WE WON’T CRACK
McInally confident ahead of win-or-bust Samoa clash
Scotland captain Stuart McInally is confident his team won’t crumble under pressure to secure the bonus-point victory over Samoa today they need to keep their World cup dream alive.
McInally said the team are ‘in a much better place now’ following the embarrassing loss to Ireland in their opener last week.
However, Japan’s stunning win over the Irish on Saturday has turned Pool a on its head — and left the Scots needing to pick up a full five points against the Samoans in Kobe.
‘We watched the Japan game and we’ve done the numbers,’ said McInally.
‘We know the implications and what it could mean for us, but we just have to go out and win the game first and foremost.
‘In my experience, if you start chasing anything else before the game starts, then you can get into a bit of trouble.
‘So we’ll go out, try to win the game and, if we’re in a position in the last 20 minutes to go for that bonus point, then we’re aware of what we have to do.
‘We have to focus on beating Samoa because that’s a big challenge. they are a really good side who put a lot of points on Russia and didn’t concede a try, so we’re very aware of the threat they have.
‘You see Japan beating
AS IF Scotland’s must-win World Cup clash with Samoa wasn’t going to be tough enough, now Greig Laidlaw has inadvertently fired up the South Sea Islanders even more.
The Scotland scrum-half claimed centre Rey Lee-Lo and hooker Motu Matu’u should have been shown red rather than yellow cards for dangerous tackles in their World Cup opener against Russia.
Both players were cited and subsequently banned for three games — therefore missing today’s vital Pool A encounter.
Laidlaw had been the most outspoken of anybody in the Scotland squad when asked about the incidents that marred the Samoan win over Russia.
‘They were two clear head shots — and pretty brutal ones at that,’ said Laidlaw. ‘Ultimately you are looking for the ref to look after players. Were they red cards? I think they were.’
Although Samoa’s head coach Steve Jackson didn’t name names during his pre-match press conference, he made clear he hadn’t been happy at some of the comments coming out of the Scotland camp.
‘There have been things put in the media by people in the Scottish squad talking to the referee about our tackles and that sort of stuff,’ said Jackson. ‘Well, thanks for doing that, because it just motivates our players a lot more.
‘I would be lying if I said it hasn’t had any impact. It certainly has, emotionally, with the two players that had to go through what they’ve been through. Obviously we’ve not just had to try to pick them up, but also to pick us up as a group.
‘It certainly will be used as a motivation for us to go out there as a group and do a job (against Scotland). There’s been a lot in the press, people making things a little bit worse than what they already were before the disciplinary hearing.
‘But we’re going out there against Scotland with the same mindset we had against Russia, the same attitude, the same commitment to the script, and we’ll see what happens.’
Jackson also suggested that his players had been harshly treated when compared to the punishment meted out to USA flanker John Quill following his red-card challenge on England’s Owen Farrell.
‘If you look at the USA tackle and our two tackles, they are completely different, but exactly the same outcome — and the USA flanker admitted it,’ he continued. ‘We’ve been given bans of the same amount of time.’
While the loss of Matu’u and Lee-Lo is a double blow to Samoa, they are boosted by the return from injury of flanker Piula Fa’asalele and captain Jack Lam. The former Bristol No 8 goes head to head against Blade Thomson.
The game will be won and lost in the forwards, with Scotland’s new-look back row including the youthful Edinburgh duo of Jamie Ritchie and Magnus Bradbury either side of Thomson. Suffice to say, the trio will need to be at their very best.
As well as Lam, the Samoans have Bristol’s Chris Vui and TJ Ione of London Irish — a vastly more experienced trio. Lam has 35 caps, Vui has 15 and T J Ioane has 22, a total of 72. Scotland have a total of 23 with Bradbury having just eight, Richie 12 and Thomson three.
Despite that, Scotland forwards coach Danny Wilson believes they can lay the foundations for victory and handle anything that comes their way from the notoriously physical Samoans.
‘The back row are hopefully going to bring a real attacking presence and carry against Samoa,’ said Wilson. ‘Magnus Bradbury is a big powerful man who is renowned for his carrying game, while Blade Thomson is known for his ability to beat people, especially in the wider channels, and we have Jamie Ritchie in there as well.
‘They’ll add a real attacking presence for us, especially against this opposition, and I think that’s the important point. Defensively, I think these guys are really physical, which we’ll need.
‘They’re pretty good over the ball, and will hopefully allow us to slow down an opposition who, as we know, like to play a very fast and physical game.’
Wilson believes once the forward battle is won, Scotland have the firepower in their back division to run in the tries needed to pick up the bonus point his side need to keep their World Cup campaign on track.
‘There’s obviously three more games to play and there are a lot more permutations in terms of what will, or won’t, be needed,’ he continued.
‘There are obviously a lot of assumptions now of what the results are going to be and what that will lead to, but we’re fully aware that, first and foremost, we have to win the game.
‘That will put ourselves in a position to be able to go after a bonus point. We know that will be a hard task, so our mindset will be about performing both sides of the ball to give us an opportunity to win the game first and foremost.’