Scots need to take chances
Five years is a long time in international rugby.
In the same autumn test fixture in 2013, I headed to Murrayfield hoping to see Scotland at least make a mark against a South Africa side sitting second in the world rankings. That freezing, miserable day Scotland were swept aside, losing a dismal 28-0. Far from making a mark, we barely made a scratch.
Fast forward to last Saturday and Scotland again were taking on the Springboks who, despite now sitting fifth in the world, are one of the favourites to follow up their 1995 and 2007 success and lift theworld Cup again next year.
This time, the Murrayfield faithful packed out the stadium with less hope and much more expectation. And far from a one-sided affair, the two teams played out an epic first half that reminded everyone watching just how mesmerising rugby can be.
The first half had everything.the visitors bagged two tries while Scotland hit back with their latestyoutubeworthy effort.
Huw Jones was mesmeric as he provided two offloads straight out of the All Blacks’textbook to set up Peter Horne for a sensational touch down.
The pocket warrior that is Hamishwatson bagged himself a rare try when he finished off an ingenious line-out that caught the Springboks with their pants down.
While Scotland more than matched their opponents in the first half in terms of quality, where the question mark still remains is their ability to manage games and deliver in the vital moments.
The first warning call was South Africa’s second try, when Stuart Hogg decided against clearing Scotland’s lines after Horne had scored.
While everyone admires the spirit and ambition of attacking from your own 22, there is a time and a place to try it.
Taking on one of the strongest sides in the world, this ill-fated attempt led to the visitors blitz defence regaining possession, ending up in a try that restored their lead.you have to play what’s in front of you and Hoggy, for all his brilliance, got carried away.
In the second half, Scotland were gifted an advantage when Le Roux was (wrongly) sin binned.
With a man advantage Scotland simply had to get the ball back from the restart.they fluffed the catch and South Africa went on to draw 3-3 while Le Roux was off the pitch.
Despite that Scotland were still well in the game and had a chance to level on the hour mark when awarded a kickable penalty. Again, there was nothing wrong with the ambition to kick for the line and go for the try, but Scotland lost the line out and the chance to level was lost.
New Zealand would have taken the three points. Getting level was a mental barrier that Scotland needed to mount and they butchered it.
They also squandered the last-chance line out with time ticking away that sealed a rare loss in Edinburgh.
While Scotland rightly have earned plenty of plaudits for their attacking prowess, they have to learn to box clever to have any chance of toppling a heavyweight in Japan next year.