Clean sheet a sign of team’s determination

A WEEK later than intended, Scotland finally arrived at the Rugby World Cup yesterday with that morale-boosting triumph. This was a very professional performance in tough, energysapping conditions but Gregor Townsend’s side did what they needed to do; win the game and score four crucial tries. The real bonus for me was conceding no points against a team which has caused Scotland no end of trouble with their attack in recent encounters. In our disappointing opening match last week, Ireland scored tries for fun without having to do too much in the process. So it was very pleasing to see a much more aggressive and technically-superior defensive performance from Scotland. Although it meant little to the outcome, and nothing in the context of the game, by holding Samoa out at the end when they pressurised our line was very pleasing and illustrated the spirit and determination within the team. The group is wide open and predicting the outcome is far too tricky a task. It could easily come down to bonus points so yesterday’s performance was crucial. The changes to the team worked. The balance of the back row was excellent as they played to their strengths very well with Magnus Bradbury and Blade Thomson carrying the ball with intent and Jamie Ritchie (below) being everywhere in defence and attack. In these pressure games, the best players need to step up and that is what Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg did. Two moments of magic by Russell for the first two tries set Scotland off on the right foot and then Hogg’s monster drop goal was a great end to a good half of rugby. It didn’t matter how Scotland got their second two tries to secure the bonus point in the second half but both penalty tries were welcome and thoroughly deserved. It was almost the perfect response to the disappointment of that Ireland match. It was a very comfortable win against a team we have struggled against the last few times we have played them but one that left huge room for improvement in the next two games. A similar performance to this will secure a bonus-point win against Russia but Scotland will need to play a lot better to beat the host nation in the final game. That contest with Japan is shaping up to being a titanic encounter. A mouth-watering, winner-takes-all clash. I, for one, can’t wait.