Gus Warr determined to make his case to Gregor Townsend
Sale scrum-half Gus Warr is determined to catch the eye of Gregor Townsend, below, ahead of the Scotland head coach’s squad announcement.
Scotland will face Fiji, Portugal, Australia, and world champions South Africa in the autumn internationals.
Warr has impressed this season for his boyhood club, scoring two tries in two of the three opening games, against Saracens and Gloucester.
He told The Rugby Paper: “In Scotland there are four or five that could be in with a shout for the 9 or 21 jersey.
“I have got to play well for Sale when I get the opportunity and then do that consistently to be in the conversation of doing that for Scotland.
“That is the ultimate dream and what I am striving towards but I have got to make sure that I nail playing for Sale before I can start thinking about how that impacts anything going forward.”
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Scotland Debut
Warr realised his dream of representing Scotland when Townsend’s men toured the Americas over the summer.
The 25-year-old marked his debut at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa with a brace of tries as Scotland defeated Canada 73-12.
Lining up alongside clubmate Arron Reed for his first Scotland appearance, Warr became cap number 1,223. He earned his second in the 52-11 dismantling of Chile.
He said: “All the sacrifices you make, it is so worth it to be able to sing the anthem, play, and have that moment where you receive your cap. It was pretty special.”
Warr says a combination of hard work, determination, and resilience on and off the pitch were essential for his name to even be uttered from Townsend’s mouth.
“My parents drilled it into me when I was at boarding school,” he said.
“They were very big on education and making sure you nail all that stuff.
“The fact that I have had to work harder than others to get in the position I have and I have had to bide my time, which I don’t think has done me wrong, has taught me a lot of lessons about who I am, about rugby in general and that not everything just comes at once; everybody is on a different journey.”
Sale Ambitions
Sale are chasing their first Premiership title since 2006 and Warr hopes they can help deliver the trophy after coming close the last two seasons.
He said: “This year, we have got to focus on what we do well. We know we are a good side, we know when we get it right we are dangerous, threatening and physical.
“A lot of it will be seeing what we can do to implement ourselves on other teams.
“Last season we took some pretty nasty injuries over a long consecutive run of games which dented the squad, physically and in terms of confidence.
“But it wasn’t the worst thing either as it provided the opportunity for a lot of the young lads the chance for minutes at the top level and to experience what it takes to wear the Sale shirt and what it takes to win.”
