Six Nations outlook now brighter for Cotter’s men

SCOTLAND finished with some good attack and great tries against Georgia at a chilly Kilmarnock yesterday to clinch what has been our best autumn series for years. We have witnessed three different challenges and the team have responded well to them all. I did not expect Georgia to come out of the traps so quickly and open the scoring, but it acted as a wake-up call to the team and we saw a fantastic response.

In that first half, we went on to show the full range of our attacking ability, from Tommy Seymour’s try to the pack’s driving maul — which earned a penalty try — and then good scores for Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg.

The Georgians did not have a chance to play and impose themselves on the game in the way we know they can. Scotland shut them down well, held them soundly in the scrum and defended their lineout drives well, key parts of the visitors’ arsenal.

Knowing the game was won, I’m sure the Scotland coaches and the leaders in the team would have used the half-time interval to hammer home the message that we had to come out strongly in the second half, show that the team had made good progression this autumn and continue the forward momentum.

They did that at the start of the half when they exploded and scored off a fine lineout move. It was good to see hardworking flanker Hamish Watson finish it off for his first international try.

Watson has impressed me. He has had to fight hard for the No 7 jersey at Edinburgh, vying with a world-class flanker in John Hardie, and he has come out to show up really well in the three games Scotland have played.

He is an important player for us; he is combative, quick and always keen to take responsibility and carry ball, as well as doing the rest of an openside’s chores.

We have seen Jonny and Richie Gray cement themselves as our best secondrow partnership. I have been fortunate to see them grow and develop first-hand, from working with them as their agent.

It was pleasing to hear Nathan Hines speaking of how the brothers are maturing. They have learned a lot about second-row and forward play from Vern Cotter and the Six Nations will allow us to see where they now sit against strong English, Irish, Welsh and French packs.

It was encouraging also to see the back three on the scoresheet again, with Seymour, Maitland and Hogg finishing their chances when they came.

That is a key to this team realising its potential. Hogg again looked like a player with confidence. He will have underlined his claims for a place with the British & Irish Lions next summer.

Captain Greig Laidlaw has shown tremendous resilience over these three Test matches. I know he was frustrated at his kick striking the post against Australia, which ultimately proved decisive in that one-point loss, and the team had to find a way to win against a stuffy and streetwise Argentina.

Then we had yesterday’s match and the potential banana skin of Georgia, who have made real strides this year with wins over Samoa, Fiji and Tonga. For the Scots to finish with a resounding 43-16 victory was good.

THE second half tailed away a bit but it was pleasing to see the team finish strongly and score a good try from Hogg at the end. Ali Price may not have thought he would make his Scotland debut this year, but his tap-penalty launched Cotter’s men out of their half and Rory Hughes — another replacement who showed he is capable of playing at this level — superbly drew the cover to release Hogg for the try.

After a quiet period it was great to hear the Rugby Park crowd in full voice at the finish. There are always questions asked when Scotland move games from Murrayfield, but I spoke to a lot of people around the ground yesterday and there was much positive talk about the sport taking another step-up with Glasgow’s displays this year. An international match helps grow that support for rugby in Ayrshire.

Two wins from three Test matches — and the other one being just a one-point defeat — is a good return and the squad will have WP Nel back from injury for the Six Nations.

We saw good introductions to Test rugby from Zander Fagerson and Allan Dell, and WP’s return will push Zander further because he now has had a taste of what it means to play for Scotland.

Believe me, when you have tasted that experience, you do everything to sample it again.

We can go into the Six Nations with genuine optimism but, as ever, it all rests on getting victories in the opening matches — so beating Ireland at Murrayfield first-up will be key.