WEALTH talent of
Bulloch insists Scots have strength in depth to cope with front-row casualties
SCOTLAND’S chances of SixNations success would, in years past, be over before the championship even starts due to the current injury problems. That is the view of former captain Gordon Bulloch — but he believes that Gregor Townsend’s squad can still be contenders in 2018.
Bulloch (below) is hoping Scotland open this year’s NatWest Six Nations against Wales on February 3 with their first victory in Cardiff since he ploughed over for two match-winning tries back in 2002.
The former hooker remembers that game for Jim Telfer’s secret training tactic that paid off handsomely. However, he insists that it was Scotland’s lack of try-scoring ability in the years since that victory which has led to a 16-year drought.
Strength in depth is a big reason why Bulloch feels the end to that poor record is now in sight, despite Zander Fagerson’s accident with a weights bench taking the number of crocked Test front-rows to eight.
Scotland’s top Test tightheads — WP Nel, Simon Berghan and Fagerson — will miss the start and/or all of the championship; looseheads Alasdair Dickinson, Darryl Marfo and Allan Dell are still in rehab, and Fraser Brown and Ross Ford are not yet cleared from injury to return. ‘If you had said we had eight capped front-rows all unavailable for the opening Six Nations match when I was playing, I’d have said forget it,’ admitted Bulloch. ‘I remember Scotland pulling Paul Burnell out of retirement when he was in his mid-thirties because we had no props. But when we seem to have an injury crisis now, then another kid comes in and stands up well — Zander, Darryl, Allan, Jamie Bhatti, Rory Sutherland. ‘The coaches seem to integrate the guys into the system quickly and can carry them through tough Tests.’
Bulloch’s memorable try double in 2002 sparked a rare celebration for the front-row fraternity and he revealed that it owed much to forwards’ coach Telfer’s technical insight.
‘Before that game, we had never practised lineout drives live,’ Bulloch recalled. ‘We had practised with three or four guys against you.
‘But in the week before we played Wales, Jim felt he had spied a weakness in the Welsh, so he brought in the Scotland Under-21s to play against us in training.
‘Those boys are always up for it, wanting to show off a bit, show the coaches they’re ready for stepping up, so we had a good battle.
‘Jim wanted us practising lineout drives and it was great. When it came to the game in Cardiff, we scored the only tries of the game off them.’
Still, tries were rare for any player then. Bulloch played much of his
career with the current national head coach, Townsend, at stand-off. He believes it is not a coincidence that the Scots are scoring freely with his former team-mate in the driving seat. ‘We definitely improved under Vern Cotter, but Gregor is a coach made for the modern game,’ declared Bulloch. ‘He has always been one to ask questions, to look for new ideas. Whatever kind of attack he wanted to call, it was around quick ball. ‘It’s a style that suits Scotland, but that’s the game these days. When I watch rugby now, there is no doubt that referees favour the attacking team. ‘You have to do something pretty special as a defending team to get the ball back if the attacking side hold onto it, and that has helped to create a faster, more entertaining game, which is what people want to see.
‘The key for us now is that we have a set of backs who create real chances — and invariably finish most of them.
‘I remember feeling that we were competing quite well against some of the best teams in the world, but even when you felt you had England, Australia, Ireland or France on the ropes, we weren’t able to score the tries to turn our pressure into points.
‘It was so frustrating and we would troop off with the scoreboard showing us well beaten.
‘This Scotland team is very different in that regard. In modern rugby, you have to be able to score 25 points to win and you saw that with our autumn Tests — 44 v Samoa. Had Stuart Hogg got over for that try in the dying seconds and the resultant conversion was successful, then even 24 would have beaten New Zealand. Certainly, 53 did for Australia.
‘That was a wake-up call for those nations, so England and the rest will have paid close attention.
‘In the past, teams would look to screw us up front and believe that if they dominated there, we had little else to offer. That’s not the case any more. The opposition have a lot more to worry about from big ball-carriers and back-rows to the half-backs, three-quarters and back three — we have threats all over the park. So if our front-row can hold up, whoever comes in, we will have chances to beat every team.’
Townsend will name his first Six Nations squad on Tuesday and while injuries point to more uncapped call-ups, it will have a familiar look to it.
The front-row cupboard is not bare with Sutherland returning from a lengthy lay-off for Edinburgh on Friday night, Gordon Reid back in action with London Irish, Jon Welsh showing form at Newcastle and youngsters Murray McCallum and Bhatti continuing to impress.
Greig Laidlaw is hoping to put himself back in the frame with a return to Clermont Auvergne colours after three months out, but Bulloch does not see the experienced leader as an automatic choice.
‘There is no doubting Greig’s qualities and leadership ability,’ he said, ‘but I think we’ve found a scrum-half for the modern age in Ali Price. Gregor wants to play a fast game, and Ali gives him real pace in breaking and passing.
‘Sam Hidalgo-Clyne may be coming back from his nightmare at Edinburgh under Alan Solomons at the right time.’