Scotland give coach fitting send-off
Cotter in tears as his team rout Italy 29-0 in final round of Six Nations
Scotland gave departing coach Vern Cotter a successful send-off by beating Italy 29-0 in the final round of the Six Nations yesterday.
The Azzurri were left with five straight losses for the third time in the last four years.
Finn Russell, Matt Scott, Tim Visser and Tommy Seymour - all members of the Scots’ improved back division - scored the tries in a bonuspoint victory at Murrayfield that keeps them in contention for a second-place finish.
Cotter - a tough New Zealander who rarely shows public emotion - was in tears after the match as Scotland fans cheered for their coach, who didn’t have his contract renewed after three years in the role and is joining French team Montpellier for the start of next season.
“He’s a good man and has made a fantastic contribution to Scottish rugby,” Scotland captain John Barclay said. “He’s built a fantastic culture in the team.”
Under Cotter, the Scots have finally added some cutting edge to their backline, helping them win three matches for the first time in 11 years. Both losses were away, to France and last week to England, a 61-21 defeat that cost Scotland a shot at the title.
“We had to set the record straight after last week,” Barclay said. Italy was already sure of the wooden spoon for the 12th time in 17 seasons since joining the expanded Six Nations in 2000, but failed to score a point against Scotland for the first time.
Scotland kept the Italians from scoring after weathering 10 minutes of sustained pressure from the visitors when Barclay was in the sin-bin from the 49th. In that period, Italy botched an overlap on the right wing when Esposito was held up before Edoardo Padovani knocked on.
On a bleak day for Italy, flyhalf Carlo Canna missed all three of his shots at goal in the first half. -AP