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'I was always aware I didn't want to be petulant... I didn't throw the toys out'

John Barclay (Photo by William West/AFP/Getty Images)

John Barclay finds it hard to believe he is being lined up to potentially captain Scotland at the 2019 World Cup four years after suffering the worst blow of his long rugby career – exclusion from the squad for the 2015 finals in England. 

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The veteran flanker, who was at Scarlets at the time, believed he was set to be included having been recalled to the squad by then national team coach Vern Cotter. 

However, he was the omitted, a crashing disappointment only added to when he was snubbed to come in as an injury call-up during the finals. 

“I had not been involved for three years so I did think that if I wasn’t picked there I was just going to be turning around,” said Barclay to Scottish media the end of the opening training week of Scotland’s preparations for the latest finals in Japan. 

“I wasn’t trying to be a martyr or anything like that. I’ve said openly it was the single biggest disappointment of my career to not go – to put in all the work and not get picked. Someone then got injured, and I still didn’t get picked,” he added, looking back on the situation where Blair Cowan was brought in to replaced the injured Grant Gilchrist.  

“I didn’t really enjoy, or watch, that World Cup. I found it really frustrating individually,” continued the 32-year-old, who had scored in Scotland’s final warm-up match for 2015 before learning he would not be making the cut.  

“That added to the frustration, but equally I was always aware I didn’t want to be petulant. Throughout the time I wasn’t picked I didn’t throw the toys out, I just kept my head down. Six months later I was back for the Six Nations and another 12 months later I was captain.

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“It’s something I actually speak to younger guys about, just how quickly cycles change. One minute you are flavour of the month, the next minute you are not. It’s just about taking a step back and actually looking at the situation, and realising things change very fast.”

WATCH: John Barclay tells RugbyPass about Scotland’s expectations at the World Cup and whether a blueprint to beat Ireland has been discovered

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Eliza Galloway 51 minutes ago
Geoff Parling: An Englishman roasting the Lions?

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JW 1 hour ago
James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum

Lol you need to shoot your editor for that headline, even I near skipped the article.


France simply need to go to a league format for the Brennus, that will shave two weekends of pointless knockout rugby from their season and raise the competitions standards and mystique no end.


The under age loophole is also a easy door to shut, just remove the lower age limit. WR simply never envisioned a day were teams would target people under the age of 17 or whatever it is now, but much like with Rassie and his use of subs bench, that day was obviously always going to come. I can’t remember how football does it, I think it’s the other way around with them, you can’t sign anyone younger than that but unions can’t stop 17 or 18 yo’s from leaving for a pro club if they want to. There is a transaction that takes place of a few hundred thousand for a normal average player. I’d prefer rugby to be stricter and just keep the union bodies signoff being required.


What really was their problem with Kite and co leaving though? Do we really need a game dominated by Internationals? I even think WR’s proposed calendar might be a bit too much, with at minimum 12 top tier games being played in the World Championship. I think 10 to 12, maybe any one player playing 10 of those 12 is the best way to think of it, for every international team is max, so that they can allow their domestic comps to shine if they want, and other nations like Japan and Fiji can, even some of the home nations maybe, and fill out their calendar with extra tours if they like them as a way to make money. As it is RA don’t have as good a pathway system, so they could simply buy back those players if they turn good. Are they worried they’ll be less likely to? We wait for baited breath for the new season to be laid out in front of us by WR.

It could impose sanctions on the Fédération Française de Rugby, but the body which runs the Top 14 and the ProD2, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, is entirely independent.

It’s not independent at all. The LNR is a body under, and commissioned by, the FFR (and Government control) to mediate the clubs. FFR can simply install a new club competition if they don’t listen, then you’d see whether the players want to stay at any club who doesn’t tow the line and move to the new competition, as they obviously wouldn’t fall under the auspice of world rugby. They would be rebels, which is fine in and upon itself, but they would isolate themselves from the rest of the game and would need to be OK with that. I have no doubt whatsoever that clubs would have to and want to fall in line to remain part of the EPCR and French rugby. Probably even the last thing they would want is to compete with another French domestic competition that has all the advantages they don’t.


All those players would do good for a few seasons in France, especially the fringe ones, with thankfully zero risk of them being poached if they turn good. New Zealand had a turn at keeping all of it’s talent, and while it upticked the competitiveness of the Super Rugby teams into a total dominance of Australian and South African counterparts (who were suffering more heavily than most the other way at that stage), it didn’t have as positive an effect on the next step up as ensuring young talents development is not hindered does. Essentially NZR flooded the locate market with players but inevitably it didn’t think the local economy could sustain any more pro teams itself, so now we are seeing a normal amount of exodus for the availability of places again. Are Australia in exactly the same footing? I think so, finances where dicey for a while perhaps but I doubt they are putting money constraints on their contracting now. It’s purely about who leaves to open up opportunity.

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