'Best feeling of my life' - Scotland debutant claims historic 60-year first at Murrayfield

19 y/o takes centre stage in win over Portugal

Freddy Douglas said it was “the best feeling of his life” as he came off the bench to make his Scotland bow in the 59-21 win over Portugal and become the national men’s side’s youngest debutant in over 60 years.

The teenager was one of three players to win their first cap, along with Edinburgh team-mate Ben Muncaster and Glasgow’s Alex Samuel, and he described his fast-track promotion to the national side as “surreal”.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Douglas, 19, has yet to play a competitive game for Edinburgh but is now a fully fledged Scotland international. He played the final 15 minutes of the match at Murrayfield as the Scots scored nine tries through Arron Reed (two), Will Hurd, Stafford McDowall, Darcy Graham, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Jamie Dobie and a penalty try.

Scotland debutant Freddy Douglas with family and friends at full time after the win over Portugal. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Scotland debutant Freddy Douglas with family and friends at full time after the win over Portugal. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Scotland debutant Freddy Douglas with family and friends at full time after the win over Portugal. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Graham’s score was his 29th for his country and meant he drew level with Duhan van der Merwe as Scotland’s leading try-scorer of all time. But even that was overshadowed by Douglas’ debut in front of 60,983 appreciative supporters at the national stadium.

“Obviously you’re so excited at being in the squad, you want to get on as soon as you can, but I think just being in the atmosphere of Murrayfield, it just felt so amazing, and when I eventually did get on, it was the best feeling of my life,” said the teenager.

“I remember going on, hugging Benny [Muncaster], that felt amazing. The big thing I remember is just the anthem, singing in front of so many people for my country. It just felt absolutely amazing. I got quite emotional during it and it's something I'll never, ever forget.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I think it's obviously amazing that I've managed to get to this opportunity, but I don't think age is really what matters. If you're good enough, you're old enough.” 

Douglas is Scotland's youngest male debutant since Donald White in 1963 and Douglas was able to meet up with White. “Meeting Donald was amazing. He was lovely, a wee bit cheeky, but really nice. He said that he was definitely younger than me [when he made his debut]!”

Scotland's Freddy Douglas (R) with Scotland's previous youngest debutant Donald White after the win over Portugal at Murrayfield. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)Scotland's Freddy Douglas (R) with Scotland's previous youngest debutant Donald White after the win over Portugal at Murrayfield. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)
Scotland's Freddy Douglas (R) with Scotland's previous youngest debutant Donald White after the win over Portugal at Murrayfield. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group) | SNS Group / SRU

Douglas was hailed this week as “world class already” by Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel and the openside flanker admitted the build-up to his first international had been inspiring. “Playing and training with my heroes growing up, it's all been a bit crazy,” he said. “They've all been so welcoming and it's not felt like I'm the youngest or that I'm not meant to be here. It just felt so welcoming and special.”

He had support in the stands from his family and girlfriend, and also a group of friends who marked the occasion by removing their tops to reveal Douglas’ name scrawled across their chests. The teenager said he would give his first international jersey to his mother Sue for everything she had done for him on the road to his debut.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gregor Townsend praised Douglas for the way he handled not only the game but the build-up. “He stuck to the defensive system, came up and put his tackles in,” said the Scotland coach.“Whenever the referee called him off the ball, he was disciplined. I've been very impressed with his maturity and professionalism this week. It’s been a huge occasion for him and huge news this week that he was going to be playing for Scotland.”

Townsend felt Portugal offered a stern test to what was a much changed Scotland side. “They brought a lot of physicality and line speed that we had to just adjust and find solutions and the players did that,” he addded. “I thought the first half was probably more clinical at times once we got through a sticky five, ten minutes. The second half, with the changes we were making and the fact we didn't have as much possession, maybe it wasn't as fluent but it was a good performance and a very good win against a Test team.”

Samuel had to come off in the second half and failed an initial head injury assessment. Scotland play their final autumn Test next Sunday against Australia.

Comments

 0 comments

Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.

Dare to be Honest
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice