Scotland debutant left startled as father joins surprise pitch invasion following Chile win

The Edinburgh hooker came off the bench for his debut in the match in Santiago, and knew that his mother, Ann, his father, Richard, and his brother Jack had made the long trip out to the far side of South America from the family farm near West Linton. It is common enough for players to be reunited with their relatives after a game but not so common these days for that to happen so quickly or so publicly.

“Some of the fans came running on to the pitch and my dad was on the pitch behind me, which gave me a bit of a surprise,” the 22-year-old said last night. “It was quite funny.

“There were quite a lot of people on the pitch, to be fair. That was why it was quite funny, as it doesn’t usually happen. They obviously didn’t have enough security guards around the pitch and everyone came on! It was quite cool, all the fans kicking about at the game.”

There was no real security issue and the supporters were soon back off the pitch. Of course, any such encroachment on to the playing surface would be a different matter were it to occur at Murrayfield, although Harrison is convinced that his father would not get into such a situation even if he wanted to.

“I don’t think he’d be fast enough to get away from the security guards to get on the pitch,” he said. “So I think he’d be all right.”

Harrison had to wait patiently for his debut: not only did he have to sit out the first two games of the tour against Canada and the USA, he had to watch as all of the ten other uncapped squad members won their first caps in the opening game in Ottawa. All the same, he is now sure to make up for lost time by making his second Scotland appearance on Saturday in the final tour game against Uruguay. As the Sharks’ Dylan Richardson left the squad following the Chile game and Northampton Saints’ Robbie Smith departed a week earlier, Harrison and Edinburgh team-mate Ewan Ashman are now the only hookers left in Gregor Townsend’s group.

“I watched the World Cup and they ran France pretty close,” he said of the team’s forthcoming opponents. “They’re going to be a strong team, just like Chile were. Up front they’re going to be hard and they’ve probably got some sharp backs as well. It will be another good opportunity.”

Having made a calm and measured contribution off the bench against the Chileans, Harrison is now hoping for another sound performance to round off the tour. “From my point of view it will be the same goals going into the game,” he said. “Just making sure I know my stuff, make sure of the basics on top of that, and then if I get my hands on the ball in the game just trying to get involved.”