Pants day in Dublin isn’t on
Christie vows bounce back
Andy CHRISTIE insists Scotland can bounce back from their Rome humbling in dublin come Saturday.
The flanker was a standout performer as Gregor Townsend’s side raced into a 22-10 lead against Italy.
But he was powerless to prevent an implosion that saw Scotland cough up 21 unanswered points and seven consecutive penalties to fall 31-22 behind with just eight minutes to go.
A late Sam Skinner try salvaged two bonus points but the 31-29 defeat leaves them facing the prospect of ending a campaign that had promised so much in the bottom half of the table.
Scotland have not won in Dublin since 2010 and they will face a Championship-chasing
Ireland team desperate to right a few wrongs of their own following defeat to England.
Christie said: “We’re obviously very disappointed but we’ve got to give credit to Italy. They were brilliant and everyone who has watched them this tournament has seen and felt they had a result coming.
“We’re gutted we couldn’t get the job done but we have to give credit to them.
“We knew that just because we had a bit of momentum, it wouldn’t put them out the game, they would stay in it and still compete – and that’s exactly what they did.
“Our discipline wasn’t good enough, so we wanted to get that back on track. But we left it a little bit too late.”
The flanker swatted away questions about a lack of mental resolve in the squad, with Scotland having now thrown away commanding leads against France and the Azzurri in this Six Nations campaign.
They also came close to blowing it against Wales when they escaped with a 27-26 win after leading 27-0.
Christie added: “This group has got a brilliant mentality. Some of the stuff we’ve learned over the last few weeks and some of the stuff we’ve discussed has been brilliant.
“Obviously it’s disappointing how the game got out of our grasp a little bit at times but, as I’ve said plenty of times already, credit to Italy.
“I believe in this team and I believe we have what it takes to bounce back against anyone.
“In flashes you saw the brilliance of our team and some of our players, so we said it before the game and we’ll say it again, ‘We hope to get a full 80-minute performance’ and that’s exactly what we’ll need next week.
“We’ve got a massive week, against one of the best teams in the world away, so we’re all excited about that challenge.
“It will be easy for us to turn our focus on to that when the time comes.
“It’s a tough one to get over but that’s exactly what we’re going to have to do.
“I’m disappointed, everyone in the squad is, and probably everyone who watched. But I believe in this team, I believe we’ll bounce back.”