Scotland forward Stuart McInally has Georgia on his mind

The game against the Georgians has been pencilled in for 24 October at BT Murrayfield, a week before the Wales match. Those dates and the planned Eight Nations Tournament in November and December have still to be ratified by World Rugby and the Six Nations, but if for any reason the Georgian visit falls through, Scotland are still all but certain to have a home international on that weekend.

McInally is likely to have played several times for Edinburgh in the Pro14 and Europe before the international window opens, so would not be short of match fitness. Nonetheless, he believes that a home outing for the national team would be very beneficial before Gregor Townsend takes his squad south to face the Welsh in a match which is likely to take place in London.

“That’s going to be an exciting game,” the hooker said of the Murrayfield date with a team that Scotland beat twice in the build-up to last year’s Rugby World Cup. “I wouldn’t describe it as a warm-up game, because I think that would be doing Georgia a bit of a discredit. I think they are an excellent team – I played against them quite recently. It will be good to not have Wales as our first game, because that is such an important game for us.”

According to the draft schedule for the autumn window, a rest weekend will follow the Wales match before Scotland go into their Eight Nations pools games against Italy, France and Japan. Fiji will be the newcomers in the other pool, which will also include England, Ireland and Wales. With a play-off match to follow for each team, the autumn calendar will look refreshingly different according to McInally.

“I think it looks really exciting,” he continued. “We often get the chance to play teams from around the globe around autumn time, so it’s good to welcome Japan and Fiji. It’s just something different, and different is often quite exciting. It’s going to be busy, there will be a lot of games in a short space of time, I’m sure it will be good to be involved in that.

“I’ve always really enjoyed playing in the autumn Tests and the chance to play teams like New Zealand, Australia, teams you normally never get the chance to play unless you are lucky enough to tour there. But at the same time, if there is a competitive side to a tournament, that’s also really exciting.”

In recent seasons some members of the Scotland squad have been subject to a protocol which sees them rested after playing four consecutive games, whether for country or pro team. That could be altered in the coming months given the crowded calendar from late August onwards, and although McInally is well aware of the importance of player welfare, he suggested that the aftermath of the long lockdown lay-off could be the right time for him and his colleagues to take on a more onerous schedule.

“I know it’s a big topic and player welfare is very important, but the coaches of these squads have to manage the players,” he said. “If there are, say, 26 games in 27 weeks if that is what the season is going to look like, the players can’t play all of them.

“This is where coaches will have to manage people individually. Players will break down if you play them too much. At the same time our jobs rely on the revenue coming in and because of the coronavirus we have had a brilliant three months off, something we haven’t had before. Maybe it is time to knuckle down and we find ourselves playing a bit more this year. That might just be the way of it.

“I can see both sides; I really can. As a player the last thing you want to do is burn yourself out and find yourself constantly playing at 60/70 per cent. You risk injuries more.

“At Edinburgh we do feel the conversations are there to give yourself a bit more ownership. If you feel a bit roughed up you can speak up, and we have a good strength-and-conditioning team that look after you so well.

“It has happened in the past – a player plays four games in a row then they get a couple of days off during the week. You just have to hope that continues, as it sounds like it will be a real busy year.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy Yates

Editorial Director