Scotland can have a glowing future thanks to the big man

JUST look at where Scotland have come from. Two years ago, they lost 40-10 to Ireland at Murrayfield. Greig Laidlaw was captain that day and he was in a tough spot as to how do you move forward as a team. How do you stay together?

Well, the progress and cohesion that Vern Cotter has instilled in the group since then has been excellent.

The guys have pulled together, they have an understanding and intelligence in how you stick together during the tough times.

You have to put Vern down as Scotland’s most consistent and best coach we have had in the professional era.

The stats don’t lie. His win record is 53 per cent. It’s fantastic. The great thing is that he is handing the baton over to Gregor Townsend. Normally, the head coach changes because of ill fortune, a bad run of games and then the sack.

Cotter will take a huge amount of pride in what he has done. When the big man appeared on the Murrayfield screens at the end of yesterday’s victory over Italy, he was emotional. The reaction from the Scottish fans meant a lot to him.

The biggest cheer of the day was when he appeared on screen to speak for his interview after the match. It shows the impact he has had on this country.

How do you affect the country? You do it through your national team performing.

There is nothing like getting behind a team that is winning. Glasgow Warriors have regularly attracted capacity crowds to Scotstoun.

Yesterday was a first sell-out for a match against Italy at Murrayfield and that comes down to what the players are doing on the pitch.

Cotter was probably a bit uncomfortable afterwards with all the attention on him.

He is a hard man to get to know well. But you pick up certain vibes about what is important to him. His key mantra with the players has been that if you keep working hard, then you will get what you deserve.

With a bit of intelligence, a bit of hard work, luck with injuries and refereeing decisions, you can get the right results.

Scotland’s pool of players is still relatively small in some respect. We have a young group but I’ve not been surprised with the progress under Vern.

In terms of players who have really developed under him, Laidlaw is one who has had a tough time.

The scrum-half was in and out of previous teams, but he has come through and been Vern’s go-to man. The coach trusts his captain. His game management has developed enormously.

Stuart Hogg was a British Lion four years ago but he has added to his game. Finn Russell has come through.

In the forwards, the Gray brothers, Jonny and Richie, in the second row have been outstanding. They have developed into one of the best partnerships in Europe.

To have lost our two firstchoice props in Alasdair Dickinson and WP Nel at the start of the season, two worldclass players, was a blow.

Allan Dell has come through and Gordon Reid has stepped up. Zander Fagerson, at 21 the youngest player in the Championship, has played a phenomenal amount of minutes.

He will have learned a lot of lessons. We have a spine coming through the team.

International rugby is hard and nobody ever stands still. We need to keep our guys fit and we need a bit of luck to go our way.

Gregor is all about winning — he has created that mentality at Glasgow. He will take over the Scotland mantle and the summer tour of Australia will be the time for him to lay down his marker and put his stamp on the team.

If you speak to Vern, he will say there is more to come from this team. They can improve.

The game yesterday started off cagey. Understandably, there were probably a few nerves after last week’s defeat.

The key point was the ten minutes at the start of the second half. Captain John Barclay was sin-binned and for us to keep Italy out was pivotal.

If they had scored a try and a conversion, it would have been 15-7. They would have been right back in it.

Carlo Canna missed three penalties in the first half for Italy — he should have scored them. It’s those small details that you can overlook.

It was great skill from Scotland to add to the scoring and perform in the opposition’s tenyard line. They did not panic and everyone knew their roles.

Overall, it is three good wins for Scotland in this year’s Six Nations. Things are hugely encouraging.