Jacko ready for thriller

Friday 24 February 2012

How's it going guys? As round two of the RBS 6 Nations battle took place it made England and Wales look like the two teams most eager to take home some silverware. We also played round sixteen of the RaboDirect PRO12 which gave me the opportunity to play against my former team Connacht Rugby in the Sportsground in Galway.

In blog 5 I briefly spoke about the battle it would be playing against my old club and it definitely was a battle. It must have been part of their game plan to take me out in the first five minutes! But I have to say the reception I got from the home crowd was amazing. With fifteen minutes to go we were leading 10-3, I thought the win was just about in the bag but with Connacht you can never presume anything! With a late Connacht try and a Glasgow penalty we led 13-10 with two minutes left on the clock. With another refereeing decision at the scrum Connacht were awarded a penalty and their number ten Niall O'Connor levelled the scores in the dying seconds.

After being with Connacht the past four seasons I certainly saw changes both on and off the field when I returned last weekend. From the boys eighty minutes of determination on the field to the thousands of loyal fans that have made the Sportsground into a great rugby event.

At a recent press conference I was asked, from my experiences on both sides of the spectrum, do teams underestimate Connacht which really made me think. My response, yes! But as the visiting team Glasgow Warriors marked it down as one of the hardest places to get a win away from home. I don't know what it is about the Galway air but Connacht never lose faith or determination when playing in front of their home crowd!

From my time playing in the Sportsground I found the distraction of the dog track worked to our advantage as visiting teams hated playing there and now that I have been on the visiting side I can see why. Harlequins is a prime example of teams playing out of their comfort zone in Galway. They were sitting comfortably at the top of one of the toughest rugby competitions, the Aviva Premiership, and I'm sure were confident about qualifying for a Heineken cup quarter-final spot until they turned up to the Sportsground and lost 9-7. I hope Connacht continue to push on.

My game of the week was definitely the Scotland v Wales test. The Millennium Stadium packed out with Welsh fans and a few scattered kilts and bagpipes. The game was up for grabs until half time. One of the highlights of the game for me was the introduction of my young Glasgow pal Stuart Hogg. He was the kid wearing the Scotland number twenty two trotting around in bright yellow boots stepping Lions players for fun, not to mention his (very questionable) disallowed try! I wouldn't be surprised if Hoggy's name is already in contention for the 2013 Lions squad. I think he has the potential to be the next Chris Paterson of Scottish rugby.

So this week I decided to have a chat with my Glasgow buddy Ruaridh Jackson about how hungry he must be to get back into the full swing of things in the Scotland camp. Jacko had an unfortunate exit from the Rugby World Cup with a hamstring tear injury against England at Eden Park. As frustrating as it must be Jacko has stood up to the challenge and is dominating the RaboDirect PRO 12 and is ready for the Scotland call up.

So Bro, first things first, I've heard you paid £30 just to get your hair shaved off? That's a bit ridiculous isn't it? And also I heard a rumour that you had to shave your head because your having the same transplant treatment as Wayne Rooney.

"Haha, no money was involved, just felt like a change was needed after finally returning from injury, bit of superstition to put it all behind me. I hopefully won't be needing any hair transplants soon, but the curls will be back."

It must be a really frustrating times for yourself the last few months with your injury. When do you think you'll be back in that Scotland 10 jersey?

"Hopefully soon, been a long time and frustrating sitting on the sidelines at the start of the 6 Nations and miss it a lot, but I'm being honest when I say I'm just thrilled to be back playing rugby and getting my fitness back."

So who was your rugby idol growing up?

"Stephen Larkham was one guy I really enjoyed watching, thought he was seriously classy and loved the way he played the game."

You live with one of the biggest boys in world rugby, Moray Low. It must behard to watch your diet with all his chocolate stash!

"I try hard to keep him on the straight and narrow, its hard cooking for the big fella to make sure he is full. He normally gives in to his chocolate addiction when his girlfriend Laura comes round for movie night."

Who do you rate as the greatest rugby player in the world at the moment?

"In the 10 position Daniel Carter still has to be up there, but backrows are dominating things at the moment with the likes of Pocock, Dusautoir, McCaw all immense."

How does a wee boy get such a massive free car? (Range-Rover)

"Pure luck and will try rolling with it for as long as possible, my agent is friends with a manager of a car dealership in my home town Aberdeen so they are extremely kind and help me and Cus (Chris Cusiter) out."

What's the best thing about playing number 10 for Scotland, playing in the big games or getting free stuff?

"As nice as some free kit is, the big games are just ridiculous to play in, I love them so much. The atmosphere in Eden park before the England game will live with me forever."

Do you regret teaching Duncan Weir everything you know?

"Haha I've hopefully kept some things left up my sleeve, but no he has strengths to his game I don't need to help him on but we have a very good relationship and if he has anything he wants help with I'm happy to do so. It will be an interesting battle in the next few years."

What are your rugby goals for the next few years?

"I'm a pretty ambitious guy and I have goals set out, but it's hard to look too far ahead at the moment, I have been learning this after having some bad injuries over the past few seasons. But I want to go as far as any player can go, but in the mean time I'm just trying to lock down the Glasgow and then Scotland 10 jersey which is easier said than down. So hopefully over the next wee while I can stay fit and work hard and will see what happens."

A really down to earth Aberdeen man and a top bloke, I wanna thank Jacko for the great catch up and no doubt we'll see him in the blue and gold number 10 jersey soon. If you want to catch him on twitter you can give him a follow on @ruaridh_jackson He doesn't have the best of banter but he has a lot of time for people..Ha! Jokes

This week for the fourth time this season we have Europeans champions Leinster at home. Having lost the last two games against them we are definitely out for revenge. They will be missing a few internationals to the Six Nations so hopefully we can target some of their weaknesses to get a win for the loyal Firhill crowd to beat their eighteen win streak (their last loss was to us back in September!) As the season is drawing to an end it's vital we get a win to keep us in that top four position.

Hope to see you at the game tomorrow at Firhill against European Champs Leinster. Kick-off is at 6pm.

Until next time, hope you're all keeping your Lenten promises and resisting temptation!

Stay cool,

Troy

@dizTroy

Source - Inpho