RENNIE BOOST 2018
“Dave (Rennie) is one of the
reasons I hung around Glasgow
a couple of years ago. I had a
chance to leave and decided to
stay to learn new things from Dave.
“He’s given me a little more
confidence to go out there and
express myself. He’s added bits
and pieces to my game. One of
the main things he talks about is
enjoying your rugby. He says, ‘Get
a smile on your face. Have fun’.
“Win or lose, we get together as
a team afterwards. He’s always
first on the guitar. He’s incredible.
A man of many talents. He’s
frustratingly good at everything.”HIT ROCK BOTTOM
“My red card against Wales
in 2014 (for a late tackle on Dan
Biggar). It was a yellow to begin
with but then it came up on the
big screen in Cardiff and 80,000
people started screaming their
heads off. I was off and we lost by
a record score (51-3). Not good.
“It was a difficult time in my
career. I’d become too big for my
boots having been on the Lions
tour the summer before. I thought
I was better than I was. I behaved
badly and wanted a move to
Ulster and it all got very messy. I
was out of line. Gregor (Townsend,
then Glasgow coach) dropped
me. On the day of the Pro12 final
against Leinster in Dublin a few
months later, I was sitting in the
back of the stand at the RDS
drinking a pint. Gregor was right.
“In hindsight, the red card and
all the bad stuff that followed
was the best thing that could
have happened. It woke me up
and taught me a lesson.
“I sometimes think what might
have happened had I walked out
on Glasgow. I’m not sure I would
have been forgiven. I seriously
doubt that I’d be playing for
Scotland now had I done it.”Life in Pictures
HURL OF A TIME
“You get to try a few mad
things when you’re on a Lions
tour and there’s nothing madder
than hurling. I’ve watched it on
telly a few times. The boys who
play that sport are off their heads.
“I’m quite proud of this picture
(at a pre-tour training camp in
Ireland) because I connected with
the ball. What you don’t see is me
missing it the six times before.”2017
2014