Rather surprisingly, there is someone involved in Scottish rugby who does not agree with the use of 'Flower of Scotland' as the country's rugby anthem.
This person happens to be none other than Scotland legend Jim Telfer, who player for and coached his country for many years, while also gaining widespread popularity for his epic team talks on the 1997 Lions Tour.
In a recent interview with The Times, he suggested that the anthem should be abandoned due to its anti-English sentiment.
We need to stop defining ourselves through England, and it would be a sign of maturity if we got ourselves a decent national anthem.
We should change it and have something that reflects us as a mature nation, instead of talking about another country. It would show us in a better light. Back then [in 1990], it really got the crowd behind us, but I’d like to think we have moved on...
Flower of Scotland is a great song in a way and it does get the hairs on your neck straightening and standing up. But because it’s against another country, I still don’t think it’s the ideal anthem.
People sing that song, sing about the English, and it’s just in the moment.
However, current Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend did not agree.
He said that the anthem should be here to stay due to the effects it has on the team and its supporters.
Whenever I played a few places outside of Scotland and they always wanted to play Flower of Scotland, whether it was Australia or France, they loved the anthem so it means a lot to our supporters.
They also seem to want to continue.
Flower Of Scotland Is Arguably The Best Anthem In The Six Nations
19 March 2022; The Scotland team stand for the national anthems before the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Ireland and Scotland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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Flower of Scotland is possibly the most universally loved of the Six Nations anthems - England aside - and is known for its a cappella verse, which is truly breathtaking when heard in Murrayfield.
Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie also spoke on the matter, and naturally could not imagine singing anything else.
"What else would we sing? I don’t know. For me, there is something really special about singing it at home. When the music cuts out the crowd feels it as well. I couldn’t think of going without it.”
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