CARTER SEES WORLD OF DIFFERENCE IN SCOTS
IN the battle between ambassadorial niceties and an elite competitor’s belief in his own allconquering superiority, there can be only one winner. As anyone who spends a bit of time with even the most professionally polite All Black can testify.
New Zealand left BT Murrayfield late on Saturday night full of praise for the Scots who had come within a couple of scores — maybe even one penalty-kick converted i nstead of missed, i f we’re indulging in hypotheticals — of securing their first-ever victory in this meeting of unequals.
Dan Carter, arguably the biggest star in world rugby, spoke with enthusiastic admiration about the transformation already achieved under the guidance of former mentor Vern Cotter; those snazzy red jerseys weren’t the biggest difference between the class of 2014 and the Scotland side stuffed 51-22 almost exactly two years earlier.
Press the most generous of Kiwis, though, and they will insist upon one t hing. The outcome of Saturday’s match was never in doubt. Not when Scotland got it to within a point. Not when Greig Laidlaw had the chance to put Scotland two points clear with 10 minutes remaining.
To be honest, there probably were not many in the Murrayfield crowd who would argue with that kind of assertion. There is a reason the place wasn’t in a frenzy as Laidlaw stepped up to take that f ateful kick f rom the 22; the majority sensed that New Zealand always had it in them to pull clear if and when needed.
Still, we must pounce upon the progress clearly made by Cotter. And accept with good grace the plaudits cast by Carter, well placed to compare and contrast this year’s efforts with the gubbing he helped dish out back in 2012.
‘There was a big difference,’ said the No 10, who singled out opposite number Finn Russell for praise. ‘There was more intensity for longer periods. A couple of years ago, the Scots turned up to play with real high intensity but it kind of tapered off as the game went on.
‘Right up to the 80th minute, they were right in this match. So they are a far more improved side from a couple of years ago.
‘In my position, I wasn’t getting as much go-forward ball as I would have liked, so obviously they were putting pressure on.
‘So there are a couple of areas in their game that are vastly improved. I knew it was going to be like that after watching their past few games — we knew what they were going to bring.
‘And Finn controlled the game really well, had a couple of runs, took the ball to the line. He’s a sound kicker, too, so he’s got all the skills to be a real asset for the Scotland team.’
Carter played at Crusaders when Cotter was part of the coaching staff and is far from surprised by the advances made under the guidance of his compatriot, saying: ‘Vern is a fantastic coach.
‘In the short time he’s had, you can see what he’s brought to the Scottish side already. I had one season with him at Crusaders and he had a lot of respect from the players. You want to play for coaches like Vern.’
Carter’s return f rom injury continues in stuttering steps, his performance on Saturday including two missed kicks at goal, losing the ball forward in the tackle and letting one easy pass slip through his fingers.
If that was a bit like watching Superman trip over his own cape, the sight of the legendary Richie McCaw gifting Tommy Seymour Scotland’s only try was akin to seeing Thor hit himself in the thumb with his hammer. Credit Cotter’s warriors for forcing mistakes from even an inexperienced All Blacks side, the home team starting like they meant it — and carrying that intent with them even as the clock ran down on an eight-point deficit.
Scotland were superb in the line-out, struggled badly i n the scrum and j ust about matched their opponents in the scrappy loose play that typified a stop-start game. However tight it got, though, the best team in the world — augmented by some experienced replacements coming off the bench — never really looked like crumbling.
‘ The guys were never really flustered, always confident that we could get the win,’ said Carter.
‘We knew the Scots were going to put us under that amount of pressure and we probably didn’t react as well as we could have.
‘After they missed that shot at goal late on, the way the guys bounced back showed great belief.
‘The Scots turned up with a lot of i ntensity and l i ne speed, disrupting us at the breakdown — and that really influenced the way we tried to play. We couldn’t just do what we wanted.’
Considering where we were when Cotter started in the summer, being a persistent irritant to a team as good as the All Blacks counts as improvement. Until next time, then. Maybe, just maybe…