HOME TRUTHS
Blair reveals Scots had no-holds-barred post-mortem after Ireland defeat and says they will atone against Italy
MIKE BLAIR last night revealed that Scotland’s players have told each other some harsh truths about their dismal performances in the 27-24 defeat to Ireland.
The clear-the-air meeting followed an erratic and confused display at BT Murrayfield which effectively ended any hopes Gregor Townsend’s team might have had of winning the Six Nations title.
Now assistant head coach Blair says the players have been left in no doubt about the need to ‘get fired into Italy’ on Saturday before the Scots seek to end the campaign on a high in their Covid-delayed game against France in Paris.
Townsend’s men kicked off the tournament in sensational style by beating England at Twickenham for the first time since 1983, only for home defeats to Wales and the Irish to bring them crashing back down to earth.
But Blair believes the sharing of some difficult home truths will only serve to reinvigorate them ahead of their two final games.
‘We had a fairly blunt review of the game today and the players are aware of what we need to work on and they know they need to get fired into Italy,’ said the former scrum-half.
‘We had built up an expectation of the level of game we want to play and we didn’t reach that against Ireland.
‘But we have a very self-aware group who admitted they had made mistakes and put their hands up before stuff was even said — and that attitude is beneficial for the team.
‘We are fortunate in that we have built up good relationships with the players so they feel that they are able to speak their minds.’
Blair said the meeting had been so open that players felt able to call out their team-mates in a constructive manner over the mistakes that contributed to Sunday’s defeat.
‘Doing that is something we have got better at,’ he said. ‘Previously, they would be concerned about what the other player would say behind their backs, but there is a lot of honesty and understanding in this group.
‘As long as they get their point across in a respectful way, and it’s being made for an improvement in team performance. It is something we have seen more of in the last couple of campaigns and it will improve us as a team.
‘The meetings haven’t been aggressive or angry because we are all going for the same goal.
‘You could see the frustration across the whole group after the Ireland game. But we’ve got to put that defeat to bed. We have to pick our chins up and move on.’
Blair confirmed that, although star man Finn Russell was still training with the squad, it was likely he will miss Saturday’s game at Murrayfield after being forced off with a head knock against the Irish.
‘Finn will be unlikely to play with just a six-day turnaround between games,’ he said. ‘At the moment, we would be hoping he will be back to play France in our final game but you don’t really know how these things pan out in the end with head knocks.
‘But he is still around the squad and has been in good form.’
Blair expects there will be some changes in the Scotland starting line-up, some of them enforced, with Jaco van der Walt likely to come in at fly-half for Russell while other players will be rested.
‘There will be changes,’ he said. ‘We’re waiting to see how Jonny Gray is progressing with his shoulder. As it is a short week, we need to keep an eye on him.
‘Scott Cummings has been for a scan on his hand, so we’ll have an update on that soon but he’s likely to struggle to play this weekend,’ added Blair, with bulletins from the Scotland camp already suggesting he will miss out.
‘The likelihood of not having Finn Russell won’t change the way we play against Italy. Whoever plays at ten will feel they want to do a similar job to what we are trying to do, as we have to play to our strengths.
‘We have played some good rugby in attack over the campaign, which has stretched all three teams we have played against.
‘Jaco van der Walt has been with us for a bit of time. He got his first cap against Ireland last December and showed lots of positive things. We are expecting whoever comes in will do a good job.’ l HOOKER Adam McBurney has agreed to join Edinburgh from Ulster at the end of the season.
The 24-year-old former Ireland Under-20s cap, who qualifies for Scotland through his grandmother, will replace Mike Willemse who is leaving the capital side in the summer.
Head coach Richard Cockerill said: ‘Adam is a tough, dynamic competitor with a lot of scope for development.’