A Scot will be plotting to help South Africa defeat Scotland at Murrayfield in November after Richie Gray was brought on board as a breakdown consultant with the Springboks for the rest of this year.
Gray, well known in Scotland thanks to his coaching career which has included a spell at Gala, has been making waves around the rugby world in the last couple of years with an invention which he designed in his garage.
The 'Collision King' took him four years to develop and was launched in 2011 by Rhino Rugby. It is a simple yet highly effective machine to enable players to practice correct body position and technique in this most important phase of play and has been taken on board by international and professional teams throughout the world.
He has been asked to join up with the South Africa squad in Johannesburg ahead of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, with head coach Heyneke Meyer believing his skills at the breakdown will be invaluable ahead of their opener against Argentina on August 17.
Meyer said: "There are between 120 and 160 rucks in every game and last year we've seen that it's an area of the game where we can vastly improve.Richie brings a lot of knowledge on the breakdowns and I'm confident he will be able to add a lot of value in the coming months. I've known Richie for a decade and I have always been very impressed with his level of dedication when it comes to ruck play."
Gray said recently: "During the World Cup last time around in 2007 I was watching the matches and it became clear to me that the collision area was becoming more and more a big part of the sport and the teams that could cope with it well were going to come out on top. It got me thinking that, although players had products available to help them practise scrummaging, tackling and such like - one of the most important parts of the game - was being ignored."
Gray, a 43-year-old who also set-up the Borders College Academy of Sporting Excellence which helped Stuart Hogg progress and who has done a lot of media work with the BBC and SCRUM Magazine, has since launched the 'Maul King'.
n Stevie Scott, the Edinburgh pack coach, is confident that Hamish Watson and George Turner, the international age-group pair who have signed new contracts with the team, will step up to the big stage. Watson, a breakaway forward, and hooker Turner will be in the capital set-up until next year at the earliest.
Scott said: "These guys are in specialist positions and will have players with Test experience at the club to help them develop. What we need is a continuation of their hard work and then for them to challenge the others for a place in the team."
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