SCOTLAND 13 IRELAND 22
Townsend to stick to plan despite defeat
WITH another World Cup looming, Scotland were once again reminded on Saturday of the difference between matches against minnows and matches that matter, but whether there is a capacity to learn what this team must remains moot after another failure against one of the world’s leading teams and its main pool rival in Japan.
A vulnerable Irish side that had been over-powered by England the previous week and still looked a shadow of that which, just a few short months ago, beat the All Blacks while completing a calendar year in which just one defeat had been suffered in 13 matches, was deprived before the interval of the controlling knowhow of the man considered the world’s best player and who had helped his team into a commanding first-half lead.
Yet it was Ireland that waxed the stronger as the game went on, Joey Carberry bringing different, but ultimately also game-winning abilities to the fray after replacing the aforementioned Johnny Sexton, as the Scotland camp’s confidence in both its philosophy and fitness were once again called into question.
A week after the late collapse against a poor Italy side which almost cost the team the unprecedented experience of topping the table at the end of a Six Nations weekend, just three points were generated in the second half against opponents who defied suggestions that age is taking its toll upon them, without doing much that was special to maintain control in denying their hosts a bonus point while winning 22-13.
The exception to that was Carberry’s blistering break and perfectly weighted scoring pass to Keith Earls which meant they spent most of the final quarter with the
‘‘ We were able to play the way we wanted to play in attack
cushion of a two score advantage that was retained to the end, the replacement stand off making up for his earlier error that had allowed Finn Russell to set up Scotland’s only try for Sam Johnson.
In delivering the scoring pass for that try, Russell demonstrated a composure that bore testimony to the benefits he has gained from his move to France to join Racing 92. Always a player who has boasted sublime skills, the addition of discipline has been long overdue after his years of being indulged in an environment where positive reinforcement is valued over all else.
That Johnson was rewarded with a try was no more than his efforts have deserved either, the Australian-born centre’s rugby intelligence exemplified by his realisation that the support line he was running had been cut off, resulting in the just in time adjustment, that allowed him to receive the grounded Russell’s sublimely sympathetic off-load.
However, in overall terms the setting and outcome invited further examination of the methods being pursued after 18 months in which old Scottish values have been reinstilled to great effect in Edinburgh by Englishman Richard Cockerill who has recognised the limitations of a structure which draws from a tiny section of an already small population, supplementing it with imports, so has come up with game plans to suit.
By contrast, the man in charge of the Scotland team restated commitment to a playing style which, admittedly, has produced one win over higher-rated opposition in England and two against a