If rugby league is to gain a firm foothold in Scotland, then the season ahead will be crucially important.

Scotland have qualified for the World Cup finals which starts in Australia in October and Murrayfield will host the “Magic Weekend” next May which will see a full round of Super League fixtures played in Edinburgh.

It will be the first time for seven years - since Murrayfield hosted the Challenge Cup final in 2002 - that the top level of the sport has visited north of the border.

Angus McNab knows the next few months will be important to the development of the sport in this country.

He is living the dream. As coach of Scotland’s “A” team, he has also been recruited onto the coaching staff of the pro side under head coach Steve McCormack.

Injury cut short his playing career but, at 25, he now has a unique opportunity. He guided Edinburgh Eagles to the Scottish Conference title and Napier University to the BUSA North title but has just celebrated his biggest coaching scalp to date, beating England 26-24 in the Four Nations Championship in Lasswade.

 “The “A” team has made progress in the last year,” he states, “We finished bottom of the Four Nations in 2007 after losing a couple of close games.

“This year, we were second after winning two of our three matches and the highlight for me was beating England in a close game.

“To beat England at any level is an achievement and these games get tribal. We had to dig in deep but we managed to get the win.”

McNab has been pleased to see seven of his “A” squad making the pro team’s preliminary squad of 40 for the World Cup and rubbing shoulders with players from the Super League and from rugby league in Australia.

How many from the amateur ranks make the final squad remains to be seen but coach McCormack has stated that places are there to be claimed in the weeks ahead.

“Steve has said that everyone in the 40 has a chance to making the final cut. A player’s destiny is in his own hands if he puts in the work and wants it badly enough,” reasons McNab.

“It’s about establishing a good mix of players and the amateur players have as much of a chance as anyone in the 40 of making the final 24.

“We want people with a genuine desire to play for Scotland. There are always budgetary constraints but Wade Liddell - one of the squad who plays in Australia - summed up the spirit we want when he paid his own way to fly over from Australia to play in the World Cup qualifying game against Wales.

“He has a real desire to play for Scotland and we need players with that attitude.”

Scotland, who are playing in the finals for the first time since 2000, open against France on October 26 and face Fiji in their other group match on November 5.

What has worked in the sport’s favour is the fact it is willing to embrace ideas from other sports and take them on board.

McNab has had some of his players working with Scotland’s top judo players and he feels it has helped them progress.

“The “A” team has been doing a lot of work with James Miller at Scottish Judokan,” he explains, “He is number two in Britain behind Craig Fallon and was unlucky not to go to the Olympics.

“It’s good for our players to see the environment the judo players are working in. It’s an individual sport but there is a great sense of team spirit and everyone is pulling in the same direction.

“It is phenomenal what they have achieved together with their team ethic and dedication to their sport and it’s something we can learn from.”

McNab is hoping that rugby league can take a significant step forward in Scotland within the next six months or so.

“The next few months will be important for the sport in Scotland as it will put it in the spotlight. We want to maximise the opportunity and create a legacy to build on,” he concludes.

“There is a talk of having a national league two club in Scotland and that would be the logical next step.”

RM
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