Scottish family pride drives Ferguson

Dale Ferguson believes that the strong spirit Scotland have in their squad will serve them well in this year’s Four Nations.

The Scots warmed up for their opening Four Nations clash with Australia on Friday by beating a Cumbrian XIII 48-16 in Liam Harrison‘s testimonial on Friday evening.

“I love playing for Scotland and representing my family,” said Ferguson, who spent last season at Bradford Bulls but will be back at Huddersfield next season.

“Every time I come into camp it’s always a close knit group of boys. That’s one of the qualities of playing for Scotland.

“We are a big family-based thing. The new boys have gelled and settled in straight away.

“They’ve been here a week but you’d think they’d have been here a lot longer.”

Scotland have been put through a week of intense work at Heriot-Watt University’s Oriam Performance Centre in Edinburgh, ahead of the game in Barrow.

“We’ve had the best prep,” Fergsuon added.

“The coaches said the camp in Edinburgh was going to be tough and it was, really tough. The first week of training was always going to be packed.

“We had two sessions a day but the facilities there were outstanding. Now I’m just looking forward to playing against the best in the world.”

There were several newcomers to the Scotland squad who played on Friday evening, including Frankie Mariano, Hull KR youngster Kieran Moran, plus Australian-based pair Sheldon Powe-Hobbs and Billy McConnachie.

“It’s what happens with internationals,” said Ferguson.

“You’ve got to play with new guys when you come into camp and get on with it as quickly as possible. It was about getting to know everyone and get combinations going.

“It was tough as Barrow came out to give to us a bit and represent Harrison. Take no credit away from them but it’s all about building for us, seeing different players in different positions and combinations.

“We swapped and changed it. It’s building blocks for next week.”