Scotland 0-20 England
Dismal. Dour. Dreich.
Not so much the weather at Murrayfield on Saturday, but more a reflection on Scotland's display as they hosted England in the traditionally highly charged Calcutta Cup game.
Scotland were awful. One dimensional and with a notable lack of enthusiasm for the game and occasion, they were simply overpowered by an England team by no means at their own best standard.
The conditions didn't help either team, but they should in theory have made it a more level playing field, figuratively if not literally. Scotland couldn't even use that to their advantage.
The statistics from the game are pretty grim. Scotland managed only 42% possession and 34% territory at home. Even in Dublin they managed the majority of possession, despite not being able to capitalise on any of it.
0% kicking success. 82% tackle success (27 missed tackles), 201 metres run with the ball compared to England's 434. 16 penalties conceded compared to England's 7. England played the game and the conditions to their strengths, electing to maul on 13 occasions with 100% success compared to Scotland's 2 mauls, where they lost 1. It goes on.
Short Calcutta Cup highlights
Sent out with a game plan to kick to the corners and to test the youthful English back three, a lot was riding on Duncan Weir at fly half. He didn't have a great game as the territory stats clearly indicate, but no one really did. In the wake of the result, Weir is being made a principle scapegoat of those that took to the pitch, unfairly so in my opinion.
But it's the interim coach Scott Johnson that has been justifiably receiving the lions share of criticism for Scotland's display. He has been taking heat ever since his bizarre decision to remove captain and all round forward stalwart Kelly Brown from the match day squad, and yet allowing hooker Ross Ford to retain his starting place despite a dire performance in Ireland and a plainly clear inability to perform the two key roles he is on the pitch to do - hooking and throwing.
Scotland's set piece was terrible. If there was any chink of light, it's that the solidity of the scrum was a little better than in Dublin (Scotland didn't lose any of their scrums), but it was the lineout where Scotland suffered so badly once again. The usually reserved Murrayfield crowd made their discontent with Ford's performance, and likely his selection too, clear with an ironic cheer when he was substituted for Scott Lawson, a substitution that came all too late in the game.
The lineout stats make for the grimmest reading. Scotland won only 7 of their 12 lineouts, while their misguided kicking game and high penalty count provided England with a staggering 24 lineouts, 22 of which they won. Scotland's defensive lineout is normally a strong point but even here, Jim Hamilton and co were ineffective, and that's when they actually decided to compete.
Scott Johnson's credentials are as an attacking coach which is strangely ironic. The best part of Scotland's game in the last decade has been their defence, a collective resilience that has been hard to break down and has contributed to some unlikely results against the likes of Australia and South Africa in recent years. And yet the attacking element of Scotland's game has been woefully deficient. This isn't solely Johnson's fault, many have tried and failed before him, most recently Gregor Townsend with the backs. However, it's easy to sympathise with the fans that criticise the lack of forward endeavour when the team is being coached by someone who has been brought into the coaching set up to address this exact problem.
Johnson is not a qualified international head coach, though you can see how he managed to talk the high hedions in the SRU round to giving him the interim job. And it is this 'filler' part of the position where you get the distinct feeling he isn't really putting his all into it.
Scott Johnson is not in the Scotland's fans good books
The most damning thing, however, is that I'm not convinced Scott Johnson has the faith in his own players to do the job, no matter what directives they are sent out with. His rhetoric and spiel in the run up to each game has been 'if we're in it with 20 to go, we'll have a chance'. This is a negative outlook from the off, no matter how you see it. It may be argued that he is just being realistic, and I would buy into that, but he shouldn't be the guy sending out these messages. He needs to be the guy that has full confidence in his squad and telling them as much. You got the distinct feeling with the way the Scots came out to play and the half baked game plan they tried to adopt, that they came out with damage limitation the first priority.
So were there any positives? Well, yes - a couple.
Chris Fusaro's selection seems to have been justified as Scotland managed to win 73 of their 75 rucks, and managed to force England into 14 turnovers, two more than Scotland gave up. As I mentioned, the scrum held up well against one of the best packs around, but that's about it.
What happens now? The Scottish rugby media has come out all guns blazing in the wake of the result, and are calling for change. It seems the loudest call is to move Stuart Hogg, the only really effective back in the Scot's line up to fly half. I cannot agree with this move.
I am a huge fan of Hogg, but he is not a 10 and he is not the future of that position. He isn't a great kicker under pressure and his pace wouldn't be utilised at first receiver. While I agree his attacking talents are needed more in the back line, he'd be far more effective at 13. All that said, full back is still his best position and Scotland's game needs to evolve to get him more involved from that deeper role rather than moving him into a position where he can't be at his best.
Duncan Weir needs to be stuck with. It's excruciating to see Scotland perform like this and to come up so badly short in these contests, but for me, and I've said it repeatedly in the last 6 months, Weir is the future of the 10 shirt. He needs to be given this chance to establish himself.
The benefits of having a genuine openside appear clear, if not from Fusaro's performance then at least from looking at any successful team around the world.
And what of Greig Laidlaw? He missed his two opportunities at goal, one of which painfully demonstrated his limited range in front of the sticks. Duncan Weir is a sound kicker, and can only improve if given the opportunity. Chris Cusiter is a very able back up at scrum half but at his age, he isn't the future. Henry Pyrgos appears to have been dropped like a bad habit, but I would encourage his return to the fold.
The light at the end of the very long tunnel is that we know Scott Johnson will not be head coach in 6 months time. The current displays by the Scotland team mean that the arrival of Vern Cotter is putting an unfair weight of expectation on him, which is only getting heavier the more Scotland lose.
I refuse to believe Cotter is not having an influence now on the team selection. The decision to opt for Duncan Weir as the starting 10 with little international experience with no specialist back up is a clear directive and I believe positive move for the future. Tell me Cotter hasn't had a say in that decision.
Vern Cotter's contract at Clermont ends this summer
Cotter's immediate problem when he arrives will be to temper the expectations of the fans, a distraction we could all remind ourselves he could do without. While he has an embarrassment of riches at Clermont Auvergne, a club where he can get more or less who he wants, at Scotland he needs to work with what he's got. His talents as a man manager and a motivator will be as important as his technical and strategic nouse.
Scotland have a lot of work to do, as do the SRU. What is becoming increasingly clear is that the performance of the national team, the face of the organisation, is highlighting the deeper problems within the game in this country. Scotland ha been both slow and disorganised in adapting to professionalism, and the effects are being felt almost 20 years on from the change. I'd urge you to read Bill Lothian and David Ferguson's thoughts on this, over on the Scotsman website.
Scotland have 2 professional teams. One of those, Glasgow Warriors, have 54 players on their books, more than enough to field three teams. That includes Duncan Weir and Ruaridh Jackson, currently the top 2 stand offs in Scotland. With this many players on the roster, it is nigh impossible for anyone to get a consistent run at a high level in this country. Something clearly needs to change.
In the meantime, the national team have a fortnight to prepare for a do or die clash in Rome. I'll be honest, I don't hold a great deal of hope, but even if Scotland were to win in Italy, nothing changes. Deep rooted problems require fundamental change, and until that happens, Scottish fans may well have to put up with performances like Saturdays for years to come.
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