DUNCAN SMITH
“It is a case of relief but no jubilation from that win in Rome… positives, yes, but they must be built on quickly”
analyses Scotland’s triumph in the Eternal City and admits Finn Russell’s absence still hangs over everything.
‘You’re like Forrest Gump, you’re always there!” So said my mother to me over the weekend.
She exaggerates, of course, as mothers often do. Cowering in a hotel room while Typhoon Hagibis and an earthquake wreaks havoc in Japan and being moderately aware of a viral pandemic taking place would be a stretch to turn into an Academy Awardwinning Best Picture.
I was in London the day Princess Charlotte was born, too, after Edinburgh’s defeat in the European Challenge Cup final of 2015. And, in keeping with the royal theme and yesterday’s events at Waverley Station, I was on dishwash duty at a Little Chef when a youthful Wills and Hazza popped in with security detail for an “Olympic Breakfast” in the mid1990s.
In truth, the now deeply concerning coronavirus scare which hit Europe in Italy this weekend was background noise to the busy job at hand of covering what was a vital rugby match for Scotland.
For the 10,000 or so Scots who travelled to Rome and have now returned, it would have been, too. But things are now developing at pace and all we can do is wait and see. This writer travelled to Saturday’s game via Milan, with an extended stay at the train station after receiving a body temperature scan coming through the airport on the same plane as the Scotland Women’s squad, who little realised their game in nearby Legnano wouldn’t take place, due to the impending events.
Naively I assumed the test was some new-fangled eye-recognition equipment. Equally naively, I thought the numerous face masks on show at Stazione Centrale were a new fad. It was Milan Fashion Week after all.
Things became clearer as the weekend unfolded but there was a rugby match to concentrate on and it was more Peroni than Corona on the legion of Scotland fans’ minds as they lapped up a beautiful weekend in the Eternal City. The Rome trip has developed a reputation as the “civilised” “wives and girlfriends” leg of the Six Nations away-day grand tour, although, from this correspondent’s viewpoint in the Campo de’ Fiori on Sunday, don’t discount the WAGS’ penchant for a bit of mild debauchery!
The return to more familiar, chillier climes brings time for reflection.
Coronavirus is casting a cloud. There is a feel of 2001 when the much less serious, in the scheme of things,‘ foot and mouth’ outbreak rendered that year’s championship an anomaly.
This year has not been vintage. A lot of average games, teams in post-world Cup transition, Scotland in a real state of flux, Italy in an unbreakable losing spiral. The re-emergence of France as they unleash their young crop to build for a home World Cup in 2023 has been the sole spark so far.
For Scotland, it is a case of relief but no jubilation from that win in Rome. Stuart Hogg scored an absolute beauty of a try, but nobody has ever doubted he has that magic dust in his locker. Positives, too, in defence, setpiece and a feeling that some solid foundations are forming. But they must be built on, and quickly. Townsend is, as well as head coach, also in charge of the attack. He always acknowledges that and knows better than anybody that the butchered try opportunities cannot go on.
A great student of stories and philosophies from other sports, perhaps Townsend is following the old football rule of getting the spine in place – sound keeper,
“Hastings is an instinct player and, at 23, still honing his craft… he is a youthful talent who will bounce back with verve and zeal”
good centre-backs, a midfield general – before going on to take some nil-nils, narrow defeats/wins, and then build from there.
It goes without saying, though, that the Finn Russell saga hangs over everything currently. “We will see,” was Townsend’s response when asked if the Racing 92 stand-off has a chance of being back for the France game at BT Murrayfield a week on Sunday.
Seasoned followers of Townsend as player and coach would never second guess, but a sudden healing of this rift would not seem worth even the most devil-maycare flutter at this point.
The news that Darcy Graham’s tournament is over with a knee injury is a blow, but the 22-yearold has age on his side and is a raw talent who seems destined to have a big future in the international game.
The same can be said of Adam Hastings, whether Russell returns or not. He is an instinct player and, at 23, still honing his craft and has been thrust into a position he would never have expected to be in due to the recent wretched turn of events.
The way he gleefully took that breakaway try at the end of “a bad day at the office” which many would have chucked in as a lost cause long before, was a glimpse at the character of a youthful talent who will bounce back with verve and zeal.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes, but it got there in the end.