Jason White backs young Scots

Editor

Jason White has backed the youngsters in the Scotland team to step up to the mark against France in the Six Nations Championship opener at Murrayfield.

Jason White has backed the youngsters in the Scotland team to step up to the mark against France in the Six Nations Championship opener at Murrayfield.

The Scotland captain believes that the likes of Nick De Luca, John Barclay and Rory Lamont are ready to make a big impact in international rugby.

De Luca will make his international debut on Sunday, while Barclay will be playing in only his second match at that level, after making a promising debut in an under-strength Scotland side which was beaten 40-0 by New Zealand during last year's World Cup.

Rory Lamont is the senior statesman of this exciting trio, having already picked up 14 international caps, however time is still on the 25-year-old's side and White has backed his Sale team-mate to be a key player for Scotland during this Six Nations.

“Rory is a young guy at full-back and he can be a real attacking threat for us; and then there are the two notable youngsters – Nick at outside centre and John at open-side flanker – who look like class players,” said White.

“It is obviously harder playing international rugby than it is for the pro teams, so there will be more pressure on them, but I am 100 per cent sure that they are equipped for the task and that they both [Barclay and De Luca] have long international careers ahead of them.

“John seems very mature and level-headed, and when he played in the World Cup against Richie McCaw he fronted up really well, so I have no doubts about him whatsoever.

“I have not spent as much time with Nick, all I know is that he looks like a very, very talented footballer.”

White, who is 29 years old and has 63 caps, admitted to feeling like an old stager when mixing with these new boys. But he says that he finds their youthful exuberance refreshing.

“We were talking about birth dates and they both said they were born in the mid-1980s, which made me feel old. But they are young and really enthusiastic, and I think they will go into this game thinking they have nothing to fear,” he added.

While national coach Frank Hadden has decided the time is right for these youngsters to show what he can do, another player at the other end of the experience spectrum has found himself dropped from the Scotland side for the first time in an eight-year career which has brought 81 caps.

But White has backed Chris Paterson to bounce back from this setback by making a big impact from the bench on Sunday.

“Chris is our most experienced player, he poses an attacking threat, and he is an outstanding goal-kicker,” White said.

“I know he was disappointed not to be in the starting team but his attitude and the way he approached the game this week has been excellent.

“I'm sure he'll get some game time on Sunday, either in the back three or at stand-off, and he is the sort of guy who can come on and make a difference, perhaps by spotting a gap and exploiting some tired French players in the second half.”