Back-rower has endured some hard times off the pitch but is tipped to be Scotland’s captain and a
British Lion before long
Nothing much in sport, or life, can be guaranteed at times like this. In the case of the Scottish flanker Jamie Ritchie, even so, everyone predicts the same thing. “He looks to me like someone who will end up being Scottish captain,” says John Barclay, who led the team into the last World Cup. “Absolutely, I see that happening,” agrees Andy Henderson, Ritchie’s rugby coach at school and a long-standing family friend.
As Wales are about to be reminded, this is not your average 23-year-old. Inside the
Scotland camp they already laugh about how competitive he is. “He’s probably the guy, when you’re playing touch, who’s still going full bore and tackling people,” says Barclay. “He’s super-competitive and operates at 100mph.”