A few suprising cases of omissions from international teams has led me to question the loyalty of selectors and coaches to the players, not the players to the country. I understant the role of a selector is a tough role, but in these cases (especially the last two) are definately wrong. Here is my take on the forgotten players, who not so long ago were heroes.
I have supported Scottish rugby for many years and I beleive this Rugby World Cup squad is capable of taking on England and Argintina. However I do not feel this squad is as strong as it should be. I have been dissapointed to hear that the great Jason White hasn't even been considered for the pre world cup squad, what is so sad about this is that he was Scottish captain. True he has his faults but he if a very versitile back row player. The same can be said of Steve Borthwick, another old forgotten captain.
There was two pieces of news this week which dissapointed and angered me. The decision to omit Giteau from the Australian squad is unforgivable. He isn't old, he is a very versitile player and perhaps most importantly he has 91 caps- experiance is needed in world cups. To omit someone from the squad for "personal reasons" which this is probably about isn't alright. The wallabies will miss him and I am beginning to wonder that the last time I will have seen him play would be when Australia played Scotland and lost in 2009.
The second unforgivable omision of the week was Warren Gatland's decision to omit Martyn Williams from his his squad. This is even worse that Giteau because Williams isn't going to play rugby for his country again. I beleive they should have taken him for cover for Sam Warburton. However the saddest thing about this fiasco is the fact that he is stranded on 99 caps. When you do so much for your country, they should pay you back. He has done so much for his team but in the end they repay him nothing.
All of these players have shown unquestionable loyalty to their nation even the lowest capped player in that list has an enviable 57 caps (Borthwick). Here are the players who deserved more, who were in the spotlight, who were bastions of their country. But this proves, in the end when you have played your heart out and done all you can- you can still never receive the recognition you deserve. Here's to the forgotten greats and to the players who soon will be.
I have supported Scottish rugby for many years and I beleive this Rugby World Cup squad is capable of taking on England and Argintina. However I do not feel this squad is as strong as it should be. I have been dissapointed to hear that the great Jason White hasn't even been considered for the pre world cup squad, what is so sad about this is that he was Scottish captain. True he has his faults but he if a very versitile back row player. The same can be said of Steve Borthwick, another old forgotten captain.
There was two pieces of news this week which dissapointed and angered me. The decision to omit Giteau from the Australian squad is unforgivable. He isn't old, he is a very versitile player and perhaps most importantly he has 91 caps- experiance is needed in world cups. To omit someone from the squad for "personal reasons" which this is probably about isn't alright. The wallabies will miss him and I am beginning to wonder that the last time I will have seen him play would be when Australia played Scotland and lost in 2009.
The second unforgivable omision of the week was Warren Gatland's decision to omit Martyn Williams from his his squad. This is even worse that Giteau because Williams isn't going to play rugby for his country again. I beleive they should have taken him for cover for Sam Warburton. However the saddest thing about this fiasco is the fact that he is stranded on 99 caps. When you do so much for your country, they should pay you back. He has done so much for his team but in the end they repay him nothing.
All of these players have shown unquestionable loyalty to their nation even the lowest capped player in that list has an enviable 57 caps (Borthwick). Here are the players who deserved more, who were in the spotlight, who were bastions of their country. But this proves, in the end when you have played your heart out and done all you can- you can still never receive the recognition you deserve. Here's to the forgotten greats and to the players who soon will be.
