Six Nations
Cotter defends Hugh Blake call-up
ESPN Staff
January 20, 2015
Vern Cotter says Hugh Blake brings plenty to Scotland - despite not yet featuring for club side Edinburgh © Getty Images
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Scotland coach Vern Cotter has defended his decision to call up New Zealand-born flanker Hugh Blake for his Six Nations squad.

Blake is one of four uncapped players from Edinburgh to be named in Cotter's 32-man squad ahead of next month's championship opener in Paris.

But the highly-rated loose forward only moved to Scotland last month on a six-month deal and has yet to even appear his club.

He could join Blair Cowan, another Kiwi now playing for the Scots, and Zimbabwe-born David Denton in a back-row combination forged in the southern hemisphere.

Cotter - himself a New Zealander - said: "We have to be open-minded about this. Hugh's got Scottish ancestry and he is very proud of it.

"He's a brave man, he could have stayed in New Zealand in a secure and comfortable environment. He challenged himself to come over here and that type of thing I respect.

"Hugh is a very good player and highly rated in New Zealand. He's been involved in Super Rugby and played in the end-of-season play-offs. He's also played with New Zealand's Under-20s at the junior World Cup.

"He's a very good openside flanker and offers us genuine speed to the breakdown. He's a very good offloader and can give us continuity to our game.

"He's a very skilful player and generally gets two to three turnovers a game. If we can change the course of a match positively by winning the ball and making destructive tackles then that is great.

"Hugh offers us a profile that we don't have. He brings that specialist seven role over from New Zealand and an ability to change games. He's played against Richie McCaw and the best players in the world - and he's available for Scotland."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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