It is one of the privileges of writing a regular weekly column that on the very rare occasion when I call things right, I get to boast about it the following week.
I predicted that Wales v Scotland would be a match without flair, and it was. I wrote : “My head says this will be a massive defensive battle for dominance in all positions and in which the tackle count will be very high - the winners will be those who keep the opposition out.” And that was before I knew the weather would make a lottery of phases of play.
It was indeed dourly defensive at times, and the Scots put their bodies on the line time and time again to gain and retain possession. Though there wasn’t much in it at times, I’m delighted to say that Wales were the team who spent more time in defence and their being on the back foot gave Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson the chance to scrag them at the breakdown seemingly at will, forcing turnovers and penalties that made Wales look almost amateurish – remember that word.
What I did not foresee was Scotland’s dominance in the tight. The Scottish scrum was more than solid, and apart from that one lineout where Fraser Brown’s throw was wind-assisted to concede the Welsh try, the men in dark blue fair bossed that part of the game with Wales losing three of them – and this from a team which has scored six tries from lineouts in the Six Nations. Referee Andrew Brace has copped a fair bit of flak in the media for failing to allow more leeway on the throw-ins, but the two “not straights” he called against Wales were blatant.
The driving maul off the lineout which brought Stuart McInally’s try was perfection – whoever has drilled the backs into joining the pack once it gets momentum going should get a medal as it’s now a feature of Scotland’s play.
I also did not foresee the Welsh indiscipline. Last season’s Grand Slam champions gave away 16 penalties in all, compared to Scotland’s six, with 11 of those Welsh penalties conceded at the breakdown, including the final penalty won by Jamie Ritchie as Jonathan Davies was forced to hold on to the ball too long. As Ritchie said afterwards: "We knew it would have to be a big defensive performance and that was the difference today.” Remember, too, what my Welsh friend PB told us last week about Dan Biggar’s performance against France: “Dan Biggar definitely had a problem. He doesn't miss that many kicks. He looked to have a leg injury in the middle of the first half and been in some pain. Considering it was the leg he pivots on to kick, someone in the management team should have been aware of the consequences of it.”
Clearly the management of Wales decided to risk Biggar and paid the price as he was clearly not right and had to be substituted – that was an amateur mistake. Scotland also lost our starting and back up stand-offs – the correct Scottish usage for the wearer of the No. 10 shirt – and finished the game with Stuart Hogg at stand-off and scrum-half Scott Steele on the wing.
It was not a good game of rugby to watch, with far too many errors in the conditions, and the one thing I am taking from the game was Scotland’s professionalism especially in the last 10 minutes when they ground out phase after phase to run the clock down, forcing Wales to try and run from deep from which they conceded the final penalty.
Scotland have lacked that element of toughness, of seeing out a game and not conceding daft scores late on. It’s not pretty but it’s professional and at last we seem to have a squad that can cope with losing key players and knows how to close out a game, unlike our amateurish approach in the past. I also think I am right in saying that with an average of less than 12 per match, that is the fewest points Scotland have conceded in the Six Nations, so credit to all our players and coaches for that professional achievement.
Now we can look forward to the Autumn Nations Cup with real hope. We have been given an outstanding chance to reach the final of the tournament and I am going to stick my neck out and say we can win it. I’ll tell you why next week.
I have to end today’s column on a very sad note, however. The passing of David Kelso has robbed Scottish rugby and cricket of a freelance journalist who was dedicated to giving these two sports in particular as widespread a coverage as he could achieve. He and I did not see eye to eye on politics, but we always enjoyed press box banter and many a laugh, and I had a healthy respect for his journalism, particularly his cricket coverage. Condolences to his family and friends, he will be missed.
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