Former Scotland captain John Barclay has fond memories of playing rugby in the north and hopes the sport will continue to develop in the area.
The flanker, who called time on his rugby career in 2020, made 76 appearances for Scotland – with three of them coming at Aberdeen FC’s Pittodrie.
Barclay scored a try in the 41-0 win over Canada in 2008, which was only the second international rugby fixture to be played in the Granite City.
In 2010, he started in the 19-16 win against Samoa, where Aberdonian Ruaridh Jackson kicked a last-minute penalty to win on the Dons’ home turf.
And, two years later, Scotland played in Aberdeen once more, where Barclay came on as a 55th minute replacement against Tonga.
That game was one to forget, as the national team registered their first ever defeat against the Tongans.
Despite the Tonga result, Barclay always enjoyed making the trip up north to ply his trade.
He said: “When I first started playing club rugby when I was semi-professional, I would come up here and play against Aberdeen.
“With Scotland, we trained quite a lot in Inverness and then we had the games at Pittodrie.
“It was always great to come up here – it was a good change of scenery.
“People were always really excited when we came up north and they could see us play.
“But I probably didn’t spend as much time up here as I would’ve liked to.”
‘Rugby is a community sport’
Barclay’s former club team, Glasgow Warriors, will travel north in September to play a pre-season friendly against Worcester Warriors at the Caledonian Stadium in Inverness as part of Highland RFC’s centenary celebrations.
Barclay trained in Inverness with Scotland as part of their preparations for the 2019 World Cup.
And he believes it’s vitally important Scotland’s two professional teams try and connect with and inspire fans outside of the central belt.
Barclay added: “We only have two professional teams – we’re a really small country.
“So, if we don’t have games in all parts of the country, then we’re missing a trick. We need to have those sorts of games visibly seen by kids in different local areas.
“It’s quite an aspirational thing for them to see a professional team playing up in the north. It makes it real for them rather than just watching it on the TV.
“And, having a local lad (Jamie Dobie), playing there will make a huge difference.
“It’s about connecting with the community – and that is really important.
“Rugby is a community sport and so it should be.”
There are several local rugby clubs in the north and north-east, who have players all the way from junior grassroots up to senior level.
However, there are currently only two players from the area who play the sport professionally.
So, what does the former Scotland captain reckon needs to be done to produce more local rugby stars like Jamie Dobie and Gregor Brown?
“It’s a loaded question,” said Barclay. “The challenge for SRU (Scottish Rugby Union) is complex.
“Whether you divvy a financial pot or time to make sure that different areas of the game are getting significant coverage.
“Coverage and investment are so important because otherwise you might lose the next Finn Russell or Stuart Hogg.
“They might go do something different because rugby is not a viable option.
“It’s a tough one for the SRU, but you want to make sure that people aren’t slipping through the net.
“And part of that is investing more time and money into other areas – and it should be done.”
An important summer test after a disappointing Six Nations
Scotland are currently away in South America for this year’s summer tour, where they will play against Chile and Argentina.
Gregor Townsend’s side come up against Chile on Saturday, before playing Argentina three times in the space of two weeks.
Scotland will be without several established players in South America, which could be an opportunity for the six uncapped players in the squad to make their debuts.
Barclay believes the Summer Tour is more important than it’s ever been after disappointment in this year’s Six Nations, and with a World Cup looming next year.
The former Scotland skipper said: “The tour is probably more important now than it was before the Six Nations started.
“The way that finished was disappointing, and they will be acutely aware that the World Cup is not that far away.
“There will be the autumn tests and then the Six Nations again before the World Cup – which sounds like a lot of rugby, but it isn’t really.
“The summer tour will be an opportunity to get some of the young guys through and see how they cope.
“I think the biggest metric of how successful the tour is will depend on how many of those young players are then playing in the autumn when the big boys come to town.”
Barclay spoke to The Press and Journal at the opening of Dräger Marine and Offshore’s new facility in Dyce.