After being left out of Scotland’s Autumn International squad, the Saracens flanker and former national captain speaks to Sky Sports about his determination to feature in the 2015 Rugby World Cup…
Tuesday 4 November 2014 15:29, UK
The narrative of Kelly Brown’s international career has been far from consistent. Called up, named captain, dropped, then recalled to lead. Before this year’s Six Nations Brown was seen as the man to lead Scotland to the Rugby World Cup, but his latest exclusion has raised doubts over his future.
Speculation may be rife in the rugby fraternity after this latest shock axe, yet there is no confusion in the mind of Saracens flanker Brown, who remains indomitable in his desire to return to the international scene and feature in the global showpiece event next autumn.
Edinburgh-born back-row Brown is no stranger to overcoming challenges. In the aftermath of the 2010 Six Nations he opted to tackle one barrier which he believed was preventing him from effectively contributing to team meetings.
“I’ve had a stammer my whole life and it basically got to the point where I was sick of my stammer holding me back,” he candidly explains to Sky Sports.
“I enrolled on the McGuire Programme and since then, it is an ongoing thing, but I know that when I work hard and when I focus on my speech I am in control of my speech and say what I want to say as opposed to saying the words I can say, which is a subtle difference.”
Brown signed up for an intensive week of training with the McGuire Programme in April of that year and learned to focus on controlling his speech through a combination of ‘breathing exercises, concentration, assertiveness and non-avoidance techniques’.
Has finding his voice increased his confidence? “Without a shadow of a doubt,” he insists.
“Before, in team meetings I would maybe make a point and it wasn’t exactly the point I wanted to make because I couldn’t say those exact words, it was close but not exactly what I wanted to say.
“Whereas now, I feel confident. As long as I put the work in I feel confident and comfortable that I can say the words I want to say and that I don’t have to mix them up and just say the words that I can say.
“It’s very much an ongoing thing. I would never call myself a recovered stammerer, I would say I’m in the process as a recovering stammerer because my stammer is still there and it probably always will be there, but if I can put the work in then I know that I am in control of my stammer as opposed to my stammer being in control of me.”
Brown has forged a career putting in the hard yards and doing the dirty work few front up to. Seldom will you see him hurtling down field ball in hand, more often completing more tackles than other players and forcing numerous turnovers. Now, speaking to Brown you hear an assured undertone in the face of this latest mountain.
"It's an honour to play for Scotland, but I've never taken it for granted,” he says. “I'm obviously disappointed not to be in the setup for the Autumn Internationals, but I'm determined to do all I can to win back my place in the squad.
“My primary aim right now is to train hard and play well for Saracens, and hopefully by doing that I can give myself the best chance of earning a recall.
"It's an amazing honour every time I pull on the Scotland jersey, and although I try never to look too far ahead, of course I'd love to represent my country in another World Cup.
“I've got to give myself the best possible chance of getting back into that squad, and that means continuing to work hard in training with Saracens and putting in some good performances, and hopefully I can give the coaching staff something to think about."
Before, in team meetings I would maybe make a point and it wasn’t exactly the point I wanted to make because I couldn’t say those exact words, it was close but not exactly what I wanted to say. Whereas now, I feel confident. As long as I put the work in I feel confident and comfortable that I can say the words I want to say.
Brown entered the 2014 Six Nations as Scotland’s leader and talisman, though despite offering lavish praise for his personal qualities head coach Scott Johnson questioned the 6ft 4in, 238lb forward’s on-field abilities. He was dropped for their clash against England at Murrayfield and went on to miss their mid-year fixtures.
“On the summer tour I wasn’t the captain and right now I am just focussing on and worrying about the factors that I can control,” he recalls.
“It’s how I play, how I perform in matches and in training, what I’m doing to improve as a player. If I can do that and play as best as I can then all the selection will take care of itself.
“Looking back to the Six Nations it very much taught me that. You can only control the factors such as your own training and how you play in games and that’s the factors I’m working hard on and want to look after.”
A well-grounded character, Brown understands the importance of self-development on numerous levels and nothing motivates him more than the prospects of a Rugby World Cup just around the corner.
“I’m always looking at ways in which I can improve, whether it be physically, mentally or in my skill set,” he claims. “It’s something I’m really striving to do, I want to make sure that over the course of my career that I extract every bit of potential that I can.
“As a player you’re obviously aware that the World Cup is next year and I think every player wants to play in the World Cup, but you can’t focus yourself that far ahead.
“As soon as you start thinking about that you start to take your eye off the present and you don’t focus on the here and now; I’m just focussing on the day-to-day, week-to-week to make sure I can perform as well as I can.”
Kelly Brown is supporting GUINNESS' 'Made of More' campaign which looks at the legendary commentator Bill McLaren and his irrepressible spirit to overcome tuberculosis, which cut short his playing career, and find a way back to the game he loved to become the Voice of Rugby.
International exile means Brown can solely focus on affairs at Allianz Park with Saracens, who have been dubbed by many as champions elect in the Aviva Premiership. May was a month of heartache for Mark McCall’s Sarries as they suffered an extra-time defeat to Northampton in the Premiership final before bowing to Toulon in the last ever Heineken Cup showpiece.
“We’ve learnt a number of important lessons, you know, sometimes a loss isn’t always a bad thing,” Brown insists. “I think we’ve learnt a number of good lessons from that which will hold us in good stead as we go forward through the season.
“I think we’re in a good place, we’ve got a strong squad and have started the season reasonably well, but I think if you look at all of the other sides I think it’s going to be a very competitive league this year, even more so than last year. But we know that is the challenge facing us and it’s one we’re really excited by.
“I think our strength in depth is of benefit to us, the season is a pretty long one. Once you take all of the competitions into account and then add in at certain times of the year certain guys are away playing internationals and then factor in injuries as well, rotation is a great thing to have.
“It keeps us fresh and keeps us hungry. There is nothing worse than getting to the end of the season and you’re very much on your last legs. The plan is to be able to rotate the side and then come May we will be really fresh and with a bit of luck we can win it.”
Could Saracens possibly turn double heartache into a domestic and European double? “Yes, I think we can,” Brown states with confidence.
“We are aware of the size of the challenge, to get into the finals and to win these finals is a very big challenge, but for the most parts we performed very well last year and I think our squad is of similar strength this year.
“It’s a very similar squad this year but we have one more years’ experience under our belt and I think that puts us in a good place. It’s an incredibly big ask, but we are looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
Back on the international stage, Scotland are very much in a transitional phase. The 2014 Six Nations campaign – where they finished fifth with a solitary triumph - brought down the curtain on Johnson’s tenure as Scotland head coach as former Clermont tactician Vern Cotter assumed the reins.
“I think we have to move into a new era,” Brown reflects. “If we look back we have not won enough games over the last two years and that is a fact.
“But, in saying that, what is exciting for me is the number of young guys that have come in over the past 12 months – certainly over the course of the summer tour – and done well and gained some invaluable experience at international level.
“Now, we just need to make sure we blend the young, exciting talent with the older more experienced players and if we can do that I think we can get the level of performances we are looking for.”
Cotter’s epoch enjoyed a fruitful start with victories over the USA and Canada before Duncan Weir’s last-gasp drop-goal saw Scotland defeat Argentina in a performance which very much impressed Brown, but he remains wary of the threat posed by a Pumas side that defeated Australia in their most recent outing.
If we look back we have not won enough games over the last two years and that is a fact. What is exciting for me is the number of young guys that have come in over the past 12 months – certainly over the course of the summer tour – and done well and gained some invaluable experience. Now, we just need to make sure we blend the young exciting talent with the older more experienced players.
“I thought it was a very gutsy win,” he says. “I didn’t think it was a particularly pretty game but the guys were something like eight or nine points down with five or 10 minutes left and I thought they showed incredible heart to comeback from that.
“In saying that, we’ll take confidence from that but we know that the Argentina coming to Scotland will be a very different side so we need to watch their games from the Rugby Championship to analyse their strengths and weaknesses.
“They will come full of confidence, they’ve just beaten one of the top sides in the world, they’ve won their first match in the Rugby Championship, but it’s not just that game – they’ve also pushed all of the sides in the Rugby Championship pretty close this year.”
After a hat-trick of successes under Cotter, Scotland came crashing back to earth with a resounding 55-6 reverse at the hands of South Africa and things saw no signs of getting any easier with world champions New Zealand visiting Murrayfield before a lower key encounter with Tonga.
“It’s always tough to face the world champions and we’ve played them a fair few times in recent years and Scotland have never beaten them,” Brown adds. “In terms of challenges at international level they don’t come much bigger, but I think it’s coming at a good time for this side.
“We have a year until the World Cup and we’re playing against the best side in the world so I think that match will give us a real marker as to where we sit.
“There are three very different challenges over the course of the three games, but I think it will give us a realty good gauge of where we sit in the world game.”
Kelly Brown is an Ambassador for GUINNESS. To view GUINNESS' new 'Made of More' campaign, celebrating the character and integrity of some of rugby's greatest heroes, visit www.youtube.com/GUINNESSEurope.
