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Scotland rookie's honest take on replacing Stuart Hogg
By PA
Ollie Smith admits there is an element of “pressure” in being one of the two full-backs selected to go to the World Cup with Scotland in the aftermath of Stuart Hogg’s retirement.
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The 23-year-old Glasgow back will compete with Edinburgh’s Blair Kinghorn for the number 15 jersey vacated by the decorated 31-year-old, who called time on his career last month as the national team’s record try-scorer and having won 100 caps.
Smith was inspired as a youngster by watching Hogg but he is adamant he needs to put his own spin on the full-back position as he tries to establish himself at international level in the years ahead.
“Hoggy’s been a massive asset to the team for many years and someone I took a lot from whenever we trained in camp,” said Smith. “We are going to miss him but we have other guys in the squad who can do a good job.
“Look at how well Blair is playing at the moment and there are loads of other guys across the back three, so it’s a good group of boys we’ve got.
“There’s always going to be that pressure wearing the number 15 jersey. With a guy like Hoggy, there’s massive shoes to fill.
“It’s obviously not easy (to replace him) but I feel personally like I’m trying to be my own sort of player.
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“My game might vary from what Hoggy could do but I can still help the team be in the best place to try and win games. It does come with a bit of pressure but I try not to think about that too much.”
Hogg’s retirement effectively paved the way for Smith to go to the World Cup as the youngest member of Gregor Townsend’s 33-man squad.
Having been a peripheral figure at Glasgow two years ago, the back – who made his Scotland debut against Argentina last summer – is thrilled by how quickly things have started to take off for him.
“To go to a World Cup is always something I wanted to do as a kid so to get the opportunity at 23 when a couple of years ago I didn’t think I’d get a game for Scotland any time soon, I’m absolutely buzzing,” he said.
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“It’s funny how quickly it changes. Two years ago I’d only played a handful of times for Glasgow and was struggling to make it into the team and then six months down the line it changed and I got my opportunity.
“And then Gregor gave me the opportunity to come into camp and learn from some of the boys and then he gave me the opportunity last summer (to go to South America).
“It’s maybe not something I’d anticipated happening so quickly but it has happened and I’m very grateful for it.”
The more experienced Kinghorn is expected to start the World Cup opener against South Africa, but Smith will win his sixth cap in the number 15 jersey in Saturday’s warm-up match at home to Georgia and is viewing it as a chance to play his way into the fold for the Marseille showdown.
“Any game you get for Scotland, you’re trying to stake a claim to hold on to the jersey,” he said.
“There’s a lot of competition in the squad so you’ve got to be on your game or it could easily be taken away from you.
“I’ll try and treat this game the same as any other game and hopefully put my best foot forward to get some more minutes when we get to France.”
