Scotland star 'buzzing' to be back in Murrayfield action after three year absence but insists the best is yet to come
The back rower last featured for his country in the summer of 2022 before the USA demolition.
In a new look Scotland squad, Gregor Townsend picked two new Edinburgh rugby debutants, as well as recalling Magnus Bradbury for his first appearance in three years.
The 30-year old has impressed for Edinburgh since returning last year from Bristol Bears and got his reward with his first cap since a test against Argentina in 2022. In a record Murrayfield victory against USA, which included 13 Scotland tries without reply, Bradbury chose the right time to return to the party.
Next up for Townsend’s men is the All Blacks at home, in a test that is in a different stratosphere to the USA in terms of difficulty. The Scots have infamously never beaten New Zealand in the history of the sport. As Bradbury returns to the National Team set-up, the flanker says he is happy to be back in selection contention, but also wants to feature in the remaining Quliter Nations League fixtures.
‘It felt like my first cap again’
He said: “it’s felt so long, what is it three years since that summer tour in 2022 when I went to Bristol? So yes, it felt like my first cap again. It's been a long time coming and I just focus on playing well for Edinburgh. I played well enough, had some good conversations, changed some things and got back in the camp and managed to get a game tonight.
“I'm absolutely buzzing but there's three more games, three big games to be involved in and I want to put my hand up for selection. I think the measure of rugby players is how you react to bad news. I think you can look at non-selections or injuries in the same sort of light and get over it and then it's back to square one.
“If you're lucky enough to get some feedback with some things to improve on, or if you're injured to look at other things away from the game, you need to take those with both hands. I've had some pretty honest feedback and that's all I ask from coaches. Just be honest with me and tell me why I'm not in the squad. I don't care if I'm playing well but it is not good enough to get selected. Tell me what I need to work on and I'll go away and work on that.”
Bradbury mentally prepared for All Blacks test
The back-rower also stated that on a personal level, he is looking forward to facing New Zealand, having never done so in any of his previous 20 caps. He said: “I've never played against them. This is actually my first November test since my first cap.
“There's been chat about how big the challenge is but the squad's pretty grounded in the fact that it's one game at a time. We talked about this as the first step in a four test series, four home games. We put the best foot forward possible with the result tonight and we know it's going to be another couple of levels up.
“I think what we'll go into next week looking at how we've kept in the games previously. How we've dominated periods of the games before but what that next 10% is going to be, or 5%, or 2%, whatever that next step is going to be, we need to get it, to get over the line and get the win.”