IF anyone at the Scottish Rugby Union wonders why they can’t sell all the seats at Murrayfield these days they should consider one simple fact: tomorrow marks exactly fifteen months since the last Scottish try in a competitive match at Murrayfield.
Scotland failed to score a try in the two Murrayfield games last autumn (against South Africa and New Zealand). They failed to score at home in last year’s Six Nations against France and England and failed to do so again yesterday against Wales.
Yes, Scotland scored a bundle of tries in a run-around game against Japan B last summer and they have scored, in Aberdeen, against Samoa but at Murrayfield the record is dire. You have to go back to the Fiji game on 14th November 2009 – fifteen months ago - for the last Scottish try in a meaningful game at the home of Scottish rugby.
Back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s fans camped out to get their hands on precious and highly prized Murrayfield tickets. Now, the SRU can’t sell all the tickets for a Six Nations game with Wales – despite the Welsh bringing 15,000 to 20,000 fans with them.
After last week, many of us thought the corner had been turned. Those three tries in Paris suggested that Scotland had, at last, lost that white-line fever. But no. Back at Murrayfield yesterday, it was the same, depressing, old story.
Scotland’s play was certainly feckless, error strewn and shoddy yesterday but it was worse than that in one key aspect: Scotland somehow contrived not to score a try when their opponents were down to 13 players.
Rugby statisticians like to tout the figure of seven points as the average a team scores when their opponents are reduced to 14 men. With Wales down to 13, Scotland should have scored two converted tries but they only came away with three points.
Remember what happened when Scotland were reduced to 13 men last year in Cardiff? Wales tore Scotland apart in two minutes and won a game they should have lost.
All credit to the Welsh defence to hold out during that desperate passage yesterday but Scotland should have buried Wales then. Any half decent team would have done that but Scotland? Not a chance.
So what’s the problem and how does Andy Robinson fix it?
The key is decision making and that, generally, lies with the half backs. Dan Parks may have had some great games in last year’s Six Nations but yesterday’s was one of his worst. It was almost back the bad old days when he used to get booed off at Murrayfield every time he was substituted.
When Parks has a bad day, as he did yesterday, he makes it easy for the opposition simply because he is, and never has been, a threat with the ball in hand. Rory Lawson, Robinson’s first-choice scrum half, makes this problem worse because he hardly ever makes a break round the fringes of a ruck.
If the opposition know that there is virtually no threat from the scrum half or the fly half, all they have to do is fan out, defend the wide channels and smash the centres every time they get the ball – which is what Wales did yesterday.
What Parks can do is kick yet his decision-making in this area was also wrong yesterday. When Wales were down to 13, they were forced to bring their centre Jonathan Davies in to the scrum on their line. That meant Wales were two short in their back line (fullback Lee Byrne having been sent to the sinbin). All Scotland needed to do was keep the ball in hand to force at least one overlap, or even two yet Parks decided on a cross-field kick to the corner, where it was one against one – and Scotland failed to score.
But Parks wasn’t the only one to have a bad game. Hugo Southwell at full back had by far his worst game in a Scotland jersey – and he was only on the pitch for 20 minutes. Three times he received the ball and three times he kicked it out on the full, conceding both possession and territory to Wales.
And that, in essence, was where Scotland lost this game. Scottish players barely touched the ball for the first 20 minutes. Every time they got it, they booted it back to the Welsh who ran through phase after phase after phase until Scotland were pinged by the referee and James Hook slotted the points.
Scotland weren’t killed off by that first Shane Williams try, they were killed off by the three subsequent penalties which gave the Welsh a 16-0 lead.
Southwell also charged recklessly into Byrne while he was in the air and should have been sinbinned. It was at least a reward for Scotland, of sorts, that he was then replaced by Sean Lamont, Southwell having been injured in that stupid and dangerous tackle.
Lamont then became Scotland’s best player simply because he refused to kick the ball back at the Welsh. He decided to run it, time and again and his try-saving tackle on Jamie Roberts late on in the game was a reminder of just how committed, gutsy and passionate he is. If only Scotland had another 14 Sean Lamonts, then maybe they could have done something yesterday.
Nikki Walker was also appalling. It was his lost possession that led to Wales’ second try and the sight of him lolloping back slowly while his opposite number dotted the ball down over the Scotland line should surely be enough to have him banished from Scotland’s ranks for ever.
What can Robinson do? Change the team for a start. He has to have a scrum half who can threaten and keep opposition back rows honest. In the continuing absence of Chris Cusiter, that means opting for Mike Blair and telling him to break as often and as quickly as possible. He can still do it as anyone who saw Edinburgh’s home match with Northampton last year can testify.
As this season’s Six Nations is now over for Scotland, Robinson should also go for Ruaridh Jackson at fly half. He can’t kick as well as Parks and he is a relative novice at marshalling a backline but he has great acceleration and would offer the threat from ten that we have been lacking ever since Gregor Townsend retired. Putting Duncan Weir on the bench too as cover for Jackson would be a radical but inspiring choice.
The centres were ineffective yesterday but principally because of the problems at nine and ten so they should probably be given another chance. The back three needs a shake up, though. Sean Lamont has to come in on one wing and his brother, who is playing well at 15 for Toulon, should come in at full back in place of Southwell. Max Evans did more than enough to retain his spot on the other wing.
In the pack, Euan Murray will not be playing against Ireland because the match is on a Sunday but he would have been lucky to keep his place anyway. Moray Low did a very good job when he came on so should retain the shirt for the Ireland game.
Richie Vernon did well at number eight but it may be worth reverting to the balance of the ‘killer bs’ and uniting Johnnie Beattie, John Barclay and Kelly Brown once again. Nathan Hines was alright yesterday but how Scotland missed Richie Gray who must surely return next time.
If Scotland want to know how to score tries, they could do worse than watch the England Italy game yesterday. Yes, the Italian defence was woeful at times but some of the English tries were excellent. Every time a player broke through, he knew he had support both left and right – which is how the All Blacks play the game. England also used interesting training ground moves to shift the point of attack. Mark Cueto’s first-half try was a classic example.
The scrum half looped round the hooker and deliver the ball to Flood who was now in the inside centre channel. Flood then popped the ball inside again, this time for the winger coming through. Every time Scotland used the inside ball, it was popped up by Parks to a receiver close to the ruck, which is relatively easy to both see and counter. Moving it one more step away makes is harder to defend.
The upshot is that England make scoring tries look easy. Scotland make it look incredibly difficult and although the ticket prices for Twickenham are much higher than they are at Murrayfield, at least the English paying punters are getting their money’s worth. England scored eight tries yesterday. It currently takes Scotland a year to score eight tries and none of them are at home. Scottish supporters have been short-changed for the past year and a half and it is time we got something for our money.
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