DOUBLE DELIGHT
Laidlaw is excited by Russell and Jones
THEY have played just one match together but Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw is already waxing lyrical about the potential shown by the partnership of Finn Russell and Huw Jones.
Glasgow Warriors fly-half Russell and outside centre Jones, of the Stormers, combined to scintillating effect during the 23-22 loss to Australia at Murrayfield last Saturday, ensuring the defeat wasn’t without its positives for Vern Cotter.
Certainly, the highlight of the match was a move straight from the training ground which saw Russell put in a kick over the defenders for Jones to run in to score early in the first half.
With strong runners all over the back division, like Stuart Hogg, Sean Maitland and Tommy Seymour, Scotland have increased their attacking options. And the introduction of Jones strengthens their hand further.
‘The pair of them (Russell and Jones) did really well against Australia and it is very exciting for me to play inside them,’ said Laidlaw yesterday as he looked ahead to Saturday’s crucial Test against Argentina. ‘They work well together, talked a lot and helped each other out.
‘Huw runs clever lines, as we saw with that try against Australia. It came from a good kick from Finn and the move was something we had practised all week. For it to work again on match day was incredibly satisfying for everybody.
‘I am excited by their partnership as Finn has a great skill set and gets the ball through his hands very quickly, which allows us to transfer the ball to the wide channel. Someone like maybe Huw first, then maybe Sean Maitland or Stuart Hogg can do something because they run good lines.
‘If they and the team get the same energy, the same excitement added to a little more accuracy, we feel we’ll get the win over Argentina at the weekend. ‘We’re starting to see that come through and we are starting to score tries now, which is hugely exciting to see.
‘We scored three tries to two against Australia and this team is an attack-minded one who can take the game to Argentina.’
While there were undoubtedly positive signs against the Wallabies, Laidlaw was, of course, frustrated by the denouement.
Throwing away the lead against 14 men is certainly not what the Scotland skipper expects of his side.
‘Those last minutes bother us all,’ he admitted. ‘They were down to 14 men and I think we lost one line-out and gave away too many daft penalties at a crucial point.
‘We have to learn from what went wrong and fine tune things. Decisions made under pressure go a long way to decide who is going to win games, so it is about us understanding the game plan and implementing it from start to finish.
‘We need to grow up right throughout the team, no matter if it is the young boys coming in or the most experienced players.
‘When we look back, we feel it was probably in our control to go ahead and win the game, so we’re pretty upset with each other. A couple of mistakes were made at crucial times and we were ill-disciplined too often.
‘Near the end I think Australia were running out of options yet we just gave them penalties that allowed them to get field position and win the game.’
Laidlaw believes Argentina will look for a physical battle, which is why it’s vital for Scotland’s forwards to make their presence felt.
‘If we don’t put in the tackles then their offloading game comes into its own,’ he said. ‘Our tackle technique and aggression is crucial to stopping and slowing them down.
‘Getting in their faces will be key and it’s all about how smart we can be. you look at our props, Zander Fagerson and Allan Dell, who both had fantastic games — as did all of our forwards.
‘Both of these young players are playing in the hardest position on the field. To hold up international scrums is a tough, tough job but they did that so well against Australia.’