Is the Scotland team which will face Wales this weekend better than the one that lost so dispiritingly to England? Undoubtedly. But could it have been even better? Unquestionably.
Andy Robinson, the Scotland coach, has changed his fly-half, dropping Dan Parks (who then quit test rugby in response) and replacing him with Greig Laidlaw.
That is certainly better for Scotland. Laidlaw is playing better than Parks at the moment, he performed well when he came on in the second half last weekend and should give Scotland a bit more of an attacking edge. He can also kick from the tee very, very well.
But, apart from that, Robinson has left the team virtually unchanged (he has brought in Geoff Cross for Euan Murray as tighthead prop but that was forced on him by Murray’s religious unavailability).
And will that be enough? Probably not.
The harsh reality is that Parks was only part of the problem for Scotland last week (and last year and the year before – back, in fact to the start of the current try drought).
The basic problem is that Robinson, like successive Scottish coaches before him, is picking players out of position.
It was instructive to watch how quickly the Irish and the Welsh backs moved the ball on Sunday, flicking the ball out of contact and presenting it in front of their colleagues to give them every chance of breaking the gain line. It is no coincidence that they had players in their chosen positions.
But Scotland? We still don’t see the need to play at proper inside centre, outside the fly-half. Robinson has yet again picked Sean Lamont at 12. Lamont, has been said many times before, is a fine winger and a selfless and passionate player for Scotland – one of the best, actually.
However, distribution is not his forte, to put it mildly. Remember his break against Wales at Cardiff two years ago when all he needed to do was pass left to the onrushing Kelly Brown for a certain Scotland score? Lamont delayed, the pass went forward and the chance was spurned – again.
So even with Laidlaw at fly-half, it is clear that Scotland are going to play a similar game to the one they tried at Murrayfield last weekend. The ball will be shipped from scrum-half to fly-half to inside centre and Lamont will take it into contact with the hope that it can be recycled quickly enough for Scotland to launch another – and more dangerous – attack. Unfortunately, that rarely happens.
However, what is more important is when Lamont has to pass the ball, he isn’t a natural draw-the-man-and-pass kind-of player. Not like, for instance, Matt Scott who did so well for Scotland A last Friday night.
This strange desire to pick players out of position is, sadly, not a new development.
Gregor Townsend was good enough at ten to take that key role for the British and Irish Lions, yet Scottish coaches still pushed him around the back division, playing him at outside centre and elsewhere besides.
Chris Paterson is another who knows what it is like not to be picked in one’s favoured fly-half position. He played almost everywhere along the back line for Scotland during his time.
And now Robinson has decided to play a scrum-half (Laidlaw) at stand-off and a winger at inside centre.
Scotland have been doing this for years and, to be blunt, it hasn’t got them anywhere. Successive coaches have tried to get the maximum talent on the pitch – regardless of where they have to play – rather than picking players in their natural positions.
Robinson has gone halfway there by picking the in-form Laidlaw at ten (even though he is a natural scrum-half) because at least he is better than Parks. But is Robinson wants a proper running, fluid game he needs to pick a passing player at 12 – and shove Lamont back out on the wing where he plays best.
And, while he is at it, Robinson should also have picked Mike Blair at scrum-half, not just because he is playing well now (which he is), but because he dovetails beautifully with Laidlaw at club level and that understanding could be crucial.
Another change that should have been made is that of bringing back Richie Vernon – who had an outstanding game for the As last Friday – which would allow the impressive Dave Denton to move across to blindside flanker, where he plays most of his rugby.
It is good, though, to see the exciting Stuart Hogg on the bench. He could really do some damage if he comes on late in the game when gaps start to appear.
Robinson has made probably the minimum number of changes he could get away with – two: one enforced, the other inevitable.
But he should have gone further. He should not have been so conservative, because the danger for him and for Scotland is that his team will do better this weekend than last (they could hardly do worse actually) but again not do quite enough.
If Robinson is determined to go for Laidlaw not Duncan Weir at ten, then the team he should have selected is this one: Jacobsen, Ford, Cross, Gray, Kellock, Denton, Rennie, Vernon, Blair, Laidlaw, Evans, Scott, De Luca, Lamont, Lamont. Bench: Welsh, Lawson, Hamilton, Barclay, Cusiter, Weir, Hogg.
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