Magnus Bradbury says he's learned a lot since losing Edinburgh captaincy

Scotland coach Gregor Townsend may have selected an inexperienced side for tonight's opening summer-tour Test against Canada, but he will expect the team to prove their maturity by carrying out the same high-tempo game plan that produced three wins in the Six Nations, according to Magnus Bradbury.

Scotland flanker Magnus Bradbury stretches off during a training session in Edmonton ahead of the Canada match. Picture: Fotosport/David Gibson

The Edinburgh captain, who with two caps counts as one of the rookies in Townsend’s starting line-up, insisted that no consideration should be given either to that inexperience or to the fact that the team includes a lot of individuals with little experience of playing together. “I would say it’s possible [to play the high-tempo game], yes,” Bradbury said. “It’s how we play, it’s how we’re told to play, and we’ve all played enough rugby to put it into practice on the pitch.”

Today will be Bradbury’s first game for Scotland since he was stripped of the Edinburgh captaincy
last October after sustaining a head injury on a night out in the capital. “I’d say I’ve learnt a lot, a bloody lot, over the past season,” he added. “It’s experience more than anything.

“I’ve tried to build my game as much as possible on the pitch, but off the pitch, being told how to lead and how to come back, I’ve learnt a lot from that. Hopefully my game has developed as well. I’d like to say it has, but it’s more off the field that I’ve grown a lot.” The squad were given a clean bill of health yesterday after they trained at the Commonwealth Stadium here, where a crowd of up to 14,000 is expected for the game, which kicks off at 7pm local time (2am Sunday BST). Only 11,000 tickets had been sold for the game by midday yesterday, but, with all major club games in Alberta taking place in Edmonton earlier in the day, Rugby Canada expect a decent walk-up.