LONDON Scottish director of rugby Bryan Red-path has commended the positive impact made by loan players introduced as part of his club’s relationship with Harlequins.
Nine Quins, five of whom are just 20 years old, starred in Scottish’s bonus point victory over Cornish Pirates last Friday and Redpath is pleased with the energy and pace such a young squad can bring.
He told The Rugby Paper: “Friday was a good performance and one that highlights why we partnered up with Quins. We play the young boys and we’re comfortable playing them. It’s a great learning tool for them, and some are picking our game up nice and quick.”
Redpath is wary of the potential risks of fielding inexperienced players and is keen to teach them the importance of game management and leadership.
“We want them to learn how to win points, not just win the game,” said Redpath. “They’ll always bring youth and energy, but that’s not necessarily what you need sometimes. You might have to stick it up the jumper, not have the ball, and play territory.
“I know they’re talented and have good energy and excitement about them, but they’re playing against more experienced players and they need to have rugby knowledge.
“I want them to be hugely respectful of who they’re playing for and why they’re playing for London Scottish – I don’t care if they’re a Quins player or not.”
Scrum-half Lucas Friday – son of Mike and product of the Quins academy – has impressed in all areas and earned the man of the match award against Pirates in his first start for Scottish.
Redpath said: “He has a very good skill set. His kicking and passing are very good. He’s got the energy, the tempo, so he’s used that when it’s right and when it’s needed for the team. But he’s also willing to work his socks off at having good core skills, and that’s what’s so impressive about him.”
Scottish face Nottingham on Friday and Red-path is focused on lifting Scottish up the table.
He added: “We finished ninth last year and we-want to finish higher up the table. We’ve got a good group and are not in a bad spot, but game management is what’s really important. We lost seven games last year after 80 minutes on the clock – if we’d have won them, we’d have finished fifth. So we need to be better at that side of things.”
