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Ahead of the Six Nations, former Scotland international Kenny Logan spoke to OLBG to preview Scotland’s chances.
Having won four Calcutta Cups in a row, Logan laid down a challenge to England in this year’s edition, as well as making an interesting comparison between Twickenham and Old Trafford.
Logan is married to newly announced Match of the Day presenter Gabby Logan, and he also spoke about his pride in her, as well as their time together as a couple on Strictly Come Dancing.
Scottish success has taken edge off Calcutta Cup in recent years
There is that edge between England & Scotland. People always turn around and go if we have had a bad season, but you beat England, it’s okay because previously England were always the ones that were going to be looking to win it.
Now though, they don't look like the team that's going to win the Six Nations.
So, it's maybe taking the edge off it, but Scotland have been very successful over the last five or six games against England. So maybe that’s taken the edge off it a bit as well. We’ve won four in a row now.
That hasn’t always been the case - I never beat England when I played. We had three back-to-back attempts against them to win a Grand Slam, but we just couldn't get over the line. So England are a hard team to beat, but Scotland are a proper Test team now.
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Biggest criticism of Scotland is lack of Six Nations consistency
It should be Scotland’s time to win the Six Nations! I think the biggest criticism against Scotland is that they have not been consistent in the tournament.
We need to prove we can win more than one or two games in a Six Nations. That's the thing that will be in the player’s minds. For them to be a proper Scotland team, they've got to win the Six Nations or be in the top two going into the final weekend.
Your first game is so important. Scotland have to live up to the expectation that everybody expects them to be a contender this year. Obviously, we have got some injuries, but you've got to move on from that and think about the other players that can come in and make a big impact.
Glasgow DNA means it could be Scotland’s year
I do think this is Scotland's year. I think they've got a good mindset. They've got three home games, if they can beat Italy and Ireland in the first two, then it's game on.
But it’s not easy being a Scotland fan! We have some great hope, then suddenly it falls apart - I think what Gregor's trying to do is build that resilience in the team.
And I think the DNA of Glasgow, how well they've done, and with Edinburgh starting to play a lot better, makes a huge difference. Scottish rugby could do with a third team. To be where we are, sixth in the world, with only two professional teams, that's pretty impressive.
We need to take the success of Glasgow going to South Africa and winning the URC. They’ve proved they can win these big games. They've proved it to themselves. And as I say, the DNA in the Scotland team is very much that of Glasgow. A lot of the national team is coming from Glasgow.
Glasgow’s URC win has given Scotland players belief
It's given the players belief. It can only help those players going into the Six Nations, knowing that they can beat these big teams. I don't think they're scared of anyone.
Scotland's accuracy now, the way they play with one of the best back divisions around is excellent. They defend well, they attack well, they attack from anywhere on the pitch.
That breeds confidence, especially for the forwards. If you look up and your backs are going forward and getting over the gain line, you're getting up and running forward with enthusiasm. Scotland's attack is on the front foot. It's from deep. They catch teams out, and that's an exciting thing.
They mustn’t lose that because that's one of their key weapons. You're playing against Scotland, and you cannot think they're just going to attack 50 yards out. They're going to attack 80 yards out.
They've got great wingers, got a great back three who are all rapid, big strong lads, good midfield, one of the best 10s in the world. So, the big thing is the forwards have to muscle up and if they can match teams up front the backs can certainly match any other back division in the world and we've got to have that belief.
Twickenham has lost its aura - just like Old Trafford
Twickenham
No. I think Twickenham in general has lost a bit of aura. It's a bit like the Man United feeling.
Teams would go to Old Trafford and wonder how they would win there because United were so dominant. But now United are losing games at home and so are England - it is no longer a fortress.
Scotland has had good success in the last three or four years down there. And a lot of the players that are playing this season have been there before.
What Gregor Townsend has done with Scotland is remarkable
I'm biased because he's a mate of mine. I played with Gregor and I've known him for a long time. Him and I went to Australia when he was 18, and I was 19. I would criticise him if I had to, but what he's done with the Scotland team is remarkable. Credit that the SRU have stuck with him.
You've got to remember his resources are very small. He's not got a lot of resources and he has to get players and make them better and get good coaches and create a good environment. And he's done that. He's not far away from that team starting to click.
I don't think there's another coach who could have got them any better. Gregor's got them going well.
There’s always an extra edge in Lions year
The players are pushing themselves this time round. You won't need Gregor Townsend to push them. They're doing it themselves, how they're playing.
We're going into the Lions year and so there's always an extra edge. After every game people are talking about what the Lions team would look like, and who has put their hand up.
It adds another layer for the players, another layer of pressure. These players all want to play for the Lions.
Andy Farrell will want teams that have got that edge and players that have got that edge and Scotland have shown that in the last couple of years.
This team has gone to England and won. If Scotland do well against Ireland that puts those players right in the front foot because the Irish boys are going to have that little edge because of Farrell being their coach.
You've got to put doubt in his mind that these players are better and they're peaking at the right time.
Lions Tour Betting Odds
Follow the betting on the Lions Tour from our chart
| Selection | Probability | Odds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | British & Irish Lions | 69.4% | 1.44 |
| 2 | Australia | 36.4% | 2.75 |
| 3 | Draw | 3.8% | 26.00 |
Finn Russell is a game changer - he is Marcus Smith’s main rival for Lions
When you speak to the Bath players, when he's in the team, it's a different team. When he's not, it's nowhere near as good.
Marcus Smith, who’ll be his main rival for the Lions, is very much about what he does with the ball, making room, making steps, making breaks.
Finn does it all with the ball. You don't see Finn break much, but he puts the ball in space. He makes teams panic because they don't know if the ball's going to go 30 yards, two yards, 40 yards, or if he's going to kick it 20 yards or three yards.
He’s got such a varied game. He is a very mature player now, a very mature individual. He’s a world class ten. He's brilliant to watch. He plays with a smile on his face even when he makes a mistake.
Good or bad, he just enjoys playing. That’s what you see when you watch the game. His enjoyment is rubbing off on a lot of the Scottish players. They're enjoying it. And it's like anything in life, if you're enjoying what you're doing, you've got that extra spring in your step, you feel better; things come off.
Finn Russell is the best fly-half in the world on his day
I think he's got to be the best on his day. He's pretty consistent now. He's vice-captain of Scotland, he's shown a lot more maturity, he's a very consistent rugby player. He’s the best ten in the world, I reckon.
Scotland can’t dwell on ‘star player’ Sione Tuipulotou absence - they have good depth
It does look like he's going to be out for the season. He's been our star player. He would have been one of the star players of the Six Nations. He is a really sound bloke and leads by example.
But Scotland now have got good strength in depth. We can’t dwell on it too much.
It's a no excuse mentality now. Gregor is strong on that and his coaching team, they believe whatever player they put in is representing Scotland. They've got to deliver at a level that they've set for themselves, and the level is more consistent than it has been in the past.
Clubs need to live within their means and create more big events for fans
Firstly, the game is miles safer, and players are more protected than ever before. We must celebrate the fact that we've changed rules to make the game better. When I played head knocks could be really bad.
You would be picked up and speared into the ground and the referee would award a knock on against you. You could be stumbling around and the referee would be urging you to get back on your feet!
Financially, the game has got to live within its means. If you're only bringing £20 million in, you can't spend £25 million.
We've got to spend better. So that means we can't pay the players as much. We can't pay £600 grand for a player if we can only afford £400,000.
From a marketing point of view, from a fan's point of view, you've got to make the day important. You've got to keep the game as simple as possible, keep the rules simple. Your day out is not just the rugby, it's what's around it.
Sponsors could pay a little bit more money for some deals. They have got a big part to play in the game. How do we create more events like the Big Games at Twickenham around Christmas? Can we do more games like that in different parts of the country?
The quality of the game is really good, but we can't afford any other teams to go under in England. Clubs should be working on a budget and if that's all the money they bring in, that's what they should spend.
The game also has to work globally. When there's a World Cup, the unions lose money because they've not got as many games in that year.
We’ve got to look after the 20 teams that are in the World Cup. They cannot afford to lose money in World Cup years. We've got to fund that to keep the game strong. Sadly, the growth of the game globally might slow down, but we've got to make sure the key unions are strong and powerful.
The next big rugby personality is Henry Pollock - he needs to be seen on terrestrial TV
We've to get away from that mentality. We've got to create personalities. The next personality coming through is going to be Henry Pollock, the Northampton flanker who was captain of the England under 20s.
He's a character. He believes in himself. He's cocky. I get it. I totally get it. I was 19 once. I was probably quite cocky. I believed in myself and people tried to knock you down.
We've got to breed more characters. This is why it's so important that the Six Nations is on terrestrial TV. It needs to be on terrestrial TV. The public needs to understand who they are, where they've come from.
Doing Strictly Come Dancing with my wife Gabby was different - you’ve got to get used to being recognised
Actually, Gabby and I did it together in 2007. Matt Dawson and Ben Cohen had been on it before. We were the first married couple to do it. So that was a bit different. Your profile is different. You move away from being a sports fan, walking down the street, maybe one or two people recognising you to nine out of ten people recognising you.
It's different and you've got to get used to that. You've got to get used to being recognised or used to being criticised. When I was growing up, there wasn’t social media. Social media now means everybody's got a voice, everybody's got an opinion.
I'd love to see Martin Johnson, the old England captain in the Jungle. Imagine Johnno in the jungle. That'd be hilarious. He'd be so angry, I reckon. Strictly Come Dancing? I think I'd quite like to see Finn Russell. He’d be great at the quick step!
I’m hugely proud of my wife Gabby becoming the new Match of the Day presenter
I'm hugely proud of my wife and what she's achieved. Obviously, Match of the Day is an amazing show. It's amazing to be part of. She's really looking forward to it. I don’t think she ever thought she'd maybe do it. She's done it once or twice when filling in for Gary.
She’s also part of the Sports Agents podcast and the BBC has been great for her, presenting rugby, football and athletics. She really enjoys it, she works really hard at it, and she doesn't take it for granted which is great.
Gabby is a real rock - she understood me very quickly
She was. We've been together 26 years, so yeah, she's a real rock. She was somebody I trusted. And I think probably somebody that understood me very quickly, which maybe other people didn't. And that helped me to maybe understand myself and to be a bit more, not so much confident, but able to understand yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses.
I've got a lot of strengths, I've got a lot of weaknesses. We work well together, which is really good. And we’re still together after 26 years, so that's a positive!
Flickr - Leeds 2023: https://www.flickr.com/photos/leeds2023yearofculture/53384072023/
Growing up as a dyslexic, people thought I was either thick, stupid or daft - these days they want to help
When I was growing up, there was no technology. You were either thick, stupid or daft. And I was probably sitting in all three of them. Well, now if you're dyslexic, nobody bats an eyelid. They turn around and say, ‘How can I help? How can we make things easier for you?
If you say you can't read something, people now don't turn around and call you stupid. When they're younger, kids will do that because it's a bit nastier at that level. With new technology you don't really write anything now, do you? It's all on voice note. I remember when texts first came out, I thought, ‘Who’s gonna text somebody? That's never gonna take off.’ Of course, I was wrong!
Labour budget has made life even harder for farmers - they could ruin farming in this country
Farmers work very hard on the land and for 99% of them that is all they know. Julian White, Tom and Ben Youngs are all farmer's sons. Tom's farming every day. Phil Vickery was a farmer's son. Doddie Weir was a farmer's son. And we all know how hard it is.
Farmers have a tough life, and I think what the government has done has not helped that situation.
If they're going to do that, make sure they get more money for their barley and more money for their milk and even it out. But they've not evened it out, they've just made it even harder for a farm. And sadly, they could ruin farming. They really could ruin farming in this country.
