FALSE START
That wasn’t the real us, insists Townsend after dismal opening defeat
GREGOR TOWNSEND insists Saturday’s dispiriting loss to Wales in the opening match of the Six Nations was not a true reflection of his Scotland side. The 34-7 reverse in Cardiff provided a reality check to the visitors, who had been looking to start their
Championship campaign with a long-awaited away victory over their hosts. Now, however, head coach Townsend is urging his men to rediscover their form and restore some pride after such a humbling experience — with the Scots only getting on the scoresheet in the closing minutes through a converted Peter Horne try. ‘That wasn’t a true representation of how we play in attack and how accurate we can be and how good these players can be,’ said Townsend, with France next up on Sunday at Murrayfield. ‘That defeat is frustrating. We didn’t play well across the board, in attack, defence and around the set-piece. ‘Maybe we went too wide at times but, ultimately, that was just one reason for the defeat. ‘We lost ball at contact, made defensive errors and didn’t win the ball at the line-out.’ After the French visit, it will be England’s turn to head north and Townsend is under no illusions about how much these games will mean. The Wales defeat — and the reaction to it — has wounded the pride of not just the players but also the long-suffering fans, who dared to dream this Six Nations might just prove to be something special. ‘Our focus over our next two games is playing at home and making sure that we put in performances that make our supporters proud,’ said Townsend. ‘If that gets us to wins that we want, then brilliant, but we’ve got to make sure we perform much better, first of all. ‘The Six Nations is always a highly contested affair. We were badly beaten. It was a defeat but there weren’t many away victories last year in the tournament. ‘We just have to make sure that we play much better next week. We have a big week ahead of us.’ A full debrief is set to take place today at Murrayfield, where the biggest concern will no doubt be the loss of composure and a seeming inability to handle the occasion throughout the Scotland ranks. ‘It’s frustrating for us all because we’ve seen the players execute under pressure at training, execute in games previous,’ said Townsend. ‘Being just that little bit off accuracy-wise at this level means you have to defend for a number of phases, or your momentum is stalled and it got stalled too often against Wales. ‘We were 14 points down going into the 15th minute but there was still plenty time for us to come back. I don’t think those early errors that gave them the lead made us force things. ‘We just couldn’t get that pressure on the opposition defence by holding onto the ball, by making them make tackles.’