One of Scotland’s old ghosts haunted them at Murrayfield on Sunday afternoon; a ghost that we thought, under Vern Cotter, may be exorcised. It is fair to say that over the last decade, Scotland have persistently rued missed opportunities to seize matches by the scruff of the neck, and have instead suffered marginal defeats. Examples are not hard to find: Scotland 17-19 France in 2014, Wales 31-24 Scotland in 2010, and France 16-9 Scotland in 2005. Last weekend was simply history repeating itself. Scots alike will argue until the sun sets over referee Glen Jackson’s decision-making, but to pin the blame on the referee masks the fact that Scotland were not clinical, clever or composed enough to defeat Wales.
Yes, there were contestable decisions given by the officials: From Rhys Webb’s dive which won Wales their first penalty in the opening minutes, and Jonathan Davies’ blocking of Mark Bennett in the build-up to Wales’ first try; to Webb’s high tackle on Sam Hidalgo-Clyne in the 74th minute, and of course, Jackson deciding to end the match prematurely. Had these decisions gone in Scotland’s favour, the scoreboard may have altered, but whether the result would have changed is unclear. It’s all subjective. Say the final restart was taken for example, would Scotland have gone the length of the field and scored the vital five-pointer that was required?
It is doubtful that the Scots would have crossed the whitewash once more, considering their profligacy throughout the match. They had enough chances to win, and indeed the tries they scored were magnificent, particularly Stuart Hogg’s on turnover ball in the 10th minute. However this wasn’t followed up until Jon Welsh battered down the door in the 79th minute. What happened in between? The Scots had 49 percent of the territory and 47 percent of possession; enough to seal victory. Also for the last fifteen minutes, Scotland were dominant, and they continually pinned Wales back, but were not composed enough to capitalise on their dominance.
It was a case of lacking structure in attack. Nobody in their gifted backline was organising, and the front foot ball was being stifled by the over-eagerness of the forwards. My mini rugby side, and many others across the globe, used to be repeatedly warned of white line fever; the dreaded disease which ruins offensive play. Scotland’s forwards were guilty of suffering the symptoms of it on Sunday.
Against France, Scotland proved that they can utilise space out wide, through Dougie Fife’s score, and also with Hogg’s effort in this match, but when it really counted, Scotland channelled their attacks too narrowly, and failed to exploit the wide areas.
Fortunately, they have two weeks to lick their wounds and learn their lessons. They will return to the familiarity of Edinburgh to face Italy on Saturday week, where they should be able to unpick the wavering Italians and secure a comfortable win. However, the contrast in optimism and confidence is stark; before the start of the tournament, Scotland were mid-table contenders, who were billed as being able to tally up two, maybe even three wins. Now, fifth place is once more looking like the likeliest position. The ghost of Six Nations past haunted them last weekend, reminding them of the cost of wastefulness, but it is up to them to re-direct the ghost of Six Nations present, starting with a victory over Italy next time out, followed by tough fixtures against England and Ireland, who are both undefeated.
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