least that’s over. Scotland coped commendably before losing a goal on the stroke of half-time and lived in peril for much of the second half. They then somehow conjured a late chance that might have resulted in a nervy finale for the Belgians.

Lots of people have had the pleasure of enjoying the two fabulous golf courses in Scotland that were co-designed by Mark Parsinen, but I doubt many have been launched head first from a fair height into his living room then let a glass of wine spill in his favourite armchair in that same abode.

Twenty-five degree weather, drinks outside the stadium, rival fans happily interacting with each other, Do-Re-Me being sung – Scotland fans were back at a World Cup.

On a perishing cold day – March 23, 1974 – my father pointed his Fiat sports car northwards and we travelled the road and the miles to Dundee, eager to see our team maintain their title challenge.

Reports delivering news of Lennart Johansson’s death this week at the age of 89 rightly focused on the former Uefa president’s part in giving birth to the Champions League after the European Cup was considered too much of a 
lottery by bigger clubs.

Negotiations to bring Gordon Strachan back to Dundee are ongoing, bringing to mind words he wrote in his autobiography. He described his time as a player at the club in the mid-1970s as the football equivalent of I’m a Celebrity Get Me out of Here.

Losing 43-19 always sounds pretty bad, but few would have expected Scotland to beat South Africa in the under-20 Junior World Cup being played in Argentina, and it wasn’t a one-sided match with Scottish tries coming near the end as so-called consolations. On the contrary, we were only three points behind going into the last quarter of the match. So the difference was staying-power and perhaps the quality of the replacements who flooded the field from the hour-mark.

It has not long turned June and the noise around Kieran Tierney's future is steadily growing.

After a sluggish start, the 2019 Cricket World Cup finally exploded into life on Monday with Pakistan defeating hosts England in a so called “major upset”, not least because they had lost their recent series four-nil to England but they had also been bowled out by the West Indies for just 105 in their first game. 

Heather MacRae has never been scared to face a challenge head on, having first shown us that a decade ago when she clearly relished the chance to take on her male counterparts at Gleneagles as she became only the second female to play in the Scottish PGA Championship.

A big chunk of hardware can be very persuasive. There it sits, loud and proud on Maurizio Sarri’s desk in Cobham, the Europa League trophy. Send me packing now, why don’t you, says Sarri as he lights up another cigar.

Dipping into Bill McLaren’s autobiography again I was reminded of his regret that rugby union had gone “open” – which is to say, professional at its upper level. Yet he also recognised that “the World Cup has been wonderful for the game worldwide”.

Heavyweight boxing proceeds with all the authenticity of Love Island, with one exception. The action in Mallorca centres on contenders throwing punches in the same ring against each other.

Karamoko Dembele has already had a taste of what a victorious Hampden dressing room feels like on a big occasion.