Veteran hooker Ross Ford needed no convincing to put his international future into the hands of a 20-year-old in Scotland’s Autumn Test opening win and will do so again against the mighty All Blacks on Saturday.
The 77-times capped former skipper was not a unanimous choice amongst Scotland fans for Saturday’s game against Argentina due to his perceived weakness of throwing into lineouts, a factor that probably got him dropped during the Six Nations earlier this year when the Scots lost 10 of their own throws in the first two games.
Coming into the Puma test, young Jonny Gray was given the role of calling the lineout moves, meaning the youngest player in the side had one of the most crucial roles and one which required he and Ford to be on the same page at all times.
The Scots didn’t lose a single lineout and stole two of Argentina’s, while Ford was reckoned by most to have had one of his best games for his country, reflected in his smile as he left the pitch during the second half.
“It was hard not to smile,” he said. “We were in control of the game and scored some good tries, the team had put in a good performance and it was good feeling to know that.
“It was pleasing to get my hands on the ball a few times, but as Greig (Laidlaw) said afterwards everybody played to a high standard, everyone was a threat in attack and that allowed us to control the game.”
He had no issue about taking order from the youngest guy on the team, as well.
“Jonny has been calling the line-out well for Glasgow, and did a great job on Saturday,” he said. “The same with Grant (Gilchrist) at Edinburgh this year.
“You just have to trust them. You build that in the week leading into the Autumn Tests and you have a week to drill it, see how far you can push it and get to the very best. Jonny did a really great job, the stats show it.
“Sometimes throwing at a lineout can be a lonely job, but it’s part and parcel of the role. You are there to hit the jumpers and if you are not doing it sometimes it’s not your fault, sometimes it is.
“There’s a lot to get right, the throw, the movement, the lift and the catch, you have to trust the callers and you have to adapt to what you see the opposition do when you’re on the field.”
Forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys reckons only goalkickers are exposed to having “all 80,000 eyes on them” like hookers are at lineout time.
“It’s a lonely position and you need to feel confidence and feel comfortable with yourself,” said the Welshman. “I thought Fordy has thrown well this year, Edinburgh have had a strong lineout and that’s been down to some good calling from Gilcho but also from Fordy’s throwing.
“There’s not an international rugby player who does not have extreme lows and highs. It’s how you deal with that coming out the other end, it’s experience and going through those things, knowing what it feels to be under pressure and how to cope.”
Though the ten-from-ten record at competed lineouts was pleasing, continued Humphreys, the real test was this weekend.
“We’re happy with the quality of lineout and the drill is improving, but we’re up against probably the best lineout defence team in the world now. The All Blacks are exceptional in that area so it’s a massive test for us.
“The back row will be huge too, Adam (Ashe), Blair (Cowan) and Rob (Harley) are quite inexperienced at this level.
“But this is what it’s about, you can try and replicate it in training but nothing compares to playing against Kieran Read, Richie McCaw and whoever they play at six.
“It’ll be a fantastic experience for Adam in particular. We picked him for South Africa off the back of playing no senior rugby, an on the weekend he was exceptional for us.
“Everything that happens this weekend is going to be a positive experience for him and he’ll be the better for it.”
While happy with the first hit-out, the Scots know that the world champions are the ultimate test, continued Humphreys.
“We are going to have to get better, that’s the process in front of us. Even after a good 55-minute performance, we’re still working on the fact that the last 15 minutes or so we lacked discipline, gave away too many penalties and allowed a team to get back into a game we should have won more comfortably than we did.
“We conceded nine penalties in ten minutes of play at one point. You could ask whether those penalties were correct or not, but that fact is the majority of them were.
“We need to make sure that when we play the best team in the world at the weekend we have to have a full complement of people and be accurate in what we do if we’re going to compete.”