>> Gatland given Scottish masterclass in the rain
YOU could, literally, count the onlookers at a deserted Twickenham yesterday on the fingers of one hand but one solitary figure hunched against the rain and cold was Lions coach Warren Gatland and wouldn’t you just give a penny for his thoughts this morning. For the 2013 and 2017 Lions tours Gatland was noticeably unimpressed with the credentials of potential Scottish candidates, scarcely bothering to pick any of them for his squads. Gatland’s Lions team have essentially been Ireland/England/Wales combos. Well that will definitely change if the 2021 tour goes ahead in any shape or form. Yesterday was virtually a oneon-one job interview with Gatland for many of them. It couldn’t get more up close and personal, even in these socially distanced times. There were Scots all over the field yesterday putting their hands up. Away wins against England count double, especially in Lions years. If you can tackle the English at their citadel you can take on the rest of the world. And as 11-6 wins go this was an absolute shellacking for England, I have never seen a team finish within five points of the winners, yet be so totally outplayed and outclassed. England were battered from start to finish. There were some Scots who we already know plenty about such as Stuart Hogg and Finn Russell who not only underlined their claims but enhanced them massivley. Hogg – one of the few from north of the border picked in 2013 and 2017 but injured on both tours – is much more consistent and less frenetic since he has found his home from home down in Exeter. To these eyes he has also rediscovered those towering kicks – clearing and tactical – that marked him out in the early years. Both were in evidence yesterday. Captaincy suits him as well, he is more confident but less strident. Hogg is in his absolute pomp and a joy to watch in action. Ditto Russell who, save for his instinctive trip on Ben Youngs when he was wrong footed, was much more controlled and less frenetic than has been the case sometimes which will surely have resonated with Gatland. But there were others, in fact the reputation of every Scot involved soared, its difficult to think of a single mano a mano battle they lost. Duhan Van der Merwe looks the real deal on the wing while Cameron Redpath, as expected, was to the manor born. Barring injury he will win 100 caps, I will put my mortgage on it and I for one rejoice that they will be with Scotland. He might have learnt his rugby with Sedbergh and England U20 but as the son of one of Scotland’s finest ever players nobody seriously thought he would ever choose England did they? Ali Price? After a dodgy opening ten minutes being charged down by Maro Itoje he reminded us of what a good scrum-half he is while the Scotland back row, led by the irrepressible Hamish Watson, comfortably beat their much vaunted opponents in which Tom Curry was unusually quiet, Mark Wilson virtually
“I have never seen a team finish within five points of the winners, yet be so outplayed”
anonymous and Billy Vunipola largely ineffectual. Some battles up front are played at such a pace and intensity – speed of thought as well as sinew – that they occasionally seem to pass the England No.8 by. The Saracens man is whole hearted and hardworking but he doesn’t enjoy being jolted out of his own tempo. Jonny Gray was magnificent – better on the day than Itoje who faded after a bright start – and Scott Cummings nearly as good. The Scotland front row were immense, England were second best. Everywhere. So Gatland, below, will have made note of all that and more but what will Eddie Jones make of his side’s non performance? Afterwards he blamed himself for not getting the preparation right but frankly that’s a cop out. What was there not to get right? Loads of time with a multi-talented squad working off a base of Six Nations and Autumn Cup trophies. And two home games to start the Championship. That’s a dream scenario. Here’s a few questions I would be urgently asking at the debrief. Where has England’s attacking game gone? It has become non-existent despite the warning of various pundits in the autumn who were alarmed at the paucity of England’s play. Of course England won those games and Jones hid behind the ‘winning is everything’ mantra but frankly the result of those matches was utterly irrelevant. It was the performance that counted. They were a once-in-a-decade opportunity to cut loose, expand your game and to get some young guns involved. Yet yesterday we had Anthony Watson receiving his first pass of the game in the 60th minute two metres from his own line with three defenders lining him up while England’s big ball-carrying hope Ollie Lawrence received his one and only pass three minutes later just before he was subbed off. What’s going on? Why is the England pack winning so little quality ball – how they missed Joe Launchbury by the way – and why have they suddenly started conceding multiple penalties again. Throughout 2020 they conceded an average of nine penalties a match, yesterday it was nine and a scrum free kick in the first 23 minutes. Not acceptable. It’s been coming for a while though. England have been in a strange decline, which has been difficult to articulate because they have kept winning, but as they kept marching on the words of Robert Burns came to mind: “There is no such certainty as a sure thing”. England have been tottering on the brink of a defeat like this for a while. Now we have tangible evidence. They beat Ireland with almost no possession, should have lost to France Third XV in December and they got trounced yesterday by the Scots. England will, of course, beat Italy on Saturday but then comes Wales away, the might of France First XV at home and Ireland away. This could all go pear-shaped very quickly for England if they don’t get a grip. An interesting few weeks lie ahead.