Tommy Seymour is ruminating on the nature of the winger’s lot. How some days you can make your own luck and be on the end of a move, scoring the try and taking the glory. And others where the game just doesn’t come your way, and all the action is elsewhere.
“Given your position on the field, you’re always going to be semi-reliant on others to put you into space,” he reflects. “You can run all over the field as a winger and think you’re in the best position to score. But there’s always a moment where play goes to the other side and the guy in the other corner scores. It’s a matter of always thinking constantly about putting yourself in the best position possible and hoping they will find you.”
Seymour’s brain cells were generally working quicker than most and he found his way over the try-line 20 times in 55 Tests in a productive six years in a Scotland shirt.
Saturday’s opening game of the Autumn Nations Series against Fiji brings back warm memories for the 36-year-old, who bagged the first hat-trick by a Scotland wing in nearly 30 years during the Pacific Islanders’ visit to Murrayfield in 2018.
With typical modesty, he brushes off the tries as of the “lollipop” variety – “all down to the hard work of various individuals around me, which pretty much every single one of my tries always was”.
For him, memories of the day are forged in family bonds rather than personal triumph. His Scottish-born mother Sue came over from Northern Ireland to watch the game with his brother and it was one the first games Seymour’s young son watched his dad play.
“I’ve got some nice photos of me on the field with him, waving to my mum in the stands. That’s probably why that match holds so much fondness in my head, as much as the tries,” he said. “I hadn’t managed to cross the whitewash for a period before that and remember giving Finn (Russell) a big hug and thanking him that beyond all belief he had thrown a miss-ball over the top to allow me to get across.”
You naturally feel pressure as a ‘finisher’ to put points on the board for your team, but if you are constantly putting that in front of everything else, you’re going to be in a worrying spot
It was a slight quirk of Seymour’s international career that he went try-less in seven Tests before that treble, and didn’t score again in any of his next eight until what proved to be his last try for Scotland in a 61-0 rout of Russia at the 2019 World Cup.
“It bothered me far more when we didn’t play well or didn’t win, rather than me not scoring,” he said. “You naturally feel pressure as a ‘finisher’ to put points on the board for your team, but if you are constantly putting that in front of everything else, rather than all the other elements you can contribute, you’re going to be in a worrying spot.
“I was always conscious of it but sometimes the harder you chase, the further it gets away. As a winger, I wasn’t like the Duhan van der Merwes or Darcy Grahams or Kyle Steyns of this world. I was always far too reliant on the skills of the people inside me to squeeze me in at the corner, as opposed to the sheer individual brilliance those guys have. If I got anything, it was because others were more inclined to pass to me on that day rather than me doing anything wonderful. You always want to score though – that’s the nature of being a winger.”
Seymour’s modesty belies a talent that also brought 48 tries for Glasgow (still second on their all-time list, though George Horne and Johnny Matthews are closing fast), a Pro12 league title in 2015 and two World Cup adventures with Scotland, scoring tries in four successive games in the 2015 edition. He was one of only two Scots to make the original British and Irish Lions squad to New Zealand in 2017, finishing as the tourists’ top try-scorer even if a Test cap eluded him.
When he retired from Test rugby, Seymour was fourth on Scotland’s all-time try-scoring list, but three players have subsequently overtaken him. The first was his old Glasgow mucker Stuart Hogg, who held the record on 27 from late 2021 until this summer, when Van der Merwe grabbed his 28th in 41 Tests to edge in front.
Graham also accelerated past Seymour with a burst of 12 tries in 10 Tests until the end of last year’s World Cup to take his own tally to 24 in 39 Tests before a series of injuries conspired to keep the hot-stepping Borderer out of Test rugby for the past year, including a second successive missed Six Nations.
In years gone by, the absence of such a potent weapon might have been grievously felt in a country with such a relatively small pool of elite players.
But such has been the superlative form of Kyle Steyn that were it not for an untimely lower-leg injury picked up in late September that looks likely to keep the Glasgow captain out of most, if not all, of the autumn programme, there was no guarantee of a fit-again Graham waltzing straight back into the starting XV.
They are not only talented individuals, but are all playing really well at the same time. It is rare to have so many with such high ceilings playing at what seems like a peak.
The last time Gregor Townsend had to make a serious selection call on his wings was the final group game of last year’s World Cup against Ireland. On that occasion he went with Graham and Van der Merwe, with the unfortunate Steyn just missing out.
With that thorny dilemma likely postponed until the Six Nations, the equally strong form of another Glasgow wing, Kyle Rowe, plus the pace and finishing prowess shown by Sale’s Arron Reed on the summer tour of the Americas and the versatility of Glasgow’s Jamie Dobie, has still left the Scotland head coach with enviable options.
“We talk about depth a lot now in Scottish rugby and from a back-three point of view, there is an embarrassment of riches,” notes Seymour. “They are not only talented individuals, but individuals who are all playing really well at the same time. It is rare to have so many with such high ceilings playing at what seems like a peak.
“It is very unfortunate that Kyle (Steyn) is out injured. I absolutely don’t think Kyle was keeping Darcy’s place warm for him, but because Kyle was playing as well as he was and contributing at such a high level, we didn’t feel the loss of Darcy for the period he was out for as much as we could have done in previous generations.
“It is amazing to have Darcy back – he’s one of my favourite players to watch, I absolutely love him. But Steyno equally… I was fortunate to be a team-mate of Kyle’s and he was one of the best I ever had. It doesn’t surprise me he has flourished in that captaincy role and helped bring another (URC) title to Glasgow.
“Kyle is probably seen as a bit less flashy than the other two but sometimes we forget about all the things Kyle brings. His defence is rock solid, his awareness and his communication are phenomenal. He is safe – you never look at Kyle and think anything is going to go wrong, it is always under control – and he scores at a phenomenal rate (13 tries in 23 Tests to date).”
There is also Rowe, who after rupturing an ACL on his Scotland debut in 2022 and being left unemployed by the demise of London Irish, scored 12 tries last season at Glasgow, his first two for Scotland in the summer, and has started this campaign at a similar lick.
“From an inspirational point of view, Kyle Rowe is incredible,” says Seymour. “I love his story and where he’s ended up. Duhan and Darcy were an established pair for a while and that was understandable. But then Kyle (Steyn) came into that mix, and Kyle Rowe as well now.
“I think we’re in a luxurious position where you could make a strong case for any one of those three or four to be a starter and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. I wouldn’t want to be Gregor right now having to choose.
“I’m just bloody glad I’m not playing in this era. I’m very content watching these guys. They’re all brilliant individuals and great team-mates; they’re supportive, they push each other. You hope all of them have the careers they deserve.”
Seymour was only 31 when he called time on his own Test career. Within 18 months he was retired for good after just six games in his final, Covid-affected, 2020-21 season for Warriors, when he was stood down for several months after two concussions, amid the general angst of the pandemic and empty stadiums.
“Although the head knocks played a small part, it wasn’t that I couldn’t play anymore because of them,” he explained. “The reality was I had a set of timelines in my head about where I wanted to get to and what I wanted to do and more importantly, when I wanted to pull away from the game. I stuck to those timelines.
It was a luxury being able to retire on my own terms, when I wanted to. But like any professional sports person, I missed it terribly
“It was off-the-field reasons really that it came down to – nothing too sinister, my priorities just changed in a variety of different ways. In truth, I just wanted to spend a bit more time with my family and go on to the next thing.
“I had a great time, I had a great run and loved the game, it was amazing. It was a luxury being able to retire on my own terms, when I wanted to. But like any professional sports person, I missed it terribly when I pulled away from it.”
Seymour will still be at Murrayfield for the next four weekends, helping oil the wheels of business, rather than tormenting opposing defences, in his role with Scottish Rugby’s commercial team, keeping the union’s partners and sponsors happy and ensuring contracts are managed appropriately. A hectic month beckons.
“I love sport first and foremost and I like the business side of sport, so there’s a nice balance,” he says. “I consider myself a very lucky individual. I get to take it in all in while doing my day job, so it’s not bad.”
Wary of the danger posed by a Fiji side Seymour regards as “probably the most naturally talented, athletic team in world rugby”, he believes Saturday will provide the physical test Scotland need before the double World Cup champions and recent Rugby Championship-winning Springboks hit town on 10 November.
With last year’s ultimately rather timid World Cup pool defeat still fresh in the memory, he senses “a certain number of the Scotland players and staff will be looking forward to having another bite at the cherry with these guys, in their own backyard”.
The way we play matches up really well with South Africa and I certainly think we’ve got a squad who are very capable of challenging them at Murrayfield.
“South Africa are one of the two or three markers in world rugby right now to find out where you really are as a team and where your frailties may lie,” Seymour says. “South Africa are not coming up here for a jolly. They don’t look at this as a fun end-of-season Test. They will take it incredibly seriously, which is what we want.
“I’m optimistic that there is a result there to be chased but I’m realistic. We also need to make sure we get the rub of the green and we enforce ourselves on them. But I think the way we play matches up really well with South Africa and I certainly think we’ve got a squad who are very capable of challenging them at Murrayfield.”
While the Scottish pack will need to collectively have the game of their lives to earn a first win over the Boks since 2010, the wide boys will also need to come to the party.
Seymour is particularly looking forward to the return of Graham, a player he first clocked when the teenager scored “an absolutely breath-taking try” for Scotland’s Under-20s in 2016. “I remember thinking this kid was seriously special,” he recalled. Graham subsequently became a team-mate in Seymour’s final year of Test rugby.
“Darcy was outstanding. Not only does he have natural ability for his size and strength, with the way he moves and his low centre of gravity, but Darcy is an absolute workhorse. He’s a great professional and is dedicated to his craft. He always wants to be the best on the field all the time – where he gets to, how many times he pops up in a game.
I promise you he will explode when he gets an opportunity… I don’t think it will be long before he is across that whitewash.
“Darcy’s injuries were incredibly unfortunate because he was on a real trajectory. I so hope he stays fit and healthy because he can absolutely go on to compete for (Lions) honours next year. He is that good, but it is down to his personality and the way he’s set up as a human being that makes you want to support him even more. He’s a brilliant fella and a phenomenal rugby player.
“He’s got some rust to shake off, but he will shake it off quicker than most. Darcy is absolutely desperate to play for Scotland again. Every guy or girl wants it really badly, but I cannot wait to see him run out in a Scotland shirt again. I promise you he will explode when he gets an opportunity, because that guy has been waiting a long time to get back in that blue shirt. I don’t think it will be long before he is across that whitewash.”
As for the other member of Scotland’s little-and-large wing partnership, Seymour says fans should treasure Van der Merwe for the moments he has given his adopted country and cut him some slack if he doesn’t trip the light fantastic in every game the way his stunning hat-trick destroyed England in the Calcutta Cup earlier this year.
“Duhan is a freak of nature as we all know,” he says. “With any player with that kind of ceiling, they create a level of expectation on themselves. As fans we watch them and when we see tries like Duhan scored against England, we become accustomed to guys like that – or Darcy or Finn (Russell) or Sione (Tuipulotu) – doing unfathomable things.
“The problem with that is the next game we expect them to recreate it. We move so quickly on from the breath-taking feat they achieved in the first place, and that becomes the measure we hold them against.
“Duhan has created his own ceiling. He puts himself under pressure and we put him under pressure by saying ‘if you can score three tries like that, why can’t you do that every week?’.
“It’s not easy and when people do crazy things, sometimes we forget to appreciate it in isolation, rather than thinking this is a regular occurrence that should be witnessed at every opportunity. The reality is this is professional sport and the guys lining up against them are equally as talented and dedicated.”
It takes one to know one.
Graham needs to start scoring tries against the big boys. His try count is massively skewed towards second-rate or weakened opposition. Same goes for Steyn.
Van der Merwe regularly scores against England and France. In fact, he’s a bit freaky against England!
Tommy Seymour is modest - he scored tries against everyone.