Townsend: We didn’t cope with pressure
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend could not hide his disappointment after yet another Dublin defeat, writes Alan Shaw.
Scotland have only one there once since the Six Nations began – in 2010 when Ireland decamped to Croke Park while the venerable Lansdowne Road was transformed into the Aviva Stadium, and there was no sign of that record being improved yesterday.
“Obviously the scoreline is the thing you assess first of all”, said Townsend.
“It’s a big win for Ireland, which is tough to take.
“I was proud of a lot of elements. The way we started in attack, the defence we showed, physicality in contact. Those are the foundations of a competitive side.
“To be a winning Test match team against the best teams, you have to be accurate when you have opportunities, when you have the opposition under pressure and when they have you under pressure. We didn’t do that well enough.
Scotland had a great chance to score a second try just after the half-time break but skipper Stuart Hogg held on to the ball and was bundled into touch despite having three teammates available to take what would have been a scoring pass.
“I wouldn’t use the term unforgivable. The issue is you get punished,” said Townsend.
“Certainly we didn’t play as well as we did last year in Paris. Today, I thought that was some of the best rugby we’ve played in the championship.”
Asked whether Scotland were any closer to challenging for the title, Townsend said: “We know we have to be a lot better next time out in this championship. I’ll leave you to answer that.”