'You can't halt exodus south,' says Kenny Logan

Kenny Logan thinks his move to Wasps made him as a player
Glasgow's Kenny Logan admits he would not persuade Scottish internationals to turn down moves to England, as his club colleague and current Scotland skipper Gordon Bulloch moved closer to agreeing a contract with a Zurich Premiership club.
Saracens have emerged as the favourites to sign Gordon in a move which may see him turn his back on international rugby, but Kenny urged the SRU to forget attempts to hold together the crumbling 'Fortress Scotland' plan devised by Matt Williams, the national coach.

Kenny admits in today's Scotsman: "You can't blame players for wanting to play in England. Leaving Scotland for Wasps made me as a player - people all wondered when I'd be back, some thinking it would be days, but eight years later I came back because I was asked back.

"If guys like Gordon Bulloch or Sean Lamont ask me about leaving what am I going to say? Don't go? It can be a good move. You go to England and you're not a star any more, you are pitched into a foreign environment, no friends, and the pressure is on to prove yourself week in week out and get respect. I think Gordon has been up here long enough; he's 30 years old and could do with the change, a new challenge.

"A move can make the good players we have in Scotland better, and the way to keep them in Scotland is to make the Scottish teams winning teams, and develop them. Meanwhile, Gordy going leaves opportunities for Scott Lawson and Fergus Thomson, who are two great young guys coming through. There is the worry of the loss of experience, but that can be replaced by the enthusiasm of young guys coming through with a real edge, a real desire to get into the Scotland team. That hunger counts for a lot."

This article was posted on 31-Mar-2005, 09:22 by Hugh Barrow.