Gregor Townsend has expressed his delight after Saracens fly-half Fergus Burke pledged his international future to Scotland rather than England.
Burke has been named in Scotland’s initial 37-man squad for this year’s Six Nations, which will begin against Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday, February 1.
Born in New Zealand and capped at Under-20 level for the All Blacks, Burke qualifies to play for Scotland through his Glaswegian Grandad.
He also qualifies for England through his Mum and it’s understood that he was under serious consideration for a call-up to Steve Borthwick’s squad earlier this week.
But, after tracking the player for well over a year, Townsend believes it’s a major boost that Scotland have snapped up the 25-year-old fly-half.
Burke has been a revelation since joining Sarries last summer from Crusaders – and Townsend believes he can make an immediate impact for Scotland.
Fergus Burke (centre) has made a positive impression since joining Saracens last year
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was upbeat after naming Fergus Burke in his squad
Jonny Gray has also boosted the Scots by returning, with the towering lock fit once again
‘He’s been on the radar for a while,’ said the Scotland head coach. ‘I chatted to Fergus before he signed for Saracens.
‘You’d probably have to ask him in terms of when he made the decision. I think he’s only really had to make that decision in the last few days.
‘He knew he was close to our squad previously but he’s only been offered a place in our squad earlier this week.
‘When I asked him on Monday if he would commit to Scotland, he said yes. He didn’t really need to be asked twice or “I’ll get back to you tomorrow”. He said it would be a privilege.
‘We’ve known about his Scottish heritage for two or three years now. He missed a year’s rugby with the Crusaders before he went to Saracens.
‘So we’ve kept in touch. He was in consideration in November, but we didn’t feel his game at that time got him into our squad. He’s playing better and better the more he plays.
‘There is an opening in our squad with Adam [Hastings] getting injured too. So we feel it was the right time for him. He’s someone that really understands the game from an attacking perspective.
‘He’s playing regular rugby at a top team with Saracens. He’s a very good defender and also he can play full-back.
‘We saw with Tom Jordan in November, having that flexibility to play full-back was a bonus for us. And obviously can add to options for the bench if that came around.’
Townsend has also been boosted by the return of Jonny Gray, the experienced lock who will be looking to win his first cap in two years.
Gray has been blighted by injury problems over the past two years and missed the autumn campaign as he worked his way back to full fitness.
He picked up a knock for club side Bordeaux last month but Townsend expects him to be firmly back in the frame by the time the Six Nations comes around.
‘It’s great to have Jonny back, he’s aiming to play this week,’ said Townsend. ‘He needs to be fully fit to train and to come into our group. He’s now back fully fit.
‘Whether he plays this weekend for Bordeaux or he’s playing the next week, he’ll be able to train next week.
‘So yeah, it’s been an unfortunate time for him with injury. He obviously rested in the November period, had a couple of games and then injured another part of his body.
‘Which means that he’s got some work to do just ahead of the Italy game. But he did play really well leading up to November. He was in excellent form.
‘There was a reason why Bordeaux wanted to rest him and that was because he’d played so many games for Bordeaux, who are the leading team in France right now.
‘So yeah, having his experience, having his ability and his personality back in the group is something we’re looking forward to seeing again.’
Sione Tuipulotu will continue as Scotland captain after leading the team during the autumn, but Glasgow Warriors skipper Kyle Steyn hasn’t been included after picking up a knee injury in the recent win over Racing 92 in the Champions Cup.
But Townsend is optimistic that Steyn could yet play some part, saying: ‘Yeah, Kyle will be with us on Sunday.
‘He’s not in the squad because he can’t train the next two weeks. But he’ll be in our group. We’ll know more next week on how that knee is going to be.
‘He’s not going to be available for Italy but if he does come back into consideration maybe Ireland, maybe England will be probably the more realistic focus.
‘But a lot will depend on how it’s settled down over the next few days. It’s really disappointing for Kyle and for us because he was in great form.
‘He obviously missed out in November but got back into brilliant form over the last few weeks and we hope he’s still got a big part to play in the Six Nations.’
