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Neil Drysdale: Greig Laidlaw never gave anything less than 100% for his country

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He was one of those players whom people took for granted. Others might be fancy dans, veer from brilliance to a botch-up in the blink of an eye, or be inclined to flakiness, but you could always rely on Greig Laidlaw to pour his heart and soul into rugby.

How many times did long-suffering Scotland supporters count their blessings for this little Borderer’s terrier-like bite and ability to drag his country back into contention on the international stage through his metronomic kicking and passing precision?

It’s not a huge surprise that the former Scotland captain has confirmed his international retirement at the age of 34, following in the footsteps of John Barclay and Tommy Seymour in bowing out after the World Cup, but this may truly be one of those Joni Mitchell-style refrains where we won’t know what we’ve had till it’s gone.

The Clermont scrum-half captained his side in 39 out of his 76 international appearances, more times than any other player, and his place in the record books is secure, as Scotland’s second-highest points scorer with 714.

He said on Thursday: “Emotionally, this decision was incredibly tough, however, when I reflected on what I have learned from playing Test level rugby and where Scotland is as a national team, it makes sense.”

That’s as pragmatic as you might expect from this stoical fellow, who has experienced his fair share of adversity in the last decade. But there has never been any doubts over Laidlaw’s qualities, either with ball in hand, or shepherding his pack, or converting from the most treacherous of angles in every conceivable weather conditions.

None of it deterred or daunted Laidlaw, who was also called into the 2017 British and Irish Lions squad, and fans will be aware of his immense contribution to so many fightbacks and stirring performances throughout his career.

He had always been proud of his club connections and down-to-earth demeanour. As he said: “Captaining your country to victory is the stuff of childhood dreams. To say I will never again stand in the tunnel, filled with nerves, alongside my rugby family and lead my team-mates out on to the pitch at Murrayfield, is incredibly hard.

“But while my body and heart could continue playing, my head tells me that it’s time to let the team rebuild. In terms of where Scotland is now, they are in a position to spring forward and I cannot wait to give them my full support from the stands.”

Laidlaw became only the second Scotsman, after Mike Blair, to be nominated for World Rugby’s Player of the Year in 2015  when he skippered Vern Cotter’s Scotland to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in England.

They would have gone further, but for a now-notorious refereeing blunder, but while Laidlaw was furious in the heat of the battle, he has never been anything other than a peerless professional wherever he has travelled to play the game he has graced.

Scotland head coach, Gregor Townsend said: “Greig has been an outstanding servant for Scottish rugby, through the passion and skill he displayed when wearing the thistle on his chest and also on the many occasions he led the side.

“That he began his Scotland career at stand-off before claiming the No 9 jersey shows what an exceptional rugby player he was for Scotland and, to be captain on so many occasions, rightly places him alongside the best players to ever lead the national team.”

It’s a worthy epitaph for one of the sport’s good guys. Laidlaw will exit the Test scene with his head held high and salutations from Scotland aficionados ringing in his ears.