David Ferguson talks to former Scotland fly-half Craig Chalmers, now working with Scotland Under-20, about handling pressure in The Scotsman.
“He speaks with the same passion that once coursed through each muscle as a player, and obviously retains the deep love of rugby that marked him out as a stand-off of world stature when he first pulled on the navy blue jersey of Scotland 20 years ago.
“That may be why Craig Chalmers has taken to the challenge of developing players in the great problem position of Scottish rugby – the guiding, controlling stand-off role he once grasped with a conviction that left no-one in any doubt about the Borderer's self-belief. It is a fair task, one to compare perhaps with following his football team Rangers as they struggle to convince that they have a future among the European elite, or his close friend and former team-mate Bryan Redpath, who faces a harrowing end to 2009 if Gloucester lose to Glasgow in the Heineken Cup tomorrow.
"Pressure," says Chalmers, "is what drives us. I had a few drinks with 'Basil' (Redpath] after Friday night's game and he's going through a tough time, but he knows what he wants and he'll come through it and next year you'll see Gloucester rising. But I'd like his pressure. I'd like to be in that environment and I hope I get the opportunity in the future. I'm delighted to have been given the chance to work with the under-20s and it's quite exciting seeing the young players, particularly the stand-offs, just starting out, looking to make their mark.”
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