Backs are not immune from flak for Irish fiasco – Hodge
But coach warns against raft of changes
good play, but we struggled for possession and what possession we did have we created some chances with but weren’t clinical enough to finish in the outside channels.
“We made a lot of tackle breaks and counter-attacked well with the back three but we just weren’t clinical enough and that was the difference. The frustrating thing is that that is not an accurate reflection of us as a team. Two of their tries came from when we had the ball and you’re not going to win Test matches when you give away tries like that against a team full of experienced internationals and Lions players.
“We have taken a step backwards in terms of the result,” he continued. “Some things we have improved on since last year but, in international rugby, if you do two or three things wrong, you will get heavily punished for it. Some of the stats from Sunday’s game showed that we were there, equal with Ireland, but they took chances and we lost ball at key times. And that was the game.
“The quality of player is there, it’s just performing at that level. We are a young group but we have to just grow up and deal with it. We know what the issues are and we have to just put them right. We have a game at the weekend and can’t wallow in the defeat. We have to crack on.”
Humphreys spoke candidly about the pack’s performance on Sunday, and hinted at changes for the Calcutta Cup. Glasgow flanker Chris Fusaro is expected to come into the reckoning for the openside flanker spot, with captain Kelly Brown’s position in the team under pressure Young lock Jonny Gray should at least be promoted to