Calum MacRae says he was bitterly disappointed Scotland’s ‘A’ team did not win the Barclays Churchill Cup and also revealed he planning to shed his versatile tag in order to target Edinburgh’s number 12 shirt next season.
The 28-year-old played an influential role in helping Scotland 'A' reach the final of the Barclays Churchill Cup in Toyota Park, Chicago last month following some thrilling wins over Canada and Argentina.
But unfortunately the men in dark blue eventually ran out of steam against England Saxons and lost 36-19; much to MacRae’s frustration.
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MacRae said: “With regards to the Final, it was a real disappointment. Going up into the last 20 minutes two points up, but then allowing them to get some soft scores was really disappointing.
“As a squad, two years ago I think we were very happy to have just made the Final against the New Zealand Maoris; even though we eventually lost the game.
“But I think the mentality of the players this year was that; ‘we were in the Final and if we had taken our chances then we could have easily won.’
“Obviously we were very pleased that we had the chance of winning some silverware but the mood in the changing room afterwards was sheer disappointment.
“We felt as though it was within our means to come away with a result.
“I think because we have been to the Churchill Cup before a couple of times the squad understands the format of the tournament.
“There were quite a few guys who had experienced that before and were comfortable with the level of competition.
“I also think the draw favoured us with Canada in the first game. It was quite a tough game, but it was one that we wanted. Then we played Argentina and because it was there first game they were struggling with structure a wee bit.
“Even though we had a short turnaround between games, which maybe showed in the last 20 minutes we still had done enough in the earlier part of the game to put them away.”
MacRae believes the collective performance of the squad in North America underlined the amount of quality in the domestic rugby scene, especially from players such as Scott Newlands who has not experienced a huge amount of game-time at professional level.
He added: “I think it is just about giving guys opportunities. I think if you give a lot of guys in that sort of environment then they will step up and play very well. They are hungry for it as well.
“The players are of a good standard and it is up to them to add to the environment they are going up to. I think there is strength in depth in Scotland and before the Tour there were questions asked from a number of people – both in the press and general public – about the squad that was going out to the Churchill Cup.
“But hopefully our performances proved that if guys are given a chance then they are more than capable of stepping up and playing at that level.
“Speaking to Andy (Robinson), he has got vast Test rugby experience and he felt that the Final against the Saxons was almost at the same level of intensity as the Test matches he has been involved with.”
With every slot in Scotland’s back-line during the Test win over Argentina occupied by an Edinburgh at one point in the game (Nick De Luca replaced Graeme Morrison), MacRae fully understands the level of competition for places in the team next season.
As a result, the former Borders captain says he has specifically targeted one position rather than be labelled a utility back and failing to nail down a regular place.
He said: “After speaking to both Andy and Rob at the end of last season, we felt as though one of the limiting factors in my game was that I’m very versatile. In order to progress and get into the national team this season is to stick to a ball-playing role at 12 or to play at 15.
“Unless there are injuries and Andy and Rob are desperate for me to cover because of the situation, I will try to not play somewhere else.
“Primarily I’ll be looking to play at 12 in a ball-playing second-five role that I did at the Churchill Cup and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
