'When Gregor spoke to me, I was angry... For me to be denied that opportunity hurts'
Sean Maitland has a smile on his face and a spring in his step as he trots down to breakfast in the Scotland team hotel. It is the morning after Italy were shellacked at Murrayfield, Maitland and his pals waltzing around in the warm Edinburgh sun, the rugby slick and the tries flowing. He is hungry for a crack at the French in Paris in five days’ time, the Six Nations finale rearranged after Covid-19 tore through the home camp.
This Test falls outside World Rugby’s designated international window, meaning English clubs have no obligation to release their Scottish contingent. For a while, there have been rumblings about what might happen, Chinese whispers that hint at a grave impasse. Little of that registers when you’re immersed in a championship, though, when you spend each week preparing for some of the most stratospherically intense rugby matches of your life.
As he heads for the scoff – who knows, perhaps waffles were on the menu – there is a tap on Maitland’s shoulder. It’s Gregor Townsend, the Scotland coach, and he wears a decidedly grim look.
“Gregor pulls me aside to say, ‘sorry mate, you’re not playing’,” the Saracens wing tells RugbyPass. “I’m just like… taken aback. I don’t know what to think. He told me that before the Italy game, no players were getting released to play France, after the game they managed to get it to three, and this morning they’ve got it to five, but I’m not playing. I’m not one of the five? Oh, right.”
This sorry mess was not of Scotland’s making. The game, initially scheduled for round three of the tournament, was postponed when coronavirus cases erupted among the French squad and management. It later emerged that, several weeks earlier, some of them had gone out for waffles in Rome, ahead of their match with Italy. Fabien Galthie, the coach, attended an academy match to see his boy play for Stade Francais’ espoirs before Scotland were due to visit. There followed rancour and rumour, allegation and aggravation, and much rapping of knuckles from the French government. The greatest sporting damage, though, was wreaked upon the Scots.
Premiership Rugby sought compensation for going an extra match-day without their internationals. After lengthy talks with Scottish Rugby and the Six Nations, a significant six-figure sum was put up, but the number of players released capped at five. Townsend had good options in his back-three, far more so than in other areas of his squad. Maitland was out.
The whole ordeal was fundamentally, inescapably wrong. Scotland, deprived of a key player through red tape. Maitland, blocked from playing for his country, not by injury or poor form or suspension, but bureaucracy. The Six Nations, proudly hailing itself as ‘rugby’s greatest championship’, compromised. Governing bodies out of pocket. A title-deciding match tainted.
The uproar has dimmed now, not simply with the passage of time, but in part too because of the seismic, hoodoo-blasting victory seized by the Scots that night. For Maitland, who watched the game at home in St Albans, the ache lingers.
“When Gregor spoke to me, I was angry – angry over the politics, the money, whatever was organised,” he says. “Two hours later, you’re on a plane back to London. That’s your campaign over. You’re not there to help the boys get the win.
“It was a bit of a shambles, to be honest. Look, I don’t know what the ins and outs were in terms of politics and money, but when you bring those two into international rugby, it is disappointing and I am pretty gutted. No one has really spoken to me, or the other guys who missed out, about the reasons. I still don’t know what was discussed, what sort of sums were put forward – it would be good to get an explanation from Premiership Rugby and a bit of clarity.
“Let’s be honest, I’m 32, and mentally and physically I still feel good and that I’m playing at a high level, but the opportunities to put on the jersey are getting less and less. For me to be denied that opportunity hurts.”
This was a campaign of soaring highs and desperate lows, from the howitzer at Twickenham to the bludgeoning visited by Ireland, the Italian skelping to the maddening endgame. In the lead-up to Paris, Stuart Hogg described how the words emanating from France riled him, talk of having a “trophy to collect” from captain Charles Ollivon, talk of the 21-point margin of victory that would seal the title. Even a mischievous salute to International Waffle Day from the FFR’s official Twitter count.
“Teams can’t really break us down anymore,” Maitland says. “Our defence has improved massively. That’s been down to Steve Tandy, and it’s shown in him getting the Lions job, which is brilliant. It shows the fight and the toughness with the Scotland boys.
“Everyone thought France were going to turn up, win the game, and try to put 21-plus points on us. I had a feeling that it was going to be a lot closer and the result speaks for itself. I was stoked for the boys.
“I know Hoggy came out and said he was a bit hacked off with the comments from the French. They were the ones who got Covid and got the game cancelled. If Italy did the same, would that have happened? If we had a Covid outbreak, would it have been the same result in terms of rearranging the game, or would we have forfeited? It comes down to politics, it comes down to money.”
Two days after the anarchy at the Stade, Maitland got 15 minutes off the bench as Saracens put Richmond to the sword, Championship rugby helping salve his wounds.
This season will be no procession for the fallen English juggernaut. Every side and every player in the division will be lusting to claim the scalp of the Wolfpack. Some already have, Ealing Trailfinders, their chief rivals for promotion, turning them over twice in a pre-season competition; Cornish Pirates, in their opening game of the league, whipping them around Mennaye Field, a scrummage anchored by world champion Springbok Vincent Koch ground to sawdust.
“With Premiership Rugby saying only one team is going up and then they’re going to ring-fence it, there’s a lot of pressure to get back up,” Maitland says. “It’s crazy because one week you’re at Twickenham winning the Calcutta Cup and the next, you’re playing against Cornish Pirates away. It probably can’t get any further from one extreme to the other.
“I think those warm-up games against Ealing and the Cornish Pirates game have been a massive wake-up call to the guys – you ain’t going to just turn up and roll teams over. It’s definitely a different type of rugby where set-piece is more important. Over the first couple of games our set-piece wasn’t where it should be, but it’s been a massive learning and a massive positive for us to say we’ve got to get our s**t in order because these teams are coming for us.
“But since I’ve been at Sarries, every team you play in the Prem targets you. It’s like their World Cup final, it’s something that we should be used to. We got taught a lesson against Cornish Pirates and we’re learning new things.”
The ship has been set back on course, since it was boarded, ransacked and run aground by the Pirates. Saracens have put big scores on Jersey, Richmond and Bedford. They go to Doncaster Knights, a place above them in second, this Sunday, then a mighty scrap with table-topping Ealing the following weekend.
Their England front-liners are back in the mix now, men who copped a pasting for the way their Six Nations campaign foundered. They were bladed for being too undercooked, too off the pace, too far below their top gears.
“I thought it was a bit of a low blow from the pundits,” Maitland says. “They decided to call out the Sarries boys, but the whole England team in general weren’t playing their best. I don’t think there’s any disadvantage to them playing in the Championship.
“Everyone bought into the fact that the guys who are staying, we need to do a job and get back into the Premiership. Against England, I played one of my best games for Scotland, so there are no excuses.”
The competition, though, may have put a dent in their Lions chances. One of three Scots to tour Australia under Warren Gatland in 2013, Maitland was a strong contender to go to his native New Zealand on the last great voyage, where only two made the initial cut. A place on this mid-pandemic jaunt to the world champions’ back yard is not beyond him, but he knows he is an outsider.
The desperate, gnawing hope in Scotland is that more of their men are chosen this time around, with Townsend and Tandy on the coaching staff, and such compelling form on the road.
“I was pretty close to going in 2017. This year, I’m happy with the way I’m playing. I know there are a few nervous boys at Saracens with the squad selection coming up, but I’m pretty relaxed.
“You will 100 per cent see more Scottish boys on this tour. We’ve been playing well, boys have put their hands up, and the last two tours, the guys in the mix haven’t had that coach there to back them. I’m guessing when they’re in selection meetings and they’re talking about two players in a 50-50 call, now some of those boys have got coaches to say, ‘hey, I’m with those boys 24/7 and I know what they can do’.” And it comes with results.”
In rugby terms, Maitland has entered late middle-age, but his attributes – intelligence, leadership, defence and ruthlessness – are still prized, his wits kept keen by grappling with three children under five. Despite the France fiasco, despite the inexorable onset of Father Time, he remains a pivotal cog in Scotland’s resurgence and Saracens’ bid for redemption.
'The guy came up behind him and just, bang, blind-side, lamped him. Everyone jammed in. I was thinking, what have I got myself into?'
Ex- @RGC1404 player @langers95 's path to @Harlequins & @Scotlandteam was less orthodox than most, writes @JLyall93 ???https://t.co/EdUeEzgOHG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 17, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Gee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
72 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
19 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
4 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
2 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
15 Go to commentsForgive my ignorance, I might not fully understand so would appreciate clarification: Didn’t the Bulls have to fly with three different carriers, paid for by the South African Rugby Union, whilst Edinburgh got a chartered flight sponsored by EPCR? Also, as far as I understand it South African teams don’t yet share in the revenue from the competition and are not allowed to host Semi-finals or Finals at home. Surely if everyone wants South Africans to “take the competition seriously” then they must make South Africans feel welcome, allow them to share in the revenue, and give them the same levels of access as the teams from the other countries. Just a reminder that South Africa has a large and passionate Rugby audience. Just by virtue of our teams being a part of these competitions means that more of us are likely to watch the knockout games, even if our teams haven’t qualified. It would be silly to alienate such a large audience by making them feel unwelcome.
19 Go to commentsFirst of all. This guy is very much behind the curve. All the bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning took place days ago already. Not adding anything to the topic other than more bleating, whingeing, whining and moaning. 🍼 Second of all, not one mention of the fact that South African teams can’t get home semi finals or finals. The tournament was undermined and devalued by the administrators. 🤡 Thirdly, football teams often have to juggle selections in mid week games, premier games, champions league games etc. and will from time to time prioritize certain titles over others. 🐒 And lastly FEK Neil, and anyone else for that matter, for insisting on telling teams how to manage themselves. If they make what is largely a business decision that suits them and doesn’t suit you - tough shite. 💩 It’s not rocket science as to why the Bulls did what they did. If this guy is too slow to figure it out (and is deliberately not mentioning one of the key reasons why) then he isn’t a journalist. He should join the rest of us pundit plebs in comments section. 🥴
19 Go to commentsSo the first door to knock on Rob is Parliament followed by HMRC. The Irish Revenue deliver a 40% tax relief rebate on the HIGHEST EARNING TEN YEARS of every pro Irish rugby players contract earnings at retirement. That goes a long way to both retaining their best talent and freeing up wages for marquee players. Who knows, if that had been in place in the UK, you might not have been able to poach Hoggy and Jonny Gray from Glasgow…!!!
3 Go to comments1. True, if that “free” ticket means access to all but the prized exhibit - EVIP only. SA cannot host semis, even if they’ve earned it (see Sharks vs ASM Clermont Auvergne at… Twickenham Stoop). 2. Why no selective outrage over Lyon doing the exact same thing a week earlier? Out of all the countries France send the most “B teams”, why nobody talking about “disrespect” and “prioritising domestic leagues” and “kicking them out”? 3. Why no mention of the Sharks fielding all of their Springboks for the second rate Challenge cup QF? No commitment? 4. Why no mention of all the SA teams qualifying for respective euro knock out comps in the two seasons they’ve been in it? How many euro teams have qualified for KO’s in their history? Can’t compete? 5. Why no mention of SA teams beating French and English giants La Rochelle and Saracens? How many euro teams have done that in their history? Add no quality? The fact is that SA teams are only in their second season in europe, with no status and a fraction of the resources. Since joining the URC, SA has seen a repatriation of a number of players, and this will only grow once SA start sharing in the profits of competing in these comps, meaning bigger squads with greater depth and quality, meaning they don’t have to prioritise comps as they have to now - they don’t have imports from Pacifica and South America and everywhere else in between like “European” teams have - also less “Saffas” in Prem and T14, that’s what we want right? 'If the South Africans are in, they need to be all in' True, and we have to ensure we give them the same status and resources as we give everyone else to do just that. A small compromise on scheduling will go a long way in avoiding these situations, but guess what, France and England wont compromise on scheduling because they ironically… prioritise their domestic comps, go figure!
19 Go to commentsthe success of the premiership can be summarized by : only 10 teams. It makes a huge difference with the overcrowded top 14 (let us not talk about Leinster and URC…)
1 Go to commentsGood for him. The ABs were fooling around again with converted fullbacks that had a penetration of a marshmallow. Laumape or as Aki has shown for Ireland, go forward is important in the centres. If it had been DMac - Aki- Aumua - Ioane- Telea- Jordan in France the final result would have been different.
4 Go to commentsDan Carter a apporté son professionnalisme, des méthodes de travail, un esprit qui manquaient à l’USAP. Son influence, même une fois blessé a été énorme. Et pour citer une anecdote, certains soirs il venait de lui-même à l’entraînement des jeunes pour dispenser ses conseils. On ne peut pas compter ce qu’il a apporté au club en heures de jeu sur le terrain. Est-ce que le club en a eu pour son argent ? Avec la publicité sur son nom et le titre, je suppose que oui.
1 Go to commentsThe SA sides are suffering from a bum rap here. There isn’t a side anywhere in the world that would do things differently in their shoes. They’ve been set up to fail in the EPCR comps by vested interests, with last minute intercontinental travel requirements that costs an arm and a leg to book in advance just on the possibility they might be required. And the total nonsense that denies any chance of home venues is entirely biased and absolutely unsporting. Either EPCR, the Top14 & the Gallagher Premiership get it sorted on a fair and equitable sporting basis for ALL participants or expect the ridicule to continue. Right now, these comps are a joke!
19 Go to commentsSA sides should do the right thing and leave the champions cup, they are lowering the standard with completely one sided games, not up to the right level. The greatest club tournament in the world is being banjaxed by the weak SA sides.
19 Go to comments