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GRAMGood afternoon and welcome to the first of three games live on Sport telegraph today when Scotland host Italy in Murray to kick off Super Saturday.
Scott Steele will graduate from a dark world of pub quiz to big league when he makes his starting debut for Scotland against Italy at Murrayfield today. Richard Bath writes.
“He has played three games: one on the wing, one in the scrum half and one in the back row,” Scotland’s assistant coach Mike Blair said. “In the next few years, that will be a matter of trivia.”
Steele’s versatility has been one of the reasons for his rise, whether he came to the band in his first international match against Wales at the Parc and Scarlets before Christmas, replaced Ali Price at Twickenham, or was thrown into the back row. Against Ireland, Steele has displayed impressive adaptability and a willingness to roll up his sleeves.
“He really fit the role,” former Lions scrum-half Blair said of Steele’s unexpected season as an international wing. “He should have solved 12 breakdowns and his energy was great. He was trying to avoid bringing the ball close to the line, because it is not the size of the others, but he was putting everything in it.
“He did a brilliant job and his scrum technique was really good. The other great thing about Scott is that he’s a brilliant guy. “
Steele seems to have a taste for the unconventional. A talented athlete who played youth soccer for Kilmarnock, he started out as a winger at Dumfries, the club where his brothers and father played. When he was 17, he was playing for Scotland U-18 when his teammate Corey Venus mentioned that his club, Leicester Tigers, was looking for a scrum half.
Steele wrote to the club and moved south for a week-long test before making his Premiership debut at age 18. After four years in the Midlands, he moved to the London Irish, for whom he made 117 appearances over five seasons before being released.
Out of a contract and facing unemployment, he moved to Harlequins last summer and, after scoring three tries in seven appearances, his contract was recently extended.
Ali Price’s failures against Ireland, where he conceded crucial penalties at the end of each half, tempted Townsend to give Steele a chance, but only because his only scrum-half stint with Scotland suggested he can cope with the rigors of rugby. test.
“Scott’s performance was excellent at Twickenham when he really helped control those last 10-15 minutes,” Townsend said. “His work pace, defensive attributes and overall skills should see him go well.”
If debuting as a starter in the same game that captain Stuart Hogg also makes his debut in the Scotland showdown should be doubly daunting, it helps that they are good friends.
“Twelve months ago, it looked like Scott wasn’t going to have a contract, but he worked incredibly hard during the lockout to get in shape and get a club,” Hogg said. “It has been outstanding for Quins this year, and since coming to camp in Scotland he has brought great energy and impact when he played at age nine.
“I am excited to see the real Scott Steele against Italy. He’s a bundle of energy, an excellent defender, and loves to get stuck. I can’t wait to see what he can do ”.
In that, Hogg is not alone.
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