At 6 foot 6 and 120kg, the 24-year-old has a career tackle completion rate of 97.6 per cent - just how good can Jonny Gray get?
There’s an old Scottish legend, an ancient tale nannies use to cow unruly children and send toddlers scuttling off to bed, that depicts a towering, inescapable creature. A gargantuan beast topped by a thicket of blonde scruff, arms as long as the Clyde and as thick as a flexing anaconda. A tireless brute from whom none escape, lurking in Glasgow’s west end.
In other parts of the world, children fear the tickle monster. In Scotland, the tackle monster reigns.
Since his first cap in 2013, Jonny Gray has made 584 tackles and missed 14 across 43 Tests. His tackle success rate is a quite phenomenal 97.6%. Yes, these figures need context. Yes, lots of variables – tackle type, tackle impact, speed, opponent – must be considered. But whichever way you look at it, Gray’s accuracy and work-rate are, well, monstrous.
The big lock is so good, so often, that his contribution doesn’t always get the recognition – publicly, at least – that it merits.
“People kind of go, ‘it’s just Jonny’,” Gregor Townsend said after Gray captained Glasgow to their first Champions Cup quarter-final in 2017.
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Twenty-plus tackles and zero misses are the norm. Already, he’s sitting joint-top of the Champions Cup charts, making 47 in two pool matches, and missing only once. And you can bet that solitary slip will infuriate him. That’s where Gray sets his standard and very seldom does it waver.
All the tackle figures leap out but he has put a ton of work into other areas of his game. The aggression and dynamism of Gray’s ball-carrying has spiked noticeably over the past year. He always makes a load of carries and the reason his metres-made numbers aren’t hugely compelling is because he takes on so much slow, close-quarter ball, driving into multiple defenders.
But he looks nastier in possession now, snarling and bullying smaller players in collisions. Glasgow’s assistant coach, Jason O’Halloran, a former All Black who knows a thing or two about attack, reckons Gray’s carrying has “improved out of sight” in the last 14 months. The way he blasted Maxime Machenaud backwards as though shot out of a cannon, freeing his hands and shovelling an off-load that led to a try in Scotland’s win over France, was almost disdainful.
That distribution too is frequently overlooked. Gray is a canny player with defter hands than some appreciate. He will never be Leone Nakarawa but he is much more than a metronomic pugilist and he looks after the ball very well.
His attitude, leadership and willingness to better himself have been highlighted by successive coaches. On the field, Al Kellock, the wily old Glasgow and Scotland captain, and his even more enormous elder brother Richie have helped him along.
“I’m very lucky with the coaching and support I’ve had ever since I was young,” Gray said this week. “I had guys like Al Kellock to sit down with me and go through things and I’ve still got loads of mentors. I still use Rich quite a lot. There are loads of things I’ve still got to work on – I’ll look at it week-by-week and see things I need to improve.”
This is a thoroughly humble bloke who leads by example and looks more nervous about facing a pack of scruffy journalists – almost all of whom have never set foot in an international line-out – than he does lining up opposite Brodie Retallick or Maro Itoje.
It is easy too to forget that Gray is still just 24, a baby in Test rugby terms. He has won a Pro12 title and led his home-town club to wins at Racing 92 and Leicester Tigers – uncharted territory on the continent. He has played and called line-outs against the best teams in the world, beaten Australia twice, won a Calcutta Cup and represented Scotland at a World Cup.
You can scour the archives – spool through all 43 caps and 93 Warriors outings – and you’ll struggle to find what any reasonable observer could label a “bad” performance.
If he’s at this level now, where could Gray’s game be in two years? What might he achieve in five, when the 2023 Rugby World Cup rolls around? How good can the diffident tackle monster be? It’s a terrifying thought…
Comments on RugbyPass
No doubt Razor will want to kick the 2024 campaign off with a decisive selection of the top match fit players to insure his selection as the appointed coach has maximum impact. We the supporters and critics will settle for nothing less because historically it is what we have become ingrained and accustomed to. With that in mind and the distinct fall from grace of his beloved crusaders we will expect him to stamp his mark in the same way he left his old post.
9 Go to commentsI would've expected a better turn around in response to the changes within the team and its management. Lacking in my opinion is the skill sets that once was and now seemingly vacant within the squads regular front runners. Furthermore there seems to be no set game plan, the accuracy that once was is no more, the quality off the bench were poor matchups and frankly I feel a lot has to do with the coaching. Never thought i’d be critising the sadas to this degree.
5 Go to commentsAverage AB captain by recent standards. Speaks to the wider issue
9 Go to commentsWholesome lad, but no longer test level. At all
9 Go to commentsThis game was always going to be close, Canada have such a dominant pack and the Black Ferns have come unstuck in that area against teams like France and England in the past.
2 Go to commentsA distinct discomfort with the officiating they were probably selected from the local IRA narcos branch along with the commentators bloody fly tippers.
1 Go to commentsWow, never thought I would read that
2 Go to commentsExcellent match. Great to see Keenan and Ryan back for Leinster. Super result for Ulster. Season is turning around.
1 Go to comments“We need eight or nine new players, who are hard-wearing and durable and experienced Premiership performers”. So why are they scouting a retired fullback who himself admits that his “body is broken”?
1 Go to commentsBrumbies hand, knocked a Crusaders hand. Therefore, knock on in goal. Crusaders, goal line drop out should’ve been awarded. most likely after that 24 each at full time, so extra time would’ve been the right an entertaining outcome. Act Jim
1 Go to commentsSpeell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
3 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
5 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
8 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
5 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
8 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to comments