BROKEN DREAM
Townsend offers no excuses after Cardiff humbling
SCOTLAND head coach Gregor Townsend did not try to put any gloss on the thumping by Wales in their Six Nations Championship opener, insisting he and the team deserve all the flak that comes their way.
Townsend’s men went into the tournament buoyed by a record-breaking 53-24 victory over Australia less than three months ago at Murrayfield, but came
unstuck in horrible fashion to a Wales side missing a core of their best players.
Townsend insisted: ‘We should be criticised for today’s performance, be it from you guys (media), the supporters who were down here or from ourselves.
‘We know that was well short of what is required playing for Scotland, but we have an opportunity to put things right next week.
‘We come together few times in a season and now, just over two months after we played Australia, the shock is that we played so badly given that we played so well in that last game. But we have four games, and the next one comes up quickly, and we have to be much, much better.’
In Vern Cotter’s last Championship in charge, the team were competitive in all but one match, which ended in a 61-21 humiliation at the hands of eventual winners England at Twickenham — the last away game in the Six Nations.
Townsend took over in the summer and steered the team to four wins out of six, including running New Zealand close and beating Australia home and away, but there was a similar feel to that Twickenham debacle. Asked if the occasion had got to the players, Townsend said: ‘It’s something you’ve got to ask because we didn’t play anything like we know we can and we have played since the game at Twickenham.
‘We weren’t focused or accurate enough, and our defence at times wasn’t what we’d like: narrow, forward, front rows, caught in the outside channels.
‘Whether that’s the nature of the game when it became so open, or our focus in executing what we know we can execute, it wasn’t good.
‘We need to have a response this week. We know one team wins, one team loses in a game, but that was miles below what we know we’re capable of.’
Savouring a ninth home victory over Scotland, and his 50th Test victory as Wales head coach, Warren Gatland was in bullish mood, saying that he had expected to win by 20 points.
‘It was an afternoon I was expecting,’ he insisted. ‘With the way we have trained in the last couple of weeks, there was a quiet confidence in the squad. The guys have been outstanding in their preparation and we went into the game expecting to win, and to win comfortably.
‘I thought we defended superbly. There are a lot of attacking threats from Scotland and we had to cope with that, but apart from that soft try at the end, our defence was outstanding.
‘Getting the bonus try was pleasing as well and we probably left two or three tries out on the pitch as well so there is improvement for us to make.’
As Gatland prepares for a tough two games away to England and Ireland, Townsend has an extra day to prepare for Sunday’s match with France, who lost dramatically 15-13 to Ireland in Paris. He should have more options in selection with Glasgow centre Alex Dunbar expected to be fit again after a concussion, and Alasdair Dickinson back in training, but is confident of a major improvement.
‘I believe in the players,’ he said. ‘We also have to make sure that the next time we go on the road, which will be to Dublin, we have to be much, much better than we were today. Playing in front of our own supporters will give the players energy and a boost, but we’ll need more than that considering how poorly we played today.’