THE HERALD REPORTS
KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer January 18 2007

Scottish interest in the Heineken Cup is being sustained this weekend by two players who defied the Scottish Rugby Union to further their careers.

The form of former Border Reivers team-mates Scott MacLeod and Nikki Walker at high-flying Welsh teams is, though, also helping Scotland's RBS 6 Nations prospects.

MacLeod joined Llanelli Scarlets, who last weekend ensured Welsh involvement in the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup for the first time in three years, while Walker moved to Neath-Swansea Ospreys, who could join them by beating Sale this weekend. Both are playing the rugby of their lives.

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They are clearly revelling in being in such buoyant camps and both seemed much more comfortable under interrogation than was the case when based in their native Borders. Their moves seem to have helped with the maturing process.

"I've managed to get myself in the starting XV most weeks," said Walker. "I feel I'm playing well and I'm pretty confident at the moment. Hopefully it carries on."

The way the winger is being used by Lynn Jones, the Ospreys' inspirational coach, has contributed. "There are moves down there that look as if they are set for me, because he just wants to get the ball in my hands and to get me running hard," said Walker.

That alone must boost self-belief considering that he is surrounded in that back line by the likes of Justin Marshall, one of the greatest All Black scrum-halves; Shane Williams and Gavin Henson, the two most creative players in Wales; and James Hook, who is expected to be Welsh rugby's next great player.

Of course, it helps that the team are going forward much of the time, which is less often the case at the poorly resourced, SRU-owned Scottish sides.

"I have clicked well and the players there are creating things for me as well," continued Walker. "We've got a big pack and world-class inside backs who are creating space and making it a lot easier. I feel I am playing as well as I ever have. It's not that I thought I never had it; it's just that I've never had the chance to show it. We're on the front foot a lot more."

While McLeod, like Walker, agonised over leaving family and friends after being told by the national management that he may not be watched as much, MacLeod is similarly revelling in living and working in a truly rugby-obsessed town.

"It is massive, totally different from here Scotland," said the Hawick native. "It's more like football in this country. It's quite a big town where the whole thing is the rugby and when they know you're part of the team it's awesome."

He is also thriving in being part of a team competing successfully on all fronts and where he is rated very highly, not just as the aerial specialist he has always been.

"When I've been fit I've played every week which is a big confidence boost when you consider the strength in depth we've got at lock," said MacLeod. "I've developed the areas of my game I need to improve on. I'm getting the ball in my hands a lot more, making more runs. I don't feel like the finished article by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm playing as well as I ever have."

That can only be good for Scotland, yet the way their form has added to Scotland's options should also give Gordon McKie, the SRU's chief executive, cause for thought.

When they quit Border Reivers, he blamed their departure on the inexperience of their agent, when it was actually his own naivete in failing to secure deals with them before better offers were put on the table that was exposed.

In what has become something of a trademark, McKie's public comment in complaining about the timing of negotiations after the SRU refused to discuss contract offers during last season's RBS 6 Nations was extremely ill-advised. "Unfortunately, some of the less-experienced agents decided to intervene, which we did not want to happen," he said at the time.

In reality he had simply failed to realise that professional sport is not a market that can be controlled that way.

The agent in question, Shaun Longstaff, a former Scotland winger, actually has Scottish rugby's best interests at heart. He has been vindicated yet prefers to concentrate on what is best for his players rather than indulging in a bout of "told you so".

"I want to get the best deal for players, which includes giving them the best chance to develop," he said. "I also want to give something back to Scottish rugby by helping Scottish players. If I'm not doing my job by getting them the best possible offers, though, they will look elsewhere."

The level of interest shown in the two former Hawick players by the Welsh clubs was something he could not ignore.

"It was a watershed moment because, in the past, there had never been so much of a difference in terms of the money being offered," Longstaff added, inadvertently underlining how badly McKie and his advisers misjudged the market.

This article was posted on 18-Jan-2007, 08:23 by Hugh Barrow.