Hooker selection dilemma for Vern Cotter

Fraser Browns chance may come against Tonga. Picture: SNS

The straight-talking Kiwi has selected Ross Ford, Scott Lawson and surprisingly omitted Glasgow’s top number one hooker, Pat MacArthur, to elevate Fraser Brown as the third of his three hookers in a call that former Scotland star Wrighty admits has baffled him.

Scrutiny of Scotland’s summer international Tests, the first series under Cotter’ charge, would seem to provide some serious clues as to the likely deployment of the trio in the forthcoming internationals against Los Pumas, world champions New Zealand and Tonga.

While Lawson started against the USA and Canada, it was Ford who got the nod against the far more powerful packs of Argentina and South Africa, yet Wright reckons that the Newcastle front-row’s superior technique may give him an edge over the Edinburgh player’s extra power.

When it comes to Brown, who was Wright’s former charge with the Scotland Under-20s, a belated run-out against Tonga in the series finale may be the best the 25-year-old can hope for.

“For me the hooker is probably the toughest call in the 15 for Vern Cotter to make in respect of the Argentina game,” said Wright.

He continued: “Ross Ford is not having a good season. Fraser Brown, whom I think has a lot of potential is, in my opinion, not quite ready, and you have Scott Lawson who may be, in some respects, the slight favourite to get the nod from Vern Cotter.

“In most of the other positions we have some real strength in depth but at hooker, well I’m not so sure. You would probably argue that Ross Ford, from the point of view of his size and experience, is the call, but he has had a lot of opportunities and has not made the most of them and how many chances do you give a guy?”

The conundrum over the Scotland captaincy vacancy caused by Grant Gilchrist’s fractured forearm may further complicate the issue, with Ford having previously captained the national side in the RBS Six Nations campaign two years back.

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In another twist, Wright believes Friday night’s Edinburgh game with Leinster may have provided a further clue to Cotter’s thinking: “Ross Ford didn’t play for Edinburgh at Leinster and that may be a strong pointer he will start against Argentina,” he said.

Wright continued: “Ross has also been captain before and did an okay job and obviously the captaincy is up for grabs and maybe that will muddy the waters a bit. I just think Ross has so much potential but that he lacks any real consistency.

“He can make some big carries early on but then disappears later on in games. Then there is his throw-ins at the line-out and although you have to be very careful about where you apportion blame when a line-out is not going well, Ross’s throwing has always been his Achilles heel and, having watched him a few times this season, that would seem to still be true.

“Whereas Ross had some big games last season, from what I’ve seen this term, that has not been the case, albeit we are talking about an Edinburgh pack that has been creaking.

“So there is a bit of dilemma for Vern Cotter at hooker.”

Turning to Lawson, Wright has no doubt about the plusses in plumping for the 33-year-old: “I like Scott Lawson. In the past, he has come off the bench and given away penalties, but he did pretty well in the summer Tests against the USA and Canada and is playing well for Newcastle by all accounts. So you could argue that he holds the position.”

The Selkirk head coach continued: “With hooking you have to get your technical parts correct, be it the hooking in the scrum or, of course, the throw-in at the line-out.

“Scott Lawson is probably the best technical hooker of the three guys in the squad and the big issue Ross Ford has is that he is too big to hook the ball in the scrum. There are times when the scrum is too low for Ross, being such a big guy, to hook it and in that respect Scott has a big advantage.

“So the dilemma for Vern Cotter is whether to go with the size and power of Ford or the better technical game of Lawson. I would probably go with Scotty Lawson with Ross Ford bringing his power off the bench to real impact.”

For his former protégé Brown, Wright can see only a bit-part contribution in the series finale against Tonga. He said: “I coached Fraser with the Scotland Under-20s and at the time I thought he was one of the best up-and-coming hookers I’d come across for a good while.

“But I think he will struggle for game time in the first two fixtures with Argentina and New Zealand and probably get his chance against Tonga.

“But Fraser could be the guy, if he goes on and lives up to his potential, who makes the position his own.

“He has had his share of injury problems with his neck and he lost his contract at Edinburgh, went down south and has fought his way back at Glasgow.

“So potentially he has it all, but Fraser is just not quite ready, in my book, right now.”

But of one thing Wright remains mystified, and that is the non-selection of Warriors hooker MacArthur, who had another solid outing in their 17-9 victory over Treviso, at a rain-lashed Scotstoun on Friday night.

“I think Pat MacArthur has been really unlucky not to make the three for the Autumn Test Series,” admitted Wright.

“I just don’t see Fraser Brown being involved for the first two games against the Pumas and the All Blacks. Pat is starting pretty much every game for Glasgow and performing consistently and this will have been a sore one for him and he has got to be asking himself why he has been left out.

“I wish I had the answer for that one.”

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