Simple plan puts Townsend critics on the back foot
Only a rare error by Hogg denies Scotland a chance to win, writes Richard Bath at the Aviva Stadium
An acronym emerged in the US Navy in the 1960s when they were under the cosh in Vietnam and desperately needed to steady the ship. It was KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. That game plan should be chiselled into the walls in the home dressing room before Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield because by cutting out the over-elaboration, particularly with the ball in hand, and sticking to the basics, a Scotland side horribly low on confidence were transformed into an outfit who were suddenly difficult to beat again.
If only Stuart Hogg had borne that motto in mind 10 minutes into the second half when the Scotland captain decided to try a one-handed touch down when under no pressure, only to drop the ball. Had he kept it simple, Adam Hastings would have had a conversion to level the scores and Scotland might even have won a game that was there for the taking.
Yet despite a torrent of similar lapses there was enough evidence that Scotland have absorbed many of the lessons from the World Cup. In particular, there was no trying to play the fastest rugby in the world by chucking the ball wide off glacially slow back-foot ball. Instead, the ball was moved to willing one-out runners, and when scrum-half Ali Price was able to whip the ball away from the breakdown for the big men to trundle down Johnny Sexton’s channel, then Scotland were going forward and looking good.
Ominously, when Ireland were able to slow the ball down, they invariably turned it over.
With a new fly-half in Hastings to ease into the Six Nations, Scotland chose pragmatism over idealism. Instead of immediately going for bust out wide, they punched holes in midfield, particularly in those key opening stages. The boys in blue took a leaf out of Ian McGeechan’s 1990 playbook and kept it tight, although Sexton’s wraparound try, after 10 minutes, means you have to go back to 2018 for a major game when Scotland have not conceded a try in the opening 15 minutes.
Scotland’s big problem, however, was not a lack of invention or ambition, because when space presented itself the surprisingly assured Hastings was in expansive mood. The main difference between these two sides was at the breakdown, where Scotland were comprehensively outplayed.
Four times in the first half the Scots worked their way to the Irish line and should have scored, only to be turned over. It was a similar story after the break when their woes were encapsulated by the final passage of play when Scotland had a dozen phases on Ireland’s line and pummelled away with their big men, only to eventually be pinged for failing to release when the try that would claim a draw looked a certainty.
That was the 15th penalty Scotland coughed up and, as coach Gregor Townsend conceded, no sides win matches at this level with statistics like those. From beginning to end, Ireland’s heroic defence and Scotland’s indiscipline at the breakdown negated so much good work. Ireland’s first try came from a penalty after Josh van der Flier turned over Scottish ball in their own half, and even at that early stage it felt like a portent of things to come.
If Ireland tried referee Mathieu Raynal’s patience with their complaints and “lazy runners”, then the many breakdown infringements from Scotland’s lightweight pack must have irked him too. The visitors had a point about Ireland’s infringements at the breakdown but were fortunate to finish the game with 15 men, particularly given the number of silly penalties for taking men out in the air, late tackles and not releasing.
There were several bright spots for
There was one small victory for the Scots; at the end no one was mentioning Finn Russell’s name
Scotland though. The whole front row was commendably aggressive in both loose and tight, unexpectedly dominating Ireland’s scrum. But debutant Nick Haining struggled manfully to little effect, while Ireland came down the defensively suspect Huw Jones’ No13 channel so often that next time they should publish a bus timetable.
But to dwell on Scotland’s deficiencies misses the point. After the disaster of Japan and the question marks over Townsend’s future, this was a match where, above all, Scotland needed to show the desire and determination to stay in the game. In the event they showed guts and stickability, playing with a game plan that does not require a PhD in coding to decipher. Sure they were overwhelmed at the breakdown, but Ireland have done that to better sides than Scotland. This entertaining but error-strewn encounter was not a classic, and even the losing bonus point will offer little consolation for a Scotland side who let a gilt-edged opportunity slip through their fingers. But at least there was one small victory for Townsend’s men: at the end of the match no one was mentioning Finn Russell’s name any longer.