Sykes ready to kick on for Scotland

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 18: Marshall Sykes during a Scotland Rugby training session at the Oriam, on November 18, 2025, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

The big Edinburgh Rugby second row was, remarkably, one of eight debutants that day, with the likes of Sione Tuipulotu and Pierre Schoeman also making their international bow in that 60-14 victory.

Sykes has had to be patient for opportunities in the engine room though, his total of six caps a representation of how difficult it has been to break into Scotland’s pack in the past couple of seasons.

However, with four of those appearances coming in 2025, and two in this series against USA and New Zealand, the 25-year-old has cause for optimism that his hard work is paying off.

Casting his mind back to that Tonga debut, Marshall said: “It was really special. I think I was so young that I was kind of chucked into the deep end a little bit and I learnt as I went along. We all really enjoyed it though and it is a shame that obviously we didn’t have President’s Suite with family afterwards but at least I didn’t have to sing in front of a massive crowd. I had to sing on the bus instead and I sang ‘Tribute’ by Tenacious D. That was the sing-song my brother and I always had!”

Pictured: Marshall running out for his Scotland debut in the fixture against Tonga four years ago

“I loved it though. It was quite hard playing that game and I loved the environment. I was then focussed on trying to get back into the team and the opportunity didn’t come along for another four years so it was a bit of a waiting game.”

Certainly more than a Tribute act in the current Scotland set-up, Marshall is acutely aware of how much work has had to be put in to get to this stage, as he prepares for cap number seven against Tonga this Sunday: “I was really anxious coming to this campaign. I obviously played in the summer and started a couple of games but you can list other names – there are probably 13 names – that could be in the squad. It’s a highly competitive position and it keeps you on your toes. You have to be at your best.”

“To be fair, the donkey work is probably my point of difference. Especially around the maul, the scrum and the contact area. It is something that I like to impose myself on but I suppose it is about adding the soft touches and the ability to keep up with the international speed.

“I’d like to think I’m quite patient. Don’t get me wrong, it tested me at times and I had a really hard look at myself. I think there was a bit of a turning point for me when I missed out on a summer tour and I just ended up not taking a day off that summer. Even when I was on holiday I was working away and I had a real solid off-season and then came back into pre-season flying. I suppose that resulted in getting that opportunity to play against France in the Six Nations which was a massive moment for me.”

So how much of a role has maturity played in Sykes’ route to a more consistent international involvement?

“I think it finds some people earlier rather than later but yeah, I probably in my head played the victim a little bit and thought ‘why am I not getting picked’. I’ve worked with multiple different mindset coaches and [Edinburgh Rugby head coach] Sean Everitt gave me an opportunity at the club. I asked for it but at the end of the day, you have to go out there and put the work into it. A lot of that comes back to the individual and how hard they are willing to work and I won a few people over that year behind the scenes.”

One of the beacons of experience that Marshall taps into is his mate Grant Gilchrist, he of 84 caps and a career spanning well into its second decade.

Pictured: Marshall lining up alongside Grant Gilchrist ahead of facing New Zealand in the Quilter Nations Series on 8 November

“I have an immense amount of respect for him,” explained Sykes. “I’m trying to retire him and he just won’t retire! You look at him and I see stuff in the media around him and people saying he’s getting old but I’ve known him for years and I think he’s playing some of the best rugby I’ve ever seen him play which is brilliant. I have to play at my best to try and push him but he’s also so willing to help people learn. I have loads of questions for him since Jamie Ritchie has gone off to Perpignan and I’ve now subbed in to be his car share to get him in every so often, so it has been quite good to pick his brains and stuff like that. He’s a good man and someone I look up to a lot and I enjoy having to compete with.”

So what of the future for Marshall? Now seen as an important part of the Scotland set-up, he is understandably desperate to keep up his end of things: “If I’m anything like Gilco, I’ll have another ten years!

“You can’t really take it for granted. You try and live in the moment any time you are in it because it is a special environment to be a part of. I had to do the post-match stuff in the suites a couple of weeks ago and I genuinely believe – and I’ve been involved now for sort of four and a half years in and out of this environment – that it is the best place that the environment has ever been in.”