Autumn Series: Scotland v Portugal: Freddy Douglas plays down ‘world class’ tag

FREDDY DOUGLAS, the 19-year-old flanker who became the youngest Scotland cap in in 60 years when he came off the bench against Portugal earlier today, has played down the suggestions that he is “world-class already”, as was claimed by the national team’s forwards coach John Dalziel earlier this week.

“I heard about that and I’m obviously buzzing, but hopefully I can just keep working and hopefully eventually get to world-class,” he said after the match. “I think it’s obviously amazing that I’ve managed to get to this opportunity, but I don’t think age is really what matters. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.

“Obviously you’re so excited and being in the squad, you want to get on as soon as you can, but I think just being in the atmosphere of Murrayfield, it just felt so amazing, and when I eventually did get on, it was the best feeling of my life.”

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“I remember going on, hugging Benny [Mucaster], that felt amazing. The big thing I remember is just the anthem, singing in front of so many people for my country. It just felt absolutely amazing. I got quite emotional during it and it’s something I’ll never, ever forget.”

Douglas is the youngest cap since Donald White played four games for Scotland during the 1963 Five Nations, and he was able to meet the former centre – who is now 80 years old – after the match.

“Obviously, meeting Donald was amazing.  He was lovely, a wee bit cheeky, but really nice and, yeah, class to see him,” said Douglas. “He was just quite smiley and I think he did say that he was definitely younger than me.”

Douglas has now been capped before playing a senior match for Edinburgh, and he will hope that this experience and exposure can be the catalyst to a more prominent role with the capital outfit. “Hopefully it does kick off, but I’m not expecting anything. I just want to keep playing my rugby and hopefully get further later,” he said.

Before that, he will have a chance of more game time in the dark blue jersey next weekend, most likely in the Scotland ‘A’ fixture against Chile at Hive Stadium on Saturday evening, but possibly against Australia in another cap international at Murrayfield the following day.

“I mean, we’re really lucky in the fact that we’ve got two fixtures next week. So there’s like double the amount of players that get an opportunity. So yeah, really looking forward to hopefully putting another one [blue jersey] on.”

Douglas is such a low-key and polite character off the pitch that it is hard to imagine him scrapping with Pierre Schoeman when called in to train with the Scotland team earlier this year, as revealed by head coach Gregor Townsend when naming the youngster in the training squad at the start of this Autumn Series.

“I just think [I’m] quite competitive. It wasn’t anything too much,” he shrugged.

There is clearly an old head on those young shoulders, and his music taste seems to be of a similar bent, with Douglas revealing that his chosen song for the ritual of new caps singing on the team bus was the John Denver classic ‘Country Roads’. “I know all the words,” he reasoned.

Douglas also paid tribute to his family – particularly his mum [Sue], to whom he was planning to present his match shirt – and some of the coaches who were influential in his development as a player.

“I had loads of close family [at the game today] – my mum, my brother and my sister – and then I had wider family, so my aunt, my uncle, a few cousins, a bunch of mates came, and my girlfriend came, it was really, really nice.”

“I’ve had a load of influences. First was actually my brother. He played rugby, he was a seven as well. So he was a really big influence on all my rugby. Just watching him and growing up with him. And then I went to Stewart’s-Melville, so there’s a bunch of coaches there. Stuart Edwards, he was my 1st XV coach and he’s been beyond helpful, even now.”

Autumn Series: Scotland v Portugal report: solid win in a contest of questionable value to hosts