I WAS BROKEN BY THE WORLD CUP

...but I’m back in love with rugby now

It was the mental strain of it all. I needed a bit of time to breathe again I turned the phone off, turned social media off and just enjoyed time with family in Australia

Scotland captain Stuart McInally is back in love with rugby again after admitting the trials and tribulations of the World cup left him mentally drained and desperately needing time away from the game.

Speaking for the first time since Scotland bowed out at the pool stage, McInally revealed that he needed ‘time to breathe’ after the tournament and hadn’t even thought about whether he would put his name forward to lead the team into the Six nations.

Edinburgh head coach Richard cockerill recognised that the burden of being captain and, more significantly, the blow to McInally’s confidence after being dropped for the final game against Japan, had taken its toll on his captain’s mental health and had told him to stay away from the club for six weeks to recover.

McInally took him at his word. He switched off his phone, shut down his social media and headed to australia to visit his wife’s parents in Perth. a qualified pilot, he took to the skies down Under to take his mind off a World cup that should have been a highlight of his career, but turned out to bring only frustration and disappointment.

‘at the World cup, I played four games — played two and on the bench for two,’ said McInally. ‘I started a couple, so physically I was fine. It was the mental strain of not just the World cup, but also the eight to ten weeks of training previous to that.

‘that’s why I needed a bit of time to breathe and not think about strategies and practising my throwing every day and stuff like that, so that was really good to get away. It really helped.

‘I turned the phone off, turned social media off and just enjoyed time with family. the World cup was such a big media thing, of course it is, it’s massive and you can’t avoid it.

‘Even if you don’t read the Press, you’re on social media and someone will have retweeted something and so you see everything.

‘So it was really nice to go out and not have to worry about having a glass of wine with my meal and just enjoy myself. I actually rented a plane over there, too, so I did a bit of flying near Freemantle in Perth, so that was good.’

When asked whether he wanted to captain Scotland in the Six nations, McInally replied: ‘I have talked to Gregor (townsend) since the World cup but we have not had conversations about captaincy.

‘do I want it again? I’d want to speak to Gregor and, if that conversation came up, I’d think about it. But I haven’t thought about it yet.’

McInally has battled to find a reason for the World cup being such a disaster both for the team and him personally. He dismissed suggestions that he never recovered from the opening defeat to Ireland after which he looked totally overwhelmed. He admits, however, that the loss hit him hard.

‘It was a massive honour and I am proud to say I went to a World cup as Scotland captain, but obviously we didn’t do well or play anywhere near our best, which was frustrating,’ said the 29-year-old.

‘I mean, you do two months or more of prep effectively for that one opening game against Ireland.

‘We were so desperate to do well in the game and then to play so poorly was the hardest part because you do all that training and then think: “What is going on?”. It hit me pretty hard and was a big learning curve.

‘It was an experience that I’d never had to handle before and the pressure was on us straight away after the Ireland match because we played so poorly. Each game became a ‘must-win’ rather than us trying to build on a good win against Ireland, so it was tough.

‘also, of course, I was gutted to be on the bench for the Japan game but it was just the way that it was. Gregor told me he was going with Fraz (Fraser Brown) for that game.

‘I don’t deserve or expect to start every game just because I was captain. Fraz was playing well.

‘For one reason or another, overall it didn’t work out. I went into that World cup with the way I was going to lead in my head. We had a great leadership group around me. I had John Barclay and Greig laidlaw and Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell and Fraser Brown as well.

‘there were plenty of us who were looked on as leaders going into that tournament. I don’t think I put too much pressure on myself. It was just the way it was.’

McInally admitted he had learned a lot about himself in Japan with the important lesson being simply to concentrate on his own game and not worry about others.

‘What I have learned is that my leadership is based on what makes me play well,’ he said. ‘When I play well, that is when I lead the best. I also learned everybody has to concentrate on their own jobs.

‘the prime example was the Samoa game when we all concentrated on doing our job, whether that was me throwing well or scrummaging or the backs finishing well.

‘Everybody did their own job. You can complicate rugby at times and you can complicate leadership. If everybody focuses on doing their own job well and maintaining high standards, that goes a long way.

‘In saying that, it is harder just to concentrate on your own job when captain. I have done it before in 2016 when me and Grant Gilchrist were co-captains of Edinburgh. You kind of think: “I am captain, I need to do more. I need to be in charge of so many different things, ultimately I am accountable”.

‘i have to be playing well to do a good job as captain. That is the only thing that matters, in my opinion, and i can lead well off the back of that.’

The Edinburgh hooker said returning to club matters two-anda-half weeks ago in the Pro14 fixture against munster had given him a new lease of life.

‘Cockers (Richard Cockerill) was great,’ he said. ‘i phoned him straight after the world Cup and thanked him for all the time off. wP (nel) only got three-and-a-half weeks!

‘i really appreciated it and he shared with me some of his experiences when he’d come back and played too soon and ended up wanting to pack it in, so he was very aware that i needed a bit of time to relax and i was really grateful for that.

‘now i am buzzing. it is amazing to go from after the world Cup never wanting to think about rugby ever again. Then i come back to Edinburgh and getting back with my mates i train and play with every day.

‘The week of the munster game, i was desperate to get back out there. That showed to me the importance of having that rest.’

Of a meeting with scotland colleague Brown this weekend in the 1872 Cup, mcinally said: ‘Fraz is a great player and someone i’ve got so much respect for. i have a really good relationship with him and, even since the world Cup, we’ve met up for coffee.’