PERFECT PAIR ARE ACES IN THE PACK
Full-blooded forwards Ritchie and Watson can trouble flying France
They are going to be crucial for Scotland’s hopes this weekend
THEY are close friends and colleagues. Clubmates who have taken their Edinburgh partnership onto the international stage without missing a beat.
They also happen to represent twin pillars of optimism in a Scotland XV short of ready-made heroes. An example for others to follow.
If Gregor Townsend’s men are to stand any chance of thwarting France’s Grand Slam ambitions at Murrayfield on Sunday, they will need to turn in a performance that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Anyone wondering exactly what that looks like need only analyse the near-perfect back-row pairing of Hamish Watson and Jamie Ritchie in action.
Brilliant individual athletes, each gifted in their own unique way, they have developed an ability to get the best out of each other.
Which makes it all the more surprising they have only ever started five games together in the dark blue of Scotland.
There were reasons for that, of course. Injuries. Competition for places. The fact that all-round flanker Ritchie was once seen as a good fit for the No7 jersey into which Watson has now been virtually stitched.
Heading into the Six Nations, this pair — with almost 50 caps and over 40 starts between them — had only ever lined up shoulder to shoulder in the starting XV in a couple of autumn Tests in 2018.
Ritchie, who has started nine international games at openside flanker, effectively replaced Watson in the line-up when injury forced the more experienced player to fly home from the World Cup in Japan.
And the younger man was so damned good, a rarity in an under-performing squad, that Townsend had to find a way to squeeze both in. It will be a huge shock if he does not put them together for a fourth consecutive joint start when naming his team today.
Former Scotland captain Jason White, one of the best flankers the country has ever produced, told
Sportsmail: ‘They just complement each other really well, which is what makes them such a good partnership.
‘Jamie reminds me very much of a John Barclay, an Ally Hogg at the peak of his powers or, going further back, a Richard Hill sort of figure.
‘He has the complete skill-set, just about everything you are looking for in a back row. He’s a good line-out option, makes big tackles and he’s strong over the ball.
‘Above all that, he’s willing to put his body on the line, which is absolutely essential for any player — but especially a back row. That comes with the position. And it’s never more important than in international rugby.
‘Hamish is just such a combative competitor, very much your out-and-out No 7. He’s like the great Australian flanker David Pocock in that respect. That’s his type of style.
‘He makes a difference because he has such strength, real man strength. That makes him so hard to knock down or knock off the ball. He gets low down, gets in there at the right moment — and makes good decisions.
‘All coaches will talk about winning the race at the breakdown. He does that. He gets there quicker than most.
‘But you also need to judge when to go in and when to stand back. He’s making good decisions.’
In a tough Championship offering few causes for Scottish celebration, the performances of Watson and Ritchie have at least been deserving of honourable mentions in despatches.
As bad as the Scots were in that opening defeat in Dublin, the pair made 31 tackles between them, while making around 140 yards with the ball in hand. All off the back foot.
The flankers weren’t quite so effective in defence or attack when England pitched up at Murrayfield in a monsoon. But, then, who was?
Against Italy, Watson made 17 tackles. And did not miss a single one. Ritchie had a 100-per-cent success rate with his eight tackles, too.
They carried for 64 and 57 metres respectively and Ritchie even put in a 43-yard kick.
Watson, the older of the pair by five years, has become renowned for his rubber-ball running style; there are times when he seems genuinely impossible to knock down.
Ritchie is a different beast. Someone the great Jim Telfer himself called ‘a tough b **** r’ who brings ‘genuine hardness, not the kid-on hardness you see sometimes’.
It is notable that he missed Scotland’s flattest performance in the World Cup, the opening loss to Ireland, as he was recovering from a giant face wound sustained in the warm-up game with Georgia.
His performance in defeat to Japan, making 17 tackles in the first half alone, earned him rare plaudits as part of a team pilloried in all quarters.
Those who attend Murrayfield for club matches, of course, could have told Townsend that Ritchie and Watson were a natural fit.
‘It’s a big, big benefit that they work together at Edinburgh,’ said White. ‘You cannot underestimate the value that brings to the Scotland team.
‘They will be working on individual things all the time, working under the guidance of Richard Cockerill on the fine details that make the difference. ‘Training isn’t always Full Metal
Jacket, if you like. There’s a lot of technique involved.
‘And they do it very well, working closely together.
‘They’re going to be crucial to Scotland this weekend. Of course, you need the front five to play really well if your back row are going to influence the game. You can only do as well as the rest of the team allow you.
‘And the French have a more than decent back row themselves. They’re very, very dangerous.
‘Charles Ollivon is a really dynamic player with a big, long stride, a real threat carrying the ball.
‘The No 8 Gregory Alldritt is also an obvious threat. So the entire Scottish back row will need to be switched on.
‘I always feel you need your back row to be really involved. They can really decide the match.
‘They came off second best against Ireland in terms of the gain line. The England game was really hard to judge and the Italy game is what it is.
‘Against France, if Scotland are going to compete, they will need to really dominate the forward battle. And that’s where the back row really come into their own.’
On both flanks, Scotland have two men who won’t let anybody down. A destructive, dynamic duo, sure to be tested to the absolute limit by the flying French.