NEVER say never again. Because if you do, you make yourself a hostage to fortune, as David Denton knows all too well.
The Scotland forward believes his best position is No 8, and it is certainly the one in which he is happiest. He has the solidity to play at blindside flanker too, even though that denies him one of the principal strengths in his game, attacking off the back of the scrum.
What he is not so keen on is playing in the second row, as he has made clear on numerous occasions. At 6ft 5in, the 25-year-old is tall enough to compete at lock, but it is a claustrophobic experience which runs counter to his free-ranging instincts.
Alan Solomons, Denton’s coach at Edinburgh, and Vern Cotter, Scotland’s head coach, are both well aware of the player’s preference. And he has been reported as saying in the past that if at all possible he did not want to play in the second row.
In the circumstances, however, it may not be possible on Sunday, when Scotland meet Australia in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Grant Gilchrist, one of our first-choice locks, has had his tournament ended by injury and was replaced by an openside, Blair Cowan. Jonny Gray, who calls the lineouts and has quickly become one of the team’s most invaluable players, is suspended from the game unless an appeal is successful.
Which leaves Richie Gray, Tim Swinson and Denton. Even if Cotter goes with the other two to start with, Denton is the most obvious choice as cover - most likely from a starting position in the back row, with perhaps Ryan Wilson covering for him on the bench. He knows that might not make for the most enjoyable and carefree afternoon of rugby he has ever had, but he is willing to do his bit for the depleted team.
“I’m going to go and get my ears taped up, just in case,” Denton said when asked how he felt about returning to the second row. “Look, it was a conversation we had when Grant Gilchrist picked up his injury. I had a conversation with Vern and he said that might be a possibility, that I might need to cover the second row. If I have to, I’ll do what I need to do for the team.
“It was the season before last, I think, when Edinburgh had an unbelievable injury crisis in the second row. Which I wasn’t thankful for, I can tell you. I was thrust in there for six or so games in a row.
“It’s a different experience, put it that way. It’s a lot harder to get around the park from that position. But it’s interesting. You have to play rugby in a different way so, from that perspective, it can be quite fun.”
But did he actually say in so many words that he would never play there again? “That might have been the hope!,” he answered. “No, it wasn’t my favourite.
‘I would much prefer to be playing at No 8 - it’s easier to get into the game in that position, and that’s my position. But the nature of this competition is you’ve only got a certain number of players. When you get to the tail end of the competition and you’ve got niggles, you’ve got citings and things like that, people need to be flexible.
“Look, it’s something I’m very comfortable with. I’m comfortable with the line-outs and things like that. So, if need be, I can slip into that role.”
As if playing in a World Cup quarter-final did not bring its own pressure, the suspension of Gray and hooker Ross Ford has brought more attention to bear on what goes on at the ruck. It is already a complicated area, at times a chaotic one, but now players are conscious that they could almost instantaneously become involved in something that has serious disciplinary consequences.
“It is difficult from our point of view,” Denton continued. “Because, for us, we’ve got a split second to make a decision that could have ramifications for the next three weeks.
“But, from a player’s point of view, as much as we can stay away from someone’s neck, all the better. However unintentional things are, and even sometimes knowing that it’s not as dangerous as other things, when you go near the neck people seem to kick up a fuss.”
Inevitably, players feel aggrieved for their colleagues when bans are handed out, and they can at times be motivated by a sense of grievance. But Denton believes that, come Sunday, they will need clear heads and cannot afford to be distracted by disciplinary matters.
“I guess sometimes it does feel like that,” he said when asked if he felt that Scotland were at times hard done by in such matters. “But we can’t be sitting here feeling sorry for ourselves. We’ve got a huge match to win on the weekend. So we have to deal with it, park it to one side and move on.
“I think what we’ve been through in the last two weeks prepares us for what lies ahead. That’s the most physical South African team I’ve ever played against and the Samoans, while they came out to really play rugby, were very physical, as well.
“But I think it’s kind of a myth that the Australian rugby team isn’t physical. They are a physical team – and we can expect them to come at us.
“They are going to look to play rugby, yes. But rugby matches are won up front, in the trenches, if you like. We’ve got to win that physical battle, and I think we can.”
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