Letter of the Lawes is oh so Gray

The news that England are having to deal with various injuries in the run up to the Six Nations is obviously good news for a die hard Scot. Obviously I don't wish injury on anyone, but if they contrive to get hurt by themselves then I won't complain!

Tom Croft ruled out at 6 is a serious blow, as he was key to the English lineout and there is no replacement blindside who comes close to providing the skillset that the Leicester man gives out.

This article is mainly concerned with Courtney Lawes though. The big 2nd Row is almost certainly out for the entire competition. This is bad news for the English press, who have hyped him up to be the new Great Hope of the pack, a super forward who is some kind of Martin Johnson, John Eales, Victor Matfield and Goliath rolled into one. Now he does not have a chance to show us any of this for a while.

The way the English media treats any player with a red rose on their jersey really bugs me. There is no middle ground between aggressive and total insult of any 'underperformer' and building a pedestal to put any player who has had a few decent games on. More a Tower of Babel methinks.

I haven't really got any issues with the English as a nation or as people. But their sports teams, whether rugby or football, have an unnerving capacity to attract my animosity. Quite simply, I love it when England lose, especially when they are humiliated and destroyed utterly. It is frankly what they have coming after the way the media treats them and the way that they buy into the hype by believeing themselves to be superior to all others. There is something of the spirit of the British Empire to this; a sense of entitlement that history has shown to be a bad thing.

Not all of the players buy into this of course but the ones that do, the Dallaglio's and the Johnston's, are invariably tossers. And they are never, ever as good as they were billed or remembered to be.

Scotland legend John Jeffrey, when once asked about any regrets he had in life, answered "When I am at home in the Borders and I climb a hill, I can see England". When it comes to sports, I can see his point. I would not want to see England either.

The main point of this particular article, though, is to highlight the other thing that really grates me about coverage of England.

Lawes is undoubtedly a good player. I have watched him play for Northampton and England several times and have been impressed by him. But I have also watched young Scottish giant Richie Gray, another 2nd row, many times. And I fail to see that Lawes is so much better. In fact, I believe that right now they are as good as each other.

Gray is mobile, but Lawes is clearly the better athlete, more basketball small forward than rugby player at times. Gray, though, offers a lot more in terms of physical graft and work in the tight. He also is a more willing carrier of the ball than Lawes seems to be, and runs good lines.

In my mind, there is a good debate to be had over who is the better prospect. But at the end of the day only one of these young men is now a household name thanks the the media. The other is working away to little acclaim outside of middle class Glasgow and knowledgable Scotland fans.

English hype and bias kills off the recognition that players from Scotland deserve. At the end of it all, I know that Gray is going to have a great career anyway and may well end up partnering Lawes in the 2013 Lions' engine room. But it is the principle that counts.

GM