The bravehearts of stern Vern
Praise for ‘inspired’ Italians
COMMENT year or any other year. These baubles are usually given to blokes who already have bloody good teams and don’t exactly have to reinvent the wheel. Yet this year there is every chance, with Italy still to play at Murrayfield, that Scotland could have three home wins in the Six Nations for the first time.
They have beaten Wales for the first time in a decade and could now win the triple crown if they can go to Twickenham and beat England. That hasn’t happened since 1983 when a lot of the current team weren’t even born, but the fact that it is even a possibility says a great deal about Cotter.
The first thing he looked for when he arrived in Edinburgh was a group of decent men. I remember being in a Scottish hotel bar 15 or so years ago and standing gobsmacked as a group of blondstreaked public schoolboys, who had just taken a hell of a beating, pranced about as if they were god’s gift to rugby, women and anything else that should enter their heavyaddled heads.
It was shocking. And there was no way Cotter was going to put up with that sort of thing. Maybe his playing career in France at clubs like Dunkirk and Lourdes bred a necessary historic resilience. Maybe he already had it from his time farming the land. Maybe ‘Stern Vern’, as the Scottish players call him, summoned up the spirit of Jim Telfer, with whom he has so much in common.
Telfer himself, has recognised the change, saying: ‘‘The New Zealanders talk about producing good rugby players but also producing good men. That’s what he’s doing.’’
Five minutes from the end of the game against Wales, Ryan Wilson lay on his back, racked with exhaustion. He had just made six tackles in one sequence of play, tackles that were emphasised with line speed, and which eventually forced the turnover. A fortnight earlier he missed the game against France after contracting cellulitis in his elbow.
Cotter says: ‘‘He plays much bigger than he is.’’
All of Cotter’s team play much bigger than they are. He knows the scrum will get minced, particularly after the loss of WP Nel, but then every selection is some sort of compromise. Cotter has sacrificed grunt for attitude and line speed and skill and leadership.
He talks about ‘‘mindset and skill-set and leadership.’’ I can’t say I much care for his ‘‘word-set’’, but Cotter is more interested in character and soul than literature. And his team have added brains to that mix.
Scotland scored a hilarious try in their opening victory against Ireland. They stood their halfback, right wing and second five-eighth at the front of an attacking lineout and stacked the tail. When Ireland’s tight head prop planted his giant thighs, looked to his pod and set himself for a mighty lift, Scotland’s hooker lobbed the ball in to Alex Dunbar, the second five, who strolled over untouched. I reckon Vern chuckled about that one to Joe Schmidt over a beer afterwards.
Cotter changed tactics against Wales at halftime because Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton were dominating the breakdown and Scotland then dominated the second half. Captain John Barclay now believes that they can beat anyone.
Wing Tim Visser says: ‘‘We want to do it especially for Vern. The fact that he is leaving has really put a date on the end of this period. We’re trying to leave him with as much as we can. He’s put a lot of hard work into getting this team going forward. We want to show him that we have improved.’’ Clive Woodward has applauded Italy’s ‘‘guerrilla war’’ tactics against England.
Italy frustrated Six Nations leaders England by not contesting rucks in thier clash at Twickenham at the weekend. England eventually won 36-15 but spent long periods of the game unable to work out the Italian approach.
England coach Eddie Jones said the legal Italian ploy ‘‘wasn’t rugby’’ and the sport’s bosses needed to address the rules to outlaw this approach.
But former England coach Woodward felt Italy’s move was ‘‘innovative, inspired, gutsy and clever’’.
He suggested if the All Blacks had come up with it ‘‘we would be hailing a tactical master-stroke’’.
‘‘It was one of those rare moments in test rugby that, as a former coach and player, make you sit bolt upright in your seat and think, ‘Wow, this is different, this is new’. What on earth do England do next?’’ Woodward wrote in his latest column for the Daily Mail.
‘‘Italy are scrapping for respect and pride, both personal and national after many have criticised their right to an automatic place in the Six Nations.
‘‘What we did see was a very gutsy and clever, if ultimately unsuccessful, response from a wounded Italy side that felt under pressure — the sort of pressure you encounter when seeking promotion or trying to avoid relegation.
‘‘Against a superior team and a rugby nation with infinitely more resources, Italy went down fighting and scheming and plotting. The tactic is entirely legitimate and was fascinating to watch it unfold.
‘‘It was great. Laws are not always about being restrictive, they can be looked at positively as well, an opportunity to come up with something different, a loophole if you like.’’
Woodward said Italy coach Conor O’shea was justified in hitting back at critics.
‘‘If New Zealand or one of the big boys had come up with it in a big game, we would be hailing a tactical master-stroke,’’ he said.
Woodward felt the solution to the ‘‘anti-rucking’’ was simple.
‘‘Avoid going to ground and therefore prevent rucks in the first place. Switch to an off-loading game and when you do finally go to ground, drag in as many Italian defenders as you can to prevent them standing off and denying you the ruck you want.’’
Cotter is more interested in character and soul than literature. And his team have added brains to that mix.