Richie Vernon’s pace proved enough to convince Scotland coach Andy Robinson to pick him for the Rugby World Cup squad.
The 24-year-old Dundonian back rower was selected ahead of his former flatmate Johnnie Beattie in the only major decision left to be made. Vernon is one of two former pupils of Dundee High School in the 30-strong squad, along with prop Alasdair Dickinson.
Dollar Academy is represented by John Barclay, Graeme Morrison and Rory Lawson, while Perth has the Lamont brothers, Sean and Rory. A third of the squad is from the northern Caledonia Region.
The only shock and even that largely anticipated is Beattie’s omission for the second World Cup in succession. The son of the former British Lion John was first choice No 8 only 15 months ago but his decision to undergo shoulder surgery and a troubled return to action has cost him dearly, with Vernon, Alasdair Strokosch and Ross Rennie all selected ahead of him.
For Vernon, there was simple relief and delight that 12 weeks of hard work and a few nights of worry were finally over and he was headed to New Zealand.
“It’s a great feeling that all the hard work that I’ve done has paid off,” he said. “Obviously Saturday against Italy went pretty well, parts of the performance I was happy with and obviously Andy was happy with it as well, so it’s great to go to New Zealand with that confidence and, as he said himself, it’s all about getting in the first 15 now.
“It’s been a hard few weeks but we have a smaller squad now, it’s going to be even more intense, especially when we get out there and all eyes are on us.”
Vernon got a cheeky text from his brother saying he couldn’t believe he’d made the squad but family plans for the next few weeks might be changing.
“My mum and dad were set for a holiday in America but there’s talk of a change of plan now. They’re obviously all delighted for me.”
Vernon does feel for his friend Beattie, with whom he shared a flat when they were both with Glasgow up until this summer.
“It is really hard for him. It was a similar situation at the last World Cup and he’s been so unfortunate because in the past four years he’s put together some exceptional performances for Scotland.
“The shoulder injury has made it hard to recapture that form but I know he’ll be back again representing Scotland and that he’ll go back to Glasgow and put everything in there.”
Robinson singled out Beattie and Greig Laidlaw as two players who nearly made the cut but said it was the consistency of the five back rowers he selected that had won the day.
“I was only picking five back rows and the combinations I was looking at, plus the consistency, is why I’ve gone for those choices and I told Johnnie that,” said the head coach.
“In the end we were down to one selection and the pace of Richie can really add to our game as long as he’s getting himself in the game which we saw at the weekend. Richie is maturing as a player and he got involved where we needed him.”
The coach hinted that Nikki Walker, who damaged knee ligaments in the final warm-up game against Italy, would have made the cut ahead of Simon Danielli had he not been ruled out of the tournament.