A familiar tale Of heartache
Scots’ title hopes dashed as fightbacks prove in vain
IF victory at Twickenham last month represented a significant step forward for Scotland, what has happened since then can only be described as two sizeable stumbles in the opposite direction.
Aspects of the home side’s performance here were admirable, as they had been in the defeat by Wales which came a week after the win over England. However, they were more than offset by some excruciating failings and the defeat means an end to any hopes Scotland had of the Six Nations title.
If rugby matches were decided on artistic merit, Scotland would arguably have won this one hands down thanks to the creativity and improvisation they showed in broken play.
Indeed, if rugby matches were decided purely on tries, they would also have won, because they outscored the Irish three tries to two.
But it is total points that count, of course, and in the end Johnny Sexton’s five penalties plus a conversion were enough to give Ireland a deserved win, outweighing the three conversions and a penalty from the home side.
Scotland’s indiscipline played a part in allowing the veteran stand-off the chance to accumulate those 15 penalty points, but that was by no means their major failing.
The line-out, above all, was the most costly area of the game for Gregor Townsend’s team. They had eight line-outs on their own ball, and Ireland disrupted six. Iain Henderson and James Ryan deserve some of the credit for that, of course, but even the best line-out jumpers in the world can only steal the occasional ball if the team doing the throwing in have got a decent rhythm going.
The avoidable errors such as those line-out problems were then exacerbated by a string of injuries. Losing a few players happens in just about every game, but Scotland have rarely if ever before been in a situation where they have had to replace a lock with a
scrum-half. That was what happened, however, when
Scott Steele, the last man left on the bench, had to take over from Scott Cummings after the latter had injured his hand.
At least Steele, who must be the best part of a foot shorter and several dozen kilos lighter than his namesake, was able to go into the back row rather than the second as Scotland reshuffled their pack. And he did not shirk any of the unfamiliar duties that came his way. But his replacement of Cummings somehow summed up the what-could-go-wrongdid-go-wrong nature of the day.
Finn Russell had already gone off for a head-injury assessment at that point, and in common with Cummings is unlikely to be fit to face Italy on Saturday.
Jonny Gray, Cummings’ second-row partner, is another doubt. With two games to go in the Six Nations it looks like the depth of the resources available to head coach Townsend will be tested as never before.
If the postponed game against France is confirmed for March 27, that test will be all the more severe, as it will mean a third Test in 12 days.
There will be all the more need, then, for the positive spirit which saw Scotland recover from two poor spells against Ireland and come close to pulling off a dramatic win.
The first came in the minutes following kick-off, when Sexton’s first penalty opened the scoring and Robbie Henshaw grabbed the first try after Stuart Hogg, Chris Harris and Keith Earls all tried and failed to gather the stand-off’s punt into the ingoal area. Sexton’s conversion attempt bounced back off the post, which was as inaccurate as he would get all afternoon.
Russell opened Scotland’s account with an 11th-minute penalty, and quarter-of-anhour later it was the same player who put the home side ahead.
Hogg charged down a Garry Ringrose kick, then hacked on twice, eventually sending the ball infield for Russell to chase. The stand-off beat Rob Herring to the loose ball and booted it on. James Low could only get a hand to it, and the Scotland playmaker happily gathered and cantered over the line, adding the conversion.
But Scotland only held on to the lead for six minutes, and when they relinquished it would not get it back.
Two more Sexton penalties made it 14-10 to the visitors at half-time, but it was the third quarter that proved really damaging to home hopes as the Irish scored 14 unanswered points in 15 minutes.
First, following a penalty to touch and a line-out maul, Tadhg Beirne was credited with a try from close range after referee Roman Poite burrowed into a ruck of bodies to assure himself that the ball had been touched down. Sexton converted, then added a penalty, and a match that had looked wide open at the break had tipped firmly in Ireland’s favour.
Scotland responded with their best spell of the contest, and after Ali Price took a quick free-kick, substitute
Huw Jones got their second try. Hogg, who had provided the scoring pass, added the conversion to make it 24-17.
With plenty of time still to go, Scotland might have gone for the posts when offered a penalty, but they chose to tap and go, and eventually got their reward when Hamish Watson squeezed over. Hogg’s conversion made it 24-24 and an enthralling climax seemed on the cards.
But from Scotland’s point of view it was an anticlimax. When his box-kick was charged down, Price was able to regather the ball, but he was then penalised for holding on as two Irish forwards got to grips with him, and Sexton, nerveless as ever, delivered the coup de grace.
Scorers, Scotland - Tries: Russell, Jones, Watson. Cons: Russell, Hogg 2. Pen: Russell.
Ireland: Tries: Henshaw, Beirne. Con: Sexton.
Pens: Sexton 5.
Scotland: S Hogg (captain); S Maitland, C Harris (H Jones 55), S Johnson, D van der Merwe;
F Russell (D Graham 63), A Price; R Sutherland (J Bhatti 66), G Turner (D Cherry 65), W Nel (S Berghan 56), S Cummings (S Steele 66), J Gray (G Gilchrist 56), J Ritchie (N Haining 63), H Watson, M Fagerson.
H Keenan; K Earls, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe (J Larmour 66); J Sexton, J Gibson-Park; C Healy (D Kilcoyne 57), R Herring (R Kelleher 64), T Furlong (A Porter 57), I Henderson, J Ryan
(R Baird 71), T Beirne (J Conan 63), W Connors, C Stander. Unused substitutes: C Murray, W Burns.
R Poite (France).
GREGOR TOWNSEND is expecting to be without Finn Russell for Saturday’s clash against Italy at Murrayfield after the talismanic stand-off picked up a head-knock during yesterday’s defeat to Ireland.
The 28-year-old went off for a HIA (Head Injury Assessment) just past the hour and did not return to the fray, while secondrows Scott Cummings and Jonny Gray are also injury concerns.
“In terms of players’ availability [for the Italy match], it is too early to tell, but Finn went off with a concussion so it’s unlikely he will feature in six days’ time,” said the head coach. “We fear Scott has a hand fracture – and that would keep him out next week. Jonny Gray had a shoulder issue so we’ll wait and see.”
With Adam Hastings suspended, Edinburgh stand-off Jaco van der Walt would be the obvious choice to come back into the starting XV against the Azzurri. However, Stuart Hogg looked comfortable when he moved into the stand-off role in this match, so that could be an option.
Townsend was doubtful about either Ross Thompson or Nathan Chamberlain – two youngsters who impressed this weekend playing for Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh, respectively – being called up.
Whoever takes on the role, Scotland should have enough about them to pick up a bonuspoint win over an Italian side who have been out classed in all four games, although Townsend will be concerned that the match could turn into an embarrassing banana skin if his forwards do not sort out the problems they had at set-piece and in the contact area yesterday.
“The errors were largely around set-piece and contact,” he reflected. “There are two teams involved so the pressure Ireland put on our line-out gave them a lot of ball throughout the game and stopped us getting the platform to build on. Ireland’s jackal threat was also excellent today.
“I thought we improved in that area in the second half and we showed what we can do when we have ball. We scored three tries and we only had two line-outs to play off.
“It’s doubly frustrating because if you get nowhere with the ball you have then you can say it’s not our day and we’re not playing well enough to win, but when we did get ball, we showed what we can do and got back into the game by scoring those tries to put pressure on Ireland. But we know we have to be better in all aspects.
“We wanted to move Ireland around but we didn’t get the set-piece ball to threaten them. We had to rely on counterattack ball or re-starts or turnovers. We felt with the players we have that we could move them into wide channels and cause them some problems. That brings risks and rewards but we feel that is the right strategy.”
That glorious win over England in round one of this Six Nations campaign was only five weeks ago, but it seems like a lifetime. After consecutive losses to Wales and now Ireland, Scotland’s hopes of winning the championship for the first time since 1999 are well and truly dead. In fact, Townsend’s boys face an uphill battle to finish in the top half of the table.
“Twickenham set the bar and for 30 or 33 minutes against Wales we played as well as at Twickenham, perhaps even better in some aspects, but we were not consistent over 80 minutes against Wales and today,” lamented Townsend. “Every game is different – different opposition, different refereeing interpretations – and you have to adapt.
“As much as I, the players, and the supporters are down about this, there is still a lot to be proud of in this team. In two games in a row, they have come back and created opportunities to at least draw. This team has had to be adaptable.
“We worked hard to get to 24-all but they deserved their win as they had led for most of the game. So, there are a number of areas we have to improve on for next week. We need to do a lot of work on contact and line-out, so that we can get our players on the ball and showing what they can do in attack. Our line-out had the best winning percentage before today so it’s not a theme of our performances. It dropped a bit today and we’ll be working to make sure we get good ball to play off next week.
“Sport moves on fast – we have six days until we have another chance to get back on our game.”
Townsend added that he was not convinced that Tadhg Beirne’s crucial try for Ireland in the second half should have been awarded, but did not want to dwell on it.
“The one replay I saw I didn’t think he grounded it, but whether that was the case in other replays I don’t know,” he said. “[Referee] Romain Poite thought he saw it grounded and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.”
We know we have to be better in all aspects
EDINBURGH head coach Richard Cockerill is remaining hopeful that his side can finish their season with a bang and qualify for the Champions Cup after their added-time 15-14 victory over Connacht boosted their chances.
Nathan Chamberlain kicked a late penalty and then scored an 83rd-minute try, while his conversion handed Edinburgh the perfect end to a tough night in Galway.
Such heroics on the day before the youngster celebrated his 21st birthday indicate Cockerill has a talented playmaker on his hands, and the coach was very happy with his progress.
“Look he has been working hard at his game, he has worked hard at training and it’s his seventh appearance on the field,” Cockerill said. “He did some really good things. What it does is give him a real good base to keep building his game on.
“He made a good line break in the first half and to be honest I didn’t quite see how we got through under the posts.
“He is being put under pressure to perform. I thought, considering the conditions, he played really well. He has got a lot of things to work on, but I’m delighted for him and very proud how he’s working on his game and he got his just rewards tonight.”
Chamberlain’s brilliant line break set Magnus Bradbury on the way to Edinburgh’s firsthalf try, a score that came very much against the run of play when Connacht were encamped in the Edinburgh half with a powerful wind at their backs. The hosts went in 14-5 at the interval.
It looked as if the sending off of Connacht captain Jarrad Butler for a shoulder to the head of Andrew Davidson would not be punished by Edinburgh, but Chamberlain stepped up to give them the unlikely victory.
The win means Edinburgh now trail Scarlets by 10 points with two games in hand. Cardiff are also ahead of Edinburgh, but they meet next Monday.
While qualification looks unlikely, the mathematics are simple: Edinburgh must win all their three remaining games – probably with a few bonus points too – to have a chance at third place in Conference B and the guaranteed Champions Cup place that accompanies it.
Cockerill is not giving up just yet.
“Look we can technically finish third,” he said. “We have still got three games to go, so we just keep working as hard as we can and try to win. Fourth might get us a spot, fourth might get us a play-off spot, who knows?
“It’s good for us tonight. I think it’s the first time a Scottish team has beaten an Irish province in over a year, so it’s good to break that duck as well.
“We’ve had a tough year. Our Test guys have played double the Test matches they have club games. We are working under some difficult circumstance. We could have easily beaten Scarlets and we just fell short. We could have won it in Munster and we just fell short.
“Tonight we worked hard and we’ll take the luck when it comes. We have just got to keep working hard and keep working with the guys we have. As and when the world comes more normal we hopefully can build on what we have done in the last three-and-a-half years.”
It looks likely that joint captain Pierre Schoeman will miss at least some of that run-in following the knee injury he sustained in Galway, although Davidson did return to the action following a second head injury in a fortnight.
Cockerill said: “We have got a very good medical team who go through all the process as anybody would. He [Davidson] was fit to play on.
“[Schoeman] took a knock to his knee. It’s a bit early to get any prognosis on that.”