SCOTS HAVE TURNED IMPORTANT CORNER

THE Six Nations whitewash was complete but Scotland went down with all guns blazing after a magnificent display that is the template going forward for them. Pace in everything they did, great skill and a willingness to counter-attack and be positive. They hung in superbly when Australia cranked it up and the result was one of the all-time great World Cup games. It was a cruel way to lose and I’m surprised the TMO wasn’t used to make sure it was the right call, irrespective of whether such an incident is covered by protocol. The TMO seems to have been used in every other scenario at this World Cup. Scotland, like Wales and Ireland, have fired every shot in their arsenal in this tournament and there can be no recriminations, only pride and confidence in the future. They have turned an important corner already and the 2016 Six Nations will be massive for them, a great opportunity to cement all of their good work. The Aussies were very good indeed, but they will be under no illusions how close that was. The Pumas lay in wait and that is going to be some contest. Argentina have been the up and coming team for a while now, improving their allround skills massively in the brutally hard school of the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship against Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They now have a cracking all-court game, out of necessity really because that’s the only way you can compete against those giants. It was certainly too much for Ireland yesterday, especially a team without four of their star players — Paul O’Connell, Johnny Sexton, Peter O’Mahony and Sean O’Brien. The Pumas’ attacking intent and skills were superb and it was only when they got sucked into a more forward-orientated battle that they lost momentum, before picking it up again. Above all else, though, what I enjoyed was watching a team with two genuine play-makers at fly-half and inside centre. Nicolas Sanchez and Juan Martin Hernandez were virtually interchangeable and the range of options Argentina had were almost endless. There was also a fantastic effort from Wales against South Africa on Saturday in a match they could have won, but ultimately the big injuries in their back division finally caught up with them, while a couple of times they just lacked that cutting edge behind to fashion a decisive score. Wales can be proud, however, as they turned up big-time at this World Cup and have contributed massively. Reviewing the game, they will realise they gave too many penalties away at the contact areas. Some were 50-50 calls and perhaps a bit unlucky, but others were a bit soft and unnecessary. They weren’t fouls preventing a possible try, just a lack of concentration. The old mantra stands. You aren’t going to win many big games if you concede more than 10 penalties.