Searching For Positives On A Dire Day For Scotland

by Dugald Skene

I'll cut to the chase - That was the worst I've seen Scotland play for a long time.

I wasn't expecting much against one of the two form teams in the world and if I'm honest, the 28 point difference at the end was pretty much the figure I had in my head when entering Murrayfield in the misty drizzle.

What I didn't expect was the Scots not scoring a single point.  I've refrained from going through the annals to check the last time we were held to zero at Murrayfield, I thought any such search would be too depressing and ultimately pointless, but it must be a fair while. 

Willie La Roux breaks clear as Scotland players trip over themselves. Story of the game

So where did it all go wrong?

Firstly, South Africa were excellent but without ever having to excel themselves.  As much as Scotland contributed to their own downfall, South Africa prevented them from playing.  They were more combative at the breakdown without having to commit the numbers that Scotland did at ruck time. They also took their chances.

Scotland's defence was generally pretty good.  They scrambled where they had to and reset quickly enough. The 3 tries in the first half were basically either down to brute force or individual opportunism and skill.

What frustrated me most though, was pretty much every time Scotland got their hands on the ball.  Whether it be at the lineout (we lost the first 4), or in open play, we couldn't do anything but turn it over.  Decision making by Ruaridh Jackson was bewildering at times.  Choosing to kick the ball cross field, off second phase ball, on the halfway line during first sustained (about 30 seconds) period of possession was ludicrous.

Duncan Taylor on a debut he'll likely want to forget, and Nick de Luca all too often dropped the ball in midfield when they did get it from Jackson, but more often than not they were bypassed by ill informed miss passes or ill conceived kicks.

Scotland had nothing in attack, and looked defeated in the face of an incredibly strong and defensively quick South African back line.  Scotland suffered by trying to stick too long to the Scott Johnson ethos of rugby - keeping the ball in play.  Murrayfield was beginning to reminisce about the touch finding skills of Dan Parks at halftime, a man who's skills were ideally suited to this game and the conditions.  Scotland didn't have the quality in attack to play too much in front of the South Africans, they had to kick for territory if they had any chance of nicking points down the other end.  As it was, the South Africans spent what must have been at least 90% of their time in Scotland's half.

Yes, the second half was better. And yes, they were only held to 7 points in that second period, but it is little consolation.

With all that said, and I fully accept that it is very easy to take pot shots at yesterday's performance, there were a couple of positives.  

Firstly, Duncan Weir.  His introduction for the final 13 minutes or so proved to inject pace and a better structure to Scotland's back play.  Contrary to Jackson, his decision making was excellent - he knew instinctively when something was on or otherwise, and when it was on, he executed the pass or kick very well, the kick to the corner which almost saw Max Evans touch down being the prime case in point. 

Defence at the set piece, particularly the line out, was ropey at best, but as already mentioned the overall shape and organisation of the defence in open play was good. South Africa's big hitters were for the best part kept at bay. 

There are many many elements of Scotland's performance on Sunday that had the fans heads in their hands, myself very much included. The principle frustration is knowing that the Scottish players have the ability to play so much better but on this occasion couldn't muster much of anything. Credit must go to South Africa who did exactly what they needed to do, but nothing more. 

A seemingly resurgent Australia will once again provide the sternest of tests for Scott Johnson's men, even with a few key players out on class detention. Where some fans may have sensed a whiff of an upset next Saturday, the realists will just be looking for a marked improvement from Scotland. Goodness knows they need it.