Nyle wants sevens squad to make their mark
3 Dec 2019At the age of 27, Nyle Godsmark is by no means a veteran. Given the recent retirements of some of Scotland’s all-time greats, however, he would be forgiven for feeling like one.
With stellar names like Riddell, Gregor, Wight, Nayacavou, Fleming and Robertson having left the scene, others are needing to display leadership within a youthful squad.
Godsmark is one such player and reckons spirit within the Scotland camp will be important as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series begins.
He said: “Because it’s a small group it’s vital for everyone to get on and know what makes each other tick. It took me a while to come out of my shell but I feel like one of the experienced heads now even though I’m not old!”
One of the lessons Nyle has picked up over the course of his four years on the circuit is the necessity to quickly park results and move on from them, irrespective of the result.
On the importance of keeping grounded, he added: “It’s an emotional rollercoaster to say the least.
“Beat a Fijian or New Zealand side and there’s an obvious high, everyone’s buzzing, and then you can easily lose your next match against any of the other sides on the circuit, so there’s then a bit of a crash.
“What we’ve learned over the years is to move on to the next job and do that very quickly. As a squad the question is always ‘what are we doing next?’ and we can celebrate any successes once the tournament is over.
“Teams have to win two pool games to make the quarter-finals, so it’s a short window to take everything in and it’s a case of keeping the same level of focus for the rest of the whole tournament.”
Entering a fifth year as part of the squad member, Godsmark says trying to be a leader is something he’s relishing. He added: “To see the likes of Scott [Riddell, who retired from international rugby last season] move on was quite sad but you need to step up as a leader on and off the pitch.
“This group has been together long enough now that we have gelled as a squad and I think one of our targets without doubt is to get past a quarter-final in at least one of the events on the circuit and get a medal for our efforts.”
Scotland get their 2019/20 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series campaign underway this coming Thursday 5 December in Dubai, where they will initially compete in Pool B alongside USA, Australia and Ireland. All the action will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
