Hanging with Higginbotham

I was happy today to get to hang out with one of the great number 8's, someone who's down (neck injury) but far from out. Fitting in some time after an early morning gym session, Scott was relaxed and optimistic. He shared that even though his injury recovery had been slow at first, he was making progress to get back in the game soon.

Hope you enjoy reading my latest interview!

Hi Scott! I'm really happy that we have finally got the time to chat! I'm surprised it hasn't happen sooner.....

Yeah me too Tommy, me too.

How has the off season been? Have you been up to much?

Yeah Tommy, I had that neck injury in the June test series which was a couple of bulged discs and a bit of nerve stuff. That happened during the Scotland game, so unfortunately I missed the game and I missed the last two rounds for the Reds. But since then, the necks come along well, it was a bit slow, but it’s improving. It makes pre-season a bit hard because you can’t do too much besides a bit of gym and a bit of cardio.

Also, I’m not able to do the fun stuff like surfing, that I normally do in an off-season.

I'm glad you're back in Queensland. Looking back though, what were the highlights of playing in other places, including Melbourne and Japan, and internationally for the Wallabies?

It was obviously hard to leave the Reds back in 2012, especially after having so much success in 2011. 2012 we made it to the quarter final, but you know, came up against a Sharks team that should have won that year - if they didn’t have to travel for the quarter, semi, and the final, I reckon they really would have won. But I think I got a lot of leadership skills, being in Melbourne. It was good to be captain I think, that was something that I aspired to. Being captain of a super team was a great achievement for me. Which, unfortunately I don’t think would have happened if I was at the Reds, in terms of, I suppose the leadership that was there at the time, it just didn’t look that way. So going to Melbourne, I got that out of it, and living in a different city was great. And same with Japan actually, being able to live overseas was a great experience, and something I’d recommend to all players. You know, if they get the chance to live in another country, or even experience another State, those experiences are second to none and they can really hold you through life I think.

How was it returning to the Reds this season as one of the experienced members of the squad?

Yeah it was a different experience. Being at the Reds initially, I started in 2005 in the academy, training out at that shed over on the other side of the field, and started training with guys like Chris Latham, John Lowe, and you know Crofty, Hardy, and all those guys. I guess I was here for 5 years initially, still coming through and just making the Wallabies and achieving a bit. But you know I still felt young and I still felt a bit immature in a rugby sense. And it’s a lot different to come back and be the older guy. I spent a lot of time as a younger bloke, and it’s nice to be older now and to have a bit more experience under your belt to hold you in better stead, and you feel like you can achieve something with the younger blokes here I think.

I'm interested in the stats of the game, and your name comes up as the highest scoring forward in Super Rugby. How did you feel when you broke that record?

(Laughs) Yeah I was pretty pumped about that. Rugby for me is a lot of fun, and I don’t like the idea of you know, forwards being stereotyped into a certain mould. I grew up as a back, as a winger through school, and played a lot of soccer and basketball. I like the idea of using different skills and being able to kick the ball in the game, I don’t think that should just be limited to backs, and that goes the same for scoring tries. It shouldn’t be just the backs. To me, that’s the funnest part of the game, it’s putting points on the board. That’s how you win games.

That’s something I’m really proud of, and hopefully, in the next couple of years I can extend that record and hold on to it for a while. (Laughs again).

What have you enjoyed most about playing for the Reds so far?

So far, I think that the best thing has been seeing the young talent coming through. Like I said, being an older player, there’s two sides of it. I’ve really enjoyed coming back and playing with guys like Quadey, playing with Simmo, playing with Slips again, you know these are guys that I went through the academy and grew up with. And just being able to spend time with those guys. When you go overseas, and go to different States, you miss those friendships, so it’s great to come back and rekindle that. And on the other side, it’s great to see young guys coming through, and I guess to help them achieve their Super Rugby or Wallaby goals.

What do you enjoy most about living in Brisbane?

Probably days like this. Brisbane is one of the reasons I came back. Playing for Queensland, but also being able to live in this State, with the weather like this. Especially after being in Melbourne where it gets a bit cold through the winter. But I love it. We’re 40 minutes from the Gold Coast, an hour from the Sunshine Coast, surfing is something I’m passionate about, and I love doing that in my spare time.

It’s a big country town Brisbane, it’s an easy place to live, and it’s just got great weather. 

And everyone's favourite question... can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?

I love motorbikes. A few people know that, but I’m pretty big into my vintage cars, and vintage motorbikes. I love that kind of stuff, like getting to swap-meets, I’ve got a Harley myself, I’ve got mates that have Harley’s and we love going for a ride over the weekend. And of course I love music, and getting into live music. Brisbane’s come a long way in that scene. It’s good to be back, and trying to get back into it.

Thanks for making the time this morning. It's been great chatting.

Tommy, no worries. Any time mate, any time.