SCOTLAND MAY HAVE TO PUT FAITH IN RAW ABILITY

MUCH was made of Scotland’s selection policy of utilising regular pairings at the weekend. As such, Glasgow’s backline and Edinburgh’s front row were selected as units. That policy was challenged when WP Nel left the field with an arm injury in the first half on Saturday, which could see him miss the remaining Tests against New Zealand and Australia. Scotland still held their own against the Samoans, with neither side managing to dominate the other. What is unclear is how much of a challenge the Samoans posed the Scottish pack, and the All Blacks and Wallabies should present sterner tests. The front row that started the game against Samoa had a combined total of 27 caps, of which Nel could lay claim to 18. He would undoubtedly be a loss but is ably replaced by Zander Fagerson who, at 21 years old, is the best Scotland tighthead prospect for years. That being said, scrummaging is one of the last bastions of the ‘dark arts’ in rugby, where experience counts for a lot. Now Scotland may have to place their faith in raw ability and I, for one, can’t wait to see how it plays out. As for Saturday, the sell-out crowd at Murrayfield was treated to a wonderful display of rugby in all its guises. The most pleasing aspect of the game was the contributions made by all — front row through to full-back. It was by no means a perfect performance and they will look to improve their defence. Thankfully, that should not be too difficult and I expect the Scots defence to be back to its formidable best for this week. It will need to be.