SCOTS DROP THE BALL
Hogg is left to rue errors and indiscipline in Dublin
SCOTLAND captain Stuart Hogg admitted errors and poor discipline proved costly as their Autumn Nations Cup campaign ended on a low note in Dublin yesterday.
Expectations were high that Gregor Townsend’s men could win in Ireland for the first time in a decade after beating Wales away two months ago for the first time in 18 years.
Although the Scots played well for most of the first half, Hogg conceded that basic errors and the penalty count — 15 in total — had cost them the game.
‘It’s tough to take because in that first half, we felt we were very much in control,’ said Hogg. ‘The only thing that
let us down was errors and our discipline. At times, we shot out of the line and gave away a penalty and Ireland, with their intricate plays, ended up scoring.
‘I felt we were in a good position and, going into half-time, I felt we were ready to win the game. Unfortunately, our discipline in the first 10 minutes of the second half let us down and allowed Ireland to get into the game. You can’t give Ireland cheap penalties and cheap field position because they’ll punish you and they did exactly that.’
Hogg believes his team are still heading in the right direction despite suffering a second defeat in a row following their 22-15 loss to France at BT Murrayfield two weeks ago.
‘We feel we are on the right track to achieving something special but we know we’re nowhere near the finished article,’ he added. ‘I’m gutted because we lost a Test match, but I’m proud of the boys’ efforts and of how we stuck in there.’
Centre Duncan Taylor was sinbinned in the first half and head coach Townsend accepts the heavy penalty count hindered Scotland’s chances at the Aviva Stadium.
‘Penalties were the biggest thing,’ said Townsend. ‘The yellow card for Duncan Taylor when it happened around half an hour gave them three points and put us under pressure in that period before half-time.
‘Then we gave away a good few penalties at the beginning of the second half, too, and errors happened which allowed Ireland to get into our 22 much more easily than they had in the first half. The penalties we gave away denied us possession, too.
‘We’re are a work in progress, although I thought the first 35 minutes was some of the best rugby we’ve played all year. We were physical in defence, physical in attack, finding space. The disappointing and frustrating thing is what happened with our play in the 10 to 15 minutes either side of half-time.’
Home forward Peter O’Mahony caused problems for Scotland but Townsend felt his team matched Ireland in terms of physicality.
‘They weren’t bullied,’ said Townsend. ‘We showed in that first half exactly who we were. We won a lot of collisions.’
On the positive side, Townsend praised the performance of fly-half Jaco van der Walt, who put over a conversation and three penalties on his debut. Scotland’s only try came from winger Duhan van der Merwe.
‘Jaco should be really pleased with the way he performed as it’s off the back of just two training sessions before his debut,’ said Townsend.
‘I thought he did really well and he looked comfortable at international level.’