SCOTS MUST DO BETTER
Twickenham was brilliant but it can’t disguise the fact Scotland won just one game in this year’s Six Nations...
AFTER the most thrilling fightback the Six Nations has ever seen, Scotland are rightly being lauded for their astonishing second-half try-fest at Twickenham.
What should not be lost amid all the praise, however, is that ultimately this was a tournament where Gregor Townsend’s side failed to deliver.
At the outset, this Scotland team promised so much but played only in fits and starts. The Six Nations table does not lie, only Italy were vanquished.
Sportsmail’s ROB ROBERTSON analyses what went wrong and what went right, as all focus now turns to the World Cup later this year.
Finn Russell has emerged as a real leader on and off the pitch
What would the final score have been against England if Russell hadn’t been brave enough to voice his concern to Townsend at half-time with Scotland trailing 31-7.
Townsend wanted his team to keep kicking deep — Russell argued they needed to hold on to the ball more.
The Scotland head coach was a big enough man to listen to his influential fly-half. The tweak in tactics worked a treat.
Russell was magnificent in that second period, scoring a try of his own as he dictated play. It was a mesmerising 40 minutes as he toyed with England.
Consistency is lacking. Scotland need to turn in 80-minute performances
The second half against England was remarkable; the first 40 minutes truly dreadful.
It summed up Scotland’s tournament as a whole. Against Wales, there were some good attacking phases. Against Ireland, we had the momentum going into the second half but failed to lay a hand on the opposition. Overall Scotland only played in fits and starts. They can never claim to be a top international team until they manage to put together a full 80-minute performance. They didn’t do that once in the Six Nations this year.
There is a decision to be made at scrum-half
Give Ali Price a chance ahead of Greig Laidlaw in the four World Cup warm-ups with a view to him becoming first-choice No 9 in the tournament in Japan.
Laidlaw’s game-management is key but Price moves the ball quicker and that fits more readily with the Townsend blueprint.
Starting with the dynamism of Price early on and then bringing on the more pragmatic Laidlaw to see the game out is the perfect combination.
We need to make a case for the defence
Strong defence helped Wales win the title and it’s also one of the main reasons why Scotland are struggling.
Warren Gatland’s side lost just seven tries on their way to the Grand Slam, while Scotland conceded 17. Ireland lost ten, England 13 and France 15.
Matt Taylor is one of the best defence coaches in the world, which is why England head coach Eddie Jones was interested in taking him. He made clear he was staying loyal to Scotland and, for that reason alone, deserves time to put things right.
He will have to work overtime to figure out why things went so badly wrong in the Six Nations.
Even Italy managed to score three tries in the final ten minutes against Scotland. Defence is more important than ever when it comes to winning big matches. Scotland must improve.
Scotland, unsurprisingly, missed Stuart Hogg
The shoulder injury he picked up against Ireland robbed Scotland of Hogg’s inspirational attacking flair and defensive nous.
In his absence, Blair Kinghorn battled manfully but was exposed against both France and Wales. Sean Maitland performed admirably against England, especially in that astonishing second half, but he is a winger through and through.
Dig out the cotton wool, then, and wrap Hogg in it. He is our most potent weapon and must be fully fit when the World Cup comes around.
Let the selection battle at centre commence
Matt Scott, Mark Bennett and Alex Dunbar need to be making their case for inclusion because they hold the solution to Scotland’s centre problems.
Sam Johnson emerges from his first Six Nations with pass-marks, especially for his heroics against England, but his partnership with Nick Grigg is not one for the future. Neither is Chris Harris the answer.
Oh, and Huw Jones has to find form — and quickly.
The Gray area
There were times when the Gray brothers, Jonny and Richie, were first-choice locks for Scotland.
They were to be the future and provide a sizeable foundation to build the pack around.
But first Richie dropped out of the picture through injury and is not being considered even though he has returned to fitness.
And now brother Jonny is in the spotlight. The prodigious tackler has to start offering more. He didn’t do enough in open play or dominate the line-out during this Six Nations.
He dropped to the bench against England, with the Edinburgh duo of Grant Gilchrist and Ben Toolis now the first-choice partnership.
Back-row talent
This is the one area where Townsend is spoiled for choice. There are youngsters such as Magnus Bradbury and Jamie Ritchie, both of whom have played well during the tournament, who keep getting better.
Hamish Watson came back from injury against Wales and did some damage off the bench. He had a quieter game against England but is a hugely influential figure.
Former Scotland captain Ryan Wilson started the Six Nations well before a knee injury against Ireland forced him out of the competition.
Sam Skinner of Exeter Chiefs started in the back row against England but can also play in the second row and that versatility is a big bonus for Townsend.
Number eight Josh Strauss flatters to deceive but has the physicality to make a difference in the back row when he is on his game.
John Barclay trained with Scotland during the Six Nations and will be an option for the World Cup. Adam Ashe and Gary Graham are also in the mix. And let’s not forget Blade Thomson of the Scarlets. He was due to make his Scotland debut back in November. He has been suffering from concussion and, hopefully, he can become symptom-free to finally make his Scotland debut.
Darcy Graham has been Scotland’s breakthrough star of the tournament
He may be only 5ft 9in tall — which is very small by modern day standards for a winger — but he was the pick of the Scotland players.
Two tries against England topped off a fine Six Nations for the young man from Hawick who also scored a try in the defeat to Wales. He has four caps now and has a bright future ahead of him.
Who is Scotland’s back-up fly-half? Townsend has to find one
Adam Hastings came into the Six Nations as the main understudy to Russell but left it not quite sure where he stands. Hastings came on for Russell with just five minutes left against Italy in the opening game.
Russell was injured for the France match but Peter Horne was handed the No 10 jersey with Hastings left on the bench. Against Wales, he came on for the injured Kinghorn and played full-back.
At Twickenham, he came on and played No15 again when Maitland
went off injured with 13 minutes to go.
Hastings is first and foremost a No10 for Glasgow Warriors, but Townsend hasn’t shown much faith in him in the Six Nations. Russell can pick up injuries, so the Scotland head coach needs to be clear in his own mind who is his back-up.
Is it Peter Horne or Hastings? Or even Duncan Weir, who trained with Scotland during the tournament? Or what about James Lang of Harlequins who made his debut on last summer’s tour?
Scotland, like every other country, will get injuries. Get over it
A lot was made of so many players such as Barclay, Zander Fagerson and Watson missing part or all of the Six Nations through injury. Kinghorn and Hogg joined them on the sidelines during the tournament.
Injuries are part of the game and it is how a team reacts to being without some of their star players that defines them.
Scotland showed real character without the likes of Hogg in the second half against England, which is credit to the players who filled their boots.
Injuries are opportunities for others, so let’s look at it that way heading into the World Cup.