Seymour: Desperation drove us
Wing hopes Scots can kick on after breaking hoodoo
DESPERATION to graba long-awaited win drove Scotland on to victory in Rome on Saturday, according to Tommy Seymour.
The Glasgow Warriors winger scored the team’s third and fi nal try, clinching a 36-20 victory over Italy in the Olympic Stadium. But that followed a fi erce Italian fi ghtback, that on another day would have seen Scotland buckle. Instead, the visitors’ defence held fi rm, and held on to win their first Six Nations Championship match in ten attempts.
“This team has been desperate for a win in this competition for a while,” Seymour said. “We had said that playing well isn’t enough. It’s about results: that’s what drives the business.
“There was a lot of steely determination in the squad to get over the line. It was really pleasing that we could get the monkey offour back, and we can now drive on from here. Going into the last two games, this team has a lot of confidence. Leading on against France, hopefully we can go back home and get a result there as well.”
Scotland took a 17-3 lead in the fi rst halfthanks to tries by back-row forwards John Barclay and John Hardie, but Italy fought back to score two tries of their own. Greig Laidlaw was the other scorer with three conversions and fi ve penalties, but the result was in doubt until minutes from time, especially when Finn Russell then WP Nel were sinbinned for offences while defending close to their own line.
“I think we did give a couple of penalties away, but it was mostly about composure,” Seymour added. “It was unfortu- nate to get the penalties against us, but we managed to get the ball back and get out of the half, so there was a lot of reliefand a lot ofpleasure taken. That kind ofthing gives you almost as much ofa lift as a try.
“We got to the point where we were defending on our line, nine points to the good. Ifthey had scored there with ten minutes to go, the game would have been very much in the balance. But I thought the defensive work on the line there was excellent, and our scrum did what it was doing all day.
“It was important for us to see out the game. There was obviously a lot in the build-up to the game about not closing things out, so it’s great to get over the line.
During the long losing round in the competition that began back in 2014, the Scotland players have insisted that their self-belief has not been damaged. But, as Seymour accepted, it is always easier when you have proven you can win, rather than merely talking about being capable ofvictory. When we go into camp as a group of players, we know we’re capable of getting results,” he added. “But there’s a difference between knowing it and doing a lot of positive things, and actually getting across the line.
“We’ve always known that doing it can give you confidence, and the defence on the line was a key moment in the game.
“We can look back and take a lot ofpride from that. That’s the kind ofdesire we want to have week in and week out. If we keep replicating that, and doing the good things in attack, then the results will come.”