THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS

Tkachuk eager for Canada to stake place at rugby's top table



HE IS known in Scottish rugby as T-Bone, more for the simple fact that it is easier to say than Tkachuk than any predilection for large steaks.
But Canada's experienced loosehead prop, Kevin Tkachuk, has also developed a reputation as a hard competitor, bone hard, and his approach sums up that of the Canadians as they prepare to complete their 2008 tour in the chilly north-east of Scotland.



The forecast of snow and biting temperatures will faze some, but some Canucks laughed dismissively as they headed north yesterday when told the snow was unlikely to reach waist-high.

Tkachuk has become used to Scottish winters. He landed in Glasgow in 2004 after completing a Masters degree in history at Oxford University. There, he played in three Varsity matches, scored in a friendly against Australia and helped Pertemps Bees, alongside Craig Chalmers, to a shock cup semi-final. He has been one of Glasgow's most reliable forwards ever since and, at 32, is helping to guide young Scottish props such as Moray Low and Ed Kalman.

He scrummaged alongside another, Euan Murray, who he will come face-to-face with at Pittodrie tomorrow in a clash he is eagerly anticipating. But it is not just Tkachuk's pride on the line after a tough encounter with the Welsh front row. The former Canucks skipper insists the players wearing the maple leaf tomorrow are desperate also to plant Canada's name back in the world rugby psyche.

"Euan is a very good player and I'm looking forward to playing against him," he said. "We got started together at Glasgow. He was quite young when I arrived, but we both learned a lot from the scrummaging guru, Hugh Campbell, and it's good to see him developing well.

"This will be tough for me and the whole team against Scotland, but it's a challenge we're glad we've got. It wasn't easy for Canada when the game went professional; I think professionalism left Canadian rugby behind really. But you can't just accept that, forget it and walk away.

"We have to work harder to bring us back, and particularly in the areas where there is an obvious gap between professional players who are playing in professional competitions and those who are not. We were a stone a man lighter in all areas of the pack against Wales, and a lot of that comes from professional conditioning.

"We have got considerably better with training together professionally each day on this tour, and hopefully we'll learn some of the lessons from the defeat to Wales and be better against Scotland, but it's not easy developing a national side when you have a game here and a game there, and then all go away again for six months.

"It all boils down to the competition levels. You can't expect to play domestic rugby like many of these guys do and then step up to international rugby against nations like Ireland, Wales and Scotland and be able to cope straight away.

"We can compete with anything at the breakdown because we have skilful players who like that area of the game, but in the scrum for example, you really need a lot of time together to build a cohesive pack, and in the lineout as well, though the new rules probably help there as it's become a toss-up when teams put three pods up against you."

In that light, Tkachuk is delighted to be able to enjoy a proper tour. Canada began in Portugal, missing several players but still beating the hosts 21-13, with "a couple of debatable tries for them."

That has been a familiar story with Ireland being awarded two dubious tries which no-one bothered talking about after a one-sided game ended in a 55-0 victory for the home side. In Wales, too, there was little carping at the award of two penalty tries, which played a major factor in allowing the Welsh to ease to a 34-13 victory.

The team this weekend have an inexperienced look. They feature seven players based in Canada, including debutant wing Sean Duke, four in the English Division One, a 20-year-old stand-off at college in England, making his first start; a lock playing in Australia, another in France, and Tkachuk.

"This tour is really good for the Canadian team, though," added the Glasgow Warrior. "I want to give a good account of myself and ourselves as a team. I've been here for nearly six years now and sometimes I'm confronted with a lack of respect for the rugby Canada play, so it's important that we make the world recognise that Canada can play rugby and are improving.

"I've warned the guys about Scottish players I know well. I've told them if we kick the ball deep and sit off Rory Lamont, for instance, he will cut us up. When I first came there were a lot of young guys, but now we have guys like John Barclay, who is world-class and Johnnie Beattie. That's good for Glasgow, but this weekend my mind is on Canada."

This article was originally posted on 21-Nov-2008, 08:31 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 21-Nov-2008, 08:46.