By Steve Scott, rugby correspondent

JOHN BARCLAY may be the youngest and most inexperienced member of the Scotland squad, but he’s had more than enough of the heroic near misses for a career already.

The 22-year-old former Dollar Academy pupil has been in Scotland squads since he was 18, in the senior team by the age of 21 and has already been up against the peerless Richie McCaw in matches against the All Blacks twice in what has been a whirlwind introduction to international rugby.

However he’s had enough of pats on the back for good efforts for both Glasgow and for Scotland, even if they come from his own family.

“My mum spoke to me after the game on Saturday and was really proud of us, saying that we’d played so well,” he said.

“I told her thanks, but we still lost the game.

“We can talk about making progress for so long until it just gets boring.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we pushed the world champions so close and losing by four points is better than 40, but it’s still losing.

“Lot of people after the game were very encouraging to us, telling us how well we played, but that makes it worse in my opinion.

“We should be winning close matches like that.”

Barclay felt the same after the season with Glasgow last year, which was another example of progress without reaching full potential.

“We won seven games on the bounce at the end of the season and got a lot of credit for that, but the whole season was about how we should have qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup,” he pointed out.

“We want to win these games and achieve these things and until we start doing it, then it won’t mean much to me.”

A mixture of frustration and anger at the loss to South Africa should fuel the fire against Canada at Pittodrie tomorrow, as Barclay continues to make the number seven shirt his own.

“I had the target this autumn to play in all three tests and I knew that would be tough, simply because of the games themselves and the competition for places in the back row for Scotland.

“I saw how quickly things can change in the World Cup, the Six Nations and the summer tour, so I was prepared that it might not happen.

“To be honest, I’ve never felt as tired in my life as I did after the New Zealand game, and we haven’t been pushed too hard this week because the coaches understand about the effort we’ve made over the last fortnight.

“What I’ve picked up this fortnight is the speed of thought and intensity the top teams have while still maintaining the top level of accuracy.

“We made lots of scoring chances and they seem so crystal clear when you see them on the tape afterwards, then you look at the way the top teams execute and take those chances, and that’s what we’ve got to build on.”

Meanwhile Max Evans’ introduction to the Scottish squad might never have happened but for a chance invitation to a knockabout sevens tournament and the knowledge he could return to his former trade at a later date.

The 25-year-old elder brother of Thom has blossomed in professional rugby since joining Glasgow last year, but he was already a professional at another sport—golf.

Max is a fully-qualified PGA teaching professional, following in the footsteps of dad Brian, who is director of golf at a Portuguese resort, and rugby was something of an afterthought.

“I just happened to be playing in a bounce team in a sevens tournament at Sale and several people asked me what club I was with, and I wasn’t with any at the time, and there was a bit of interest after that,” he said.

“I love the team element of rugby and the golf is always there if I need to go back to it.

“My dad tried to qualify for the Seniors Tour last week and didn’t make it, so maybe once I’m finished with rugby I’ll have a go, but I would be happy to go back to being a teaching pro.”

Max’s solo try for Scotland A against Georgia last week was just the latest in a series of stand-out performances that national coach Frank Hadden acknowledged made him “impossible to ignore.”

“Obviously I would have preferred if Thom hadn’t been injured and we could play for Scotland together, but maybe one day,” said Max.

“What I do know is that I can’t wait to get on the pitch and win my first cap.”

However, his only previous visit to Aberdeen got him thinking about his other sporting love.

“I went up on the train, and all I saw were golf courses,” he said. “The train went right past Carnoustie, of course, and that’s one I haven’t played yet but would really love to.”