Huddersfield Giants captain Danny Brough might have enjoyed a year to remember, but Dave Rotheram believes his proud Scottish roots mean he is far from done shining.
Despite finishing top of the Super League, Brough couldn’t inspire the Giants to the Grand Final as they fell 30-22 to Warrington Wolves in the semi-finals.
However Brough’s efforts didn’t go unrewarded as he fought off the challenge of Wigan’s Sean O’Loughlin and Leeds’ Jamie Peacock to claim the prestigious Man of Steel award.
And few could argue that the 30-year-old didn’t deserve the recognition, having contributed 344 points to the Giants’ cause in his first full season as captain.
But, while Brough has been central to Huddersfield’s plans, it has been the opposite in regards to England with the scrum-half yet to feature in an official international.
England’s loss is Scotland’s gain with Brough set to captain the Auld Enemy at another World Cup this month having performed the same role in Australia in 2008.
And Scotland assistant coach Rotheram is adamant that, despite the wrangling between his two options, Brough is 100 per cent committed to the cause.
“I was involved in the last World Cup in 2008 with Scotland, again as Steve McCormack’s assistant but this time around it feels different on a number of levels – all positive,” said Rotheram, at the launch of the RFL’s Embed the Pathway programme, supported by Gillette.
“First of all it is the best squad that we have assembled for ten years, for sure. There are some high quality individuals that we can call upon.
“The obvious one is Danny who is great for us.
“He is a fantastic player and he is great with the other players.
“He is also very proud to play for Scotland, through his grandfather. He has progressed massively since his debut in 2004 as a player to be captain of the Huddersfield Giants and to be Man of Steel so it’s great for us to have player like that.
“Danny made his Scotland debut in 2004 when he was playing in National Division Two for York and he never forgets that and he has always been proud of his Scottish links.”
Scotland find themselves in Group C alongside Tonga and Italy, while they also face the United States in an inter-group match as they bid to reach the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in their history.
And, with only the top of the group progressing to the quarter-finals, Rotheram knows just how important getting one over Tonga first up on October 29 will be and how crucial Brough is to that goal.
“No disrespect to Italy but I would imagine that us and Tonga are the two favourites in our group,” he added. “And with the two of us playing first up it's a big game for us.
“We need to work hard as a group and we need to make sure we get a result otherwise it could be over before it gets going.
“The squad has come together as a group of individuals at the moment but very quickly they need to mould together as a team and Danny will play an important part of that.”
Gillette’s partnership with the RFL and its investment in the RFL coaching programme is part of The Great Start Programme which aims to celebrate and encourage the coaches who will inspire the next generation.
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