Scotland still some way short of elite
THAT was a real missed opportunity at BT Murrayfield on Saturday. It was a chance to beat one of the top teams and prove Scotland had moved to the next level. But the manner of defeat, and the way Scotland played in the second half in particular, showed us Gregor Townsend’s side still have some way to go to compete with the very best. They couldn’t get any foothold in the game after the interval, a combination of Ireland being happy to suffocate things and the hosts making silly mistakes. None of these were howlers but, taken as a whole, it meant there was no momentum in the second period whatsoever. This was in stark contrast to the first half which bristled with intent and exciting rugby, with the game swinging one way then the other. Ireland scored one good try through Jacob Stockdale and a soft one from Conor Murray when two of Scotland’s most experienced players combined to gift the visitors their first score. Finn Russell looked to have made amends when he intercepted and then produced a beautifully weighted pop-up pass from the ground for Sam Johnson to touch down. It was total class from the fly-half who had a very good 40 minutes, varying his game and, hence, Scotland’s attack to cause Ireland no end of problems. The fact he couldn’t reproduce it after the break was not down to him but due to Scotland’s lack of ball. They had to try and dig something out but instead they gave away another soft try. The Scotland defence, in general, were very good but they went AWOL when Joey Carbery burst through a double tackle from Allan Dell and Rob Harley. There should have been potential for a turnover as Carbery was so exposed but he managed to escape and, moments later, threw a great pass for Keith Earls to score his team’s third try. It really was a game of fine margins but, in the key moments, it was Ireland who came out on top, whether that was through making fewer mistakes or getting decisions from the referee. It was a valuable lesson for Scotland. They are not far from the top teams but not quite there yet.