Bold promises of a bright new era are blighted by the failures of Auld
TO think we were all convinced that Scotland were on the threshold of a brave new era built on the firm foundations of their World Cup heroics.
The optimists whispered about potentially challenging for the Six Nations title, the pragmatists argued that top three would be more realistic. But a dispiriting, clumsy and careless performance against England which gifted the Auld Enemy the Calcutta Cup has created fears that this might be another campaign spent trying to sidestep the wooden spoon.
What we witnessed was a Scotland team dragged into a war of attrition in the face of an impenetrable white wall of English defence. Eddie Jones sent his team out to do a job. It was never overly pretty but, by controlling territory and possession, England ultimately controlled the game.
What was worrying from Vern Cotter’s point of view was his team’s inability to come up with a plan B — and their complete lack of composure when chances presented themselves.
As he admitted himself, eight times Scotland found themselves in English territory and not once did we look likely to cross the whitewash.
Scotland have not scored a try against England since 2004. It is a damning statistic — and it never l ooked under threat here at Murrayfield on Saturday. Plainly, you can never expect to win a fight if you don’t throw a punch.
That so many of our flair players were posted missing owes as much to English tactics as Scottish i neptitude. Scotland needed their attacking midfield runners to be getting the ball 20 metres from the back foot of a ruck to give the likes of Matt Scott and Mark Bennett a chance to breach the English lines.
But instead, the ball was s l ow, the carrier always under pressure, and any hopes of playing quick rugby lay squashed under a ruck of bodies.
That was the Jones tactic from the outset and credit must go to him and his team for carrying it out so well. After their World Cup failure, England needed a win — any kind of win — and they got it.
The sight of Dylan Hartley holding the Calcutta Cup (below) would have pained Cotter. Analysing the two English tries will give the Scotland head coach sleepless nights ahead of the trip to play Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Richie Gray had promised he would ‘fight fire with fire’ in the tackle but was found wanting as he missed a crucial stop on opposite number George Kruis, who dived over for England’s first score.
Their second try came when Tommy Seymour left his man on the wing, leaving Stuart Hogg dreadfully exposed and unable to stop Jack Nowell going over, although credit replacement prop Mako Vunipola for some brilliant handling in the build-up.
While few could argue at how England controlled the game, they were never out of sight. Scotland could easily have erased the deficit had they exhibited the kind of clear thinking so necessary at this level.
They could have gone into the break ahead if Finn Russell hadn’t snatched at a fairly simple drop-goal attempt. Instead, his ugly effort was so far wide it was on a par with Sergio Parisse’s effort against France in Paris. At least the Italian has the excuse of being a forward.
Russell was culpable again when trailing 12-6 in the second half and with Scotland fighting a dogged rearguard action close to their own l i ne. The stand- off read Ben Youngs’ intentions and stepped in to snatch the England scrum-half’s pass with aplomb. With the wide open spaces of Murrayfield opening up before him and only full-back Mike Brown offering any resistance, Russell only had to look to hi s left to see Scotland’s quickest player, Hogg, haring up on his shoulder. We’ll never know how the full-back would have fared in that chase with Brown because, inexplicably, Russell seemed to be the
only person inside Murrayfield unaware of Hogg’s presence. As his poor grubber-kick trundled into touch, only then did he turn to see Hogg in close proximity and quickly offered an apology. One would expect he offered Cotter similar words of contrition later in the Scotland dressing room.
‘We’ve got to be brutal and stop making stupid mistakes,’ said Greig Laidlaw. I t would be i nteresting to know who the Scotland skipper was directing his frustration at. He certainly had several targets to choose from. Only Hogg and John Hardie left the field with their reputations enhanced.
‘ We won’t pick on any individuals, as we all make mistakes,’ said veteran prop Alasdair Dickinson. ‘The first try was soft. We fought back, but we didn’t do well enough. ‘I am not going to make excuses. We didn’t play particularly well and neither did England. The annoying thing is that we could have won.’
And that is what will grate with the Scotland fans. They lost to an England side that man for man was not any better than the Scots.
Yes, they played at a higher tempo and had a forward pack in which No 8 Billy Vunipola was immense, but they were there for the taking. The much-lauded Scotland pack which did so well at the World Cup were comfortably second best.
It was Billy Vunipola who set-up the first try, picking up the ball from the base of the scrum before being held-up just short.
In the next phase, Richie Gray went too on Kruis, who barged through him and also a despairing tackle from Jonny Gray to score. Owen Farrell put over the extras.
Laidlaw landed two out of three penalty attempts before Russell’s poor attempt to put over a drop goal meant Scotland were a point behind at the break.
England’s second try 10 minutes into the second half left the Scotland defence chasing shadows.
The ball passed through James Haskell, Danny Care, George Ford, Mako Vunipola and Farrell, who played in Nowell in the corner.
Farrell and Laidlaw exchanged penalties and, with 10 minutes left, it was still just a six-point game. But the 67,000-strong crowd saw England put a stranglehold on the game to run down the clock.
Playing Wales in Cardiff this forthcoming weekend was always going to be daunting — and all the more so now. Cotter’s options are hamstrung by the lack of depth. Blair Cowan may come in for John Barclay and Duncan Taylor for Matt Scott, but these are more cosmetic than wholesale changes.
He spoke of ‘more to come from his team’ and that there will be ‘improvement all over the park’.
We will all wait and watch with interest.