Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour hail battle for Scotland places

Stuart Hogg, left, and Tommy Seymour help to launch Glasgow Warriors three-year partnership with SP Energy Networks. Picture: SNS.

Both men were a little unlucky this summer. Seymour finished the British & Irish Lions’ tour as the top try scorer, with three, but failed to secure a Test slot.

Hogg injured his eye running into the elbow of his team-mate Conor Murray, he returned home before the Test series kicked off and had elective surgery on a long-standing shoulder problem which he was managing throughout last season. He has recently started running again after having the shoulder in a sling for three weeks following the operation.

“I loved my time with the boys and the tour was just starting to kick off when I was leaving,” said Hogg.

“It was disappointing to leave but these things happen and I was their No 1 supporter when I got home.I thought the boys did a terrific job. It’s just a shame it ended in a draw. Some will say that was a good result but we were looking to win and it was a weird one to take.”

Hogg stopped off in Sydney on his way home to witness at close quarters Scotland’s first-ever win in the city, although matters went downhill thereafter with a loss to Fiji spoiling a perfect start for head coach  Gregor Townsend, pictured.

“There were a fair amount of changes going into that last game, there were a couple of big players rested. It was a chance for these young boys to experience international rugby and it will stand them in good stead going forward.

“Competition for places is massive now, it’s the first time in a long time we can say that we have 30-35 boys in contention to play for Scotland. That’s huge for us, it drives us individually to get better.”

That strength in depth will be severely tested this autumn with matches against Samoa, New Zealand and Australia. The two backs both got first-hand experience of New Zealand rugby over the summer and both of them firmly believe that Scotland’s long run of matches against the All Blacks without a win, which stretches back 112 years to 1905, may finally be coming to a welcome close.

“If you go into a game thinking, ‘I’ll be happy to be within a certain number of points’ you’re in the wrong sport,” said the full-back.” We believe on our day we can beat anyone. To be the best you’ve to beat the best, it’s a huge challenge and we’re looking  forward to it.”

If Hogg was his usual bullish self, his team-mate at club and country was, if anything, even more positive in his outlook.

“It was quite clear from the tour that you can go toe to toe with them no problem,” said Seymour.

“I think that will give a lot of people confidence as well going forward in terms of closing that percieved gap between northern and southern hemisphere rugby.

“From my point of view they are very talented rugby players, they are the best in the world, but we went over there and got a draw and going forward no one from the northern hemisphere teams will think we can’t beat them.

“We won’t take away the fact that they are the best team in the world, they have been for a while. The common traits that make them the number one team, pace of game, quality of individuals, lack of errors, they don’t make many errors and they are unbelievably consistent and ruthless with try-scoring opportunities. Give them a sniff and they take it. It’s an amalgamation of all these things and we’ll definitely see that in the autumn.”

While some of his colleagues have been hard at work for the last three months, Seymour only started his pre-season yesterday which coincided with new coach Dave Rennie’s first day at the office. The photo call for the sponsorship announcement came as a welcome distraction.

“You boys got me out of some fitness [training]),” said Seymour. “I never thought I’d be glad to speak to the media.”