The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Scotland told to ‘step it up’ against Australia
Dell wary of Wallabies threat as he calls for show of patience
Allan Dell has urged Scotland to “step things up” ahead of the second Test of their summer tour on Saturday when they face Australia in Sydney.
The Scots ran in five tries against Italy in Singapore over the weekend to seal an impressive 34-13 victory in Gregor Townsend’s first game as head coach.
Edinburgh prop Dell took the positives from the way Scotland adjusted to Townsend’s new regime but warned they face a sterner challenge in Australia.
“Australia are a really good side, especially at home,” said Dell.
“They have a lot of dangerous players all round the park.
“You cannot just say the backs are dangerous, you look at (prop Sekope) Kepu, who scored a try from halfway in Super Rugby just a couple of weeks ago. It shows the forwards are capable; the pack are coming along nicely, they have good strength there.
“We don’t really need to talk about the backs – we all know how deadly and creative they are. In all facets of the game, we need to step things up, be patient and stick to things we know how to do.”
Michael Cheika’s troops are ranked third in the world but Dell still fancies Scotland’s chances at the Allianz Stadium this weekend.
“We will always back our set piece, we are happy that we have got players that can do the job,” Dell added.
“It is a question of concentrating and doing what we know how to do on the day. We are going to go in confident. We are going to go in with a plan and a structure on how we want to play. If it comes off at the end of the day, we will be on top.
“Obviously we have to try to limit their opportunities, we do not want to give them broken-play ball, you know how dangerous they are, they can score from anywhere.
“We need to limit the ball they have, but at the same time we do need to be doing something with the ball ourselves, there is no point in just holding it, going through phases and getting nowhere.”
Dell impressed in the clash against Italy and the 25-year-old is keen to build on the experience.
“I was happy to be given that opportunity,” he said. “It was exciting going down with WP (Nel, the tighthead) and (hooker Ross) Ford as well.
“We will see how this weekend goes; we have a big squad and we will have to wait to see what Gregor has decided.”
Former Scotland U20 international Hollie Davidson has been appointed as the nation’s first contracted female referee. The 24-year-old was selected to officiate at four of this season’s Women’s Sevens Series tournaments.