Six months after leading Scotland to a two-test triumph in Argentina, Al Kellock has been restored to the captaincy of his country by head coach Andy Robinson for the opening RBS Six Nations meeting with France in Paris next week.
The 29-year-old Glasgow skipper admits to “something a little extra” about getting the job for the great old championship.
Kellock underwent knee surgery to solve a long-standing problem after becoming the first man to skipper Scotland to victory in a tour series to the Southern Hemisphere, and only returned to action in November.
A gradual return to his best form, culminating in successive wins for the Warriors in their final Heineken Cup games, has convinced Robinson to go back to the lock.
However, when the call came last week from Robinson, Kellock was initially simply relieved he was back in the international reckoning having missed the three autumn tests as he finished his rehabilitation.
“I thought he was telling me I was simply back in the squad, but I was delighted to find he wanted me as captain again,” said Kellock at the Scotland training camp at St Andrews yesterday.
“It’ll be huge, the opportunity I had in Argentina to lead the team out was the highlight of my career so far, but there’s something a little extra I can feel already because it’s the Six Nations, and I’m very aware that my personal performance needs to be of a level to justify my place, and that’s the only way I would want it.
“As far as being captain at Murrayfield goes, in my mind I’ve just been asked to be captain in Paris and it goes no further than that.”
The aim for Kellock was to get his knee fixed before a busy 2011 of Six Nations and World Cup, but getting the captaincy was an afterthought.Great leaders”There’s a lot of great leaders in the squad Nathan Hines, John Barclay, Rory Lawson, Mike Blair and guys like Chris Paterson and we all have input.
“The captaincy wasn’t at the forefront of my mind getting back, and I’ve never sought to be a captain-it’s something that’s been offered to me throughout my career.
“I’m still learning about the job. I learned a hell of a lot from the two Toulouse games just last month and I learned in Argentina that I enjoyed the job, but only our best performance will beat France. We can’t expect anything less form ourselves if we hope to go to Paris and win.”
Assistant coach Gregor Townsend paid tribute to Kellock’s comeback and the way he had recovered his outstanding form of last season.
“He came back quickly, maybe a bit too quick he would admit, but he has fought to get to the level he was playing before the injury,” said Townsend.
“Glasgow have won home and away in the last two weeks and came very close to beating Munster away, with a lot of their top players out, and that speaks volumes for Al’s leadership and performances in those games.”
Unlike recent training camps, there is still discussion over places in the team for the Stade de France, added the coach.
“In the past we’ve been sure of the team 10 days before the game, but this time there’s a few positions up for grabs, and the team for the match against Ireland A at Galashiels on Friday will have relevance to formations for the team for Paris,” he said.
“It’s a great test because Ireland probably have the strongest A team of anyone in Europe at the moment.”
Johnnie Beattie despite being confined to just 40 minutes of his third warm-up match at the weekend because of a virus will play against Ireland A and is still on course for a place against France, but three players have not trained during the first two days at St Andrews.
Chris Paterson has two dead legs while Allan Jacobsen and Mike Blair both have calf strains, but all three are expected to be available to train later this week.