Vern makes plans for being left a man short
VERN COTTER is struggling to get his best XV on to the paddock.
But the Scotland coach might find it’s a trickier task to keep them there during the forthcoming RBS 6 Nations.
In the interests of player welfare, tackle laws were tightened on January 1, introducing more-stringent punishments for contact with the head or neck of an opponent, even if deemed accidental.
As a result, referees have been scattering cards like confetti, with Stuart Hogg’s late yellow for instinctively flinging out an arm as an opponent ducked inside him proving costly in Glasgow’s Heineken Cup game against Munster last week.
So Cotter has been drilling his squad in what to do should they go a man down.
“I think it would be prudent to do that,” nods the New Zealander, who’s leading Scotland into his last 6 Nations before Gregor Townsend takes over.
“You need to have a contingency plan for every position. We have contingencies, but if a back gets a red card, do you take a forward off and bring him back on, or do you play with eight forwards and six backs?
“There are a few things, depending on who goes down and team requirements. I hope it doesn’t happen and I genuinely think there has been some good debate over this and hopefully there will be some good decisions made.
“There are experienced referees in the Six Nations, and some of the decisions we have seen that have been a bit harsh have come from referees that haven’t had the experience.
“I think the players will adapt quickly to reduce the number of cards. We definitely need to work on tackle technique, but there are reflexes as well.
“We saw that from Stuart Hogg last weekend from a late step back on the inside, when the reflex is to put your arm up. We’re going to have to make the players aware of it and try to coach those kind of things.
“There will be the odd incident that may go the TMO and be deemed foul play. So we’ll have to deal with it.”
Lightning has struck again for Cotter concerning his propping options. Firstchoice pair WP Nel and Al Dickinson missed the autumn series through injury and, after brief comebacks, the former has been ruled out of the championship by a recurrence of his neck problem, while Dickinson might be available in later rounds.
“We did have our fingers crossed on that one because they both had such a good 6 Nations last year,” admits Cotter.
“The scrum is so important. But if they are not there, we were more than happy with Allan Dell and Zander Fagerson.
“I thought they stepped up in the autumn, and the 6 Nations is another big step up. This is what we need to do to develop those players, to get them better.
“So, yeah, disappointing. But on the other hand, it’s a great opportunity and Gordon Reid has had a bit of a wake-up as well.
“I see his performance has started to improve so there is competition for spots.”