That was good enough to earn us an away win
GREGOR TOWNSEND insists Scotland proved they have the game to win on the road – after another Six Nations loss in Dublin.
Despite a 28-8 loss to the newlycrowned champions the coach is adamant his side’s game plan only fell short on the final delivery.
Townsend said: “It might sound daft because we lost four tries to one but that mentality, the way we defended, the detail in our game apart from the finishing is what we need to do to win away from home.
“We caused a very good side a lot of problems. From the performance we delivered most of what we wanted from an away performance.
“Seeing what the players do in training, I’m sure on another day they’d take those opportunities
“We respect the Irish pack a lot and for us to do so well against them gives us lots of encouragement for the future. Simon Berghan did well, we know have depth at tight head. And Blair Kinghorn on his debut was fantastic. He looked confident and made a few breaks.”
Townsend admits he’s still coming to terms with what might have been against Ireland which was a vast improvement on last month’s hammering by Wales in Cardiff.
He said: “Whether it’s 20 points or one point, we lost the game, that’s what we’re upset about.
“Three clear-cut chances could be 21 points and Ireland scoring off an intercept could be a different game. It wasn’t and that’s down to us but that performance was miles ahead of the one in Cardiff.”