Tag: Scotland

2023 Six Nations: Scotland v Italy

2023 Six Nations: Scotland v Italy

It feels like the 2023 Six Nations only started a couple of weeks ago, and yet here we are kicking off Super Sunday at Murrayfield. Scotland began this tournament with 2 wins for the first time in Six Nations history, but fell off against France and Ireland, but had the chance to finish on a high against an Italian team who were without a win despite vastly improved performances this season.

The Scots came in with Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg both missing through injury, and soon found themselves behind as a series of Italian penalties allowed them to put the Scots under pressure before settling for 3 points from the boot of Tommaso Allan. A penalty against Seb Negri from playing the nine at a breakdown gave Scotland possession their own shot at possession in the 22, which they eventually converted by sending Duhan van der Merwe over in the corner despite the best efforts of Paolo Garbisi, though Blair Kinghorn was unable to add the extras from the touchline with his first kick. Italy hit back immediately with another Allan penalty as Italy continued to target the Scottish breakdown, but after an error playing out from the back ended in the Azzurri giving away a penalty in their own 22, the Scots found their inability to convert hurt them again. However Angus Gardner and his officials were doing their job with the classic imbalance that we have come to expect from Italy’s matches, and after a series of scrum penalties against Italy, Angus Gardner sent Marco Riccioni to the bin and the hosts took immediate advantage of the extra man to send Blair Kinghorn over for the try. Italy’s defence allowed them to see out the rest of the sin bin period without any further score, but as they returned to a full complement, Scotland had one more chance to attack with the final play of the half, only for debutant wing Simone Gesi to get in the way of Kyle Steyn’s offload to Ollie Smith when the fullback would have had the line at his mercy, resulting in a 12-6 halftime score.

As the second half began, more questionable officiating allowed Scotland to kick a penalty deep into the Italian 22, and after an -phase siege of the line, Kinghorn managed to fight his way through a double tackle to stretch over the line. Italy had a chance to hi back almost immediately as Alessandro Fusco slipped through a gap on the fringe of the ruck, but his pass to the supporting Gesi was woefully off-target, prompting an awful 5 minutes for the scrum half that ended with him being replaced by Alessandro Garbisi. Italy refused to give up however, and just after the hour they got the try they deserved as Allan got on the end of Paolo Garbisi’s blind side grubber to go over in the corner, and though his touchline conversion sailed wide, Paolo Garbisi kicked a penalty just minutes later to bring the game within 5 points with 15 minutes remaining. And with just 4 minutes remaining, a penalty allowed them to kick up to the corner, and after the initial maul was stopped, Alessandro Garbis knocked on in contact with van der Merwe while stretching for the line, and Scotland attacked off the resulting scrum with the clock in the red, going the length through van der Merwe and Kinghorn, who completed his hattrick (securing the bonus point) and added the conversion for a personal tally of 21 points and a 26-14 victory that consigned Italy to the most undeserving of Wooden Spoons.

rugby crest scotland
rugby italy crest

Scotland

Scotland have a big call to make regarding Blair Kinghorn. While he will surely be on the plane to France (injury permitting), the question over his role in the team surely persists. Non-selection and then injuries have severely limited Adam Hastings’ gametime at Test level in recent years, and the inexperience of the next options (Ross Thompson, who is also currently unavailable, and Edinburgh-bound Ben Healy) has really left Kinghorn as the de facto back-up to Finn Russell.

And yet the questions over his ability to be a Test-level fly half remain. While he has all the attributes to play the position, he does not have a wealth of experience playing the position at the top levels of the game, and as a result the team appears much more formulaic and easy to defend against compared to when Finn Russell is in charge of things. And then in a tight match, his lack of reliability as a goal kicker could also prove crucial as when he is at 10 there is no other regular goal kicker in the XV.

Assuming everyone is available when the World Cup comes around, Gregor Townsend has a big call to make. Does he trust Kinghorn as a 10 on the biggest stage of all? Or does he look to take another specialist at the position and utilise Kinghorn as a fullback (where I would argue he could actually improve the team by starting instead of centurion Stuart Hogg) and emergency cover at 10?

Italy

Italy have learned from this tournament. They have seen how playing out from deep has hurt them, but also seen how reliable their defence has been for much of the tournament. And today, with Scotland’s chief creative talent Finn Russell absent, the Azzurri have brought it all together.

Though there were some moments where they tried playing from deep (which generally cost them), there was much more focus on playing the game in the right area of the pitch, kicking deep when in their own half and challenging Scotland to run it back. And then they were meeting the Scottish attack with a sturdy defence and, even more importantly, having success at the breakdown. While they earned a couple of crucial turnover penalties, what they also managed to do was slow down the Scottish ball, which meant that by the time Ben White was getting the ball away, the hosts were generally looking at a set defensive line, which Blair Kinghorn struggled to break down.

This is a timely reminder that we’re only a year on from the first real flashes of Italy being truly competitive. This is a young team that is still growing and finding itself. And as they learn to manage the game and cut out the errors in attack, this will become a very hard team to play against.

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2023 Six Nations: Scotland v Ireland

2023 Six Nations: Scotland v Ireland

Ireland’s hunt for a 2023 Grand Slam took its next step as they arrived at Murrayfield to face a Scotland team that has rarely looked better this century. The visitors were able to welcome back a number of regulars in Tadhg Furlong, Jonathan Sexton and Garry Ringrose and thought that they had scored an early try after 5 minutes, when Caelan Doris stole a quick lineout on the Scottish 5m line, but Dan Sheehan’s dot down did not stand as Turner had not used the same ball as was kicked to touch, thereby negating a quick throw being allowed. Ireland soon got off the mark with a Jonathan Sexton penalty, but it came at the expense of Caelan Doris, who went off injured, while Scotland were also force to replace Richie Gray early on. Having survived early pressure, Scotland finally got their own chance to attack, and they soon took the lead as some soft hands from Sione Tuipulotu sent his fellow centre Huw Jones over for a try. Over the next 10 minutes, Ireland lost 2 more of their pack to injury in the form of Iain Henderson and Dan Sheehan, but they soon hit back with a try of their own as Mack Hansen managed to dive over in the corner, just keeping his body in paly as Duhan van der Merwe tried to push him into touch. Scotland tried to hit back immediately, but failed to convert their pressure into points as an incredible low tackle from Hugo Keenan 5m out allowed both Josh van der Flier and James Lowe to get latched over the ball for a turnover penalty, while Scotland’s next attack right before half time also ended in disappointment as George Turner was bundled into touch just short of the line for a 7-8 halftime deficit.

As the second half started, things soon got even worse for the Irish on the injury front as Ronan Kelleher—who had come on early for Kelleher—went off injured, with Cian Healy having to come on as an emergency hooker at the scrums and van der Flier taking over throwing in at the lineouts. Despite the irish injuries, Scotland were unable to find a way through the defence, and when Hugo Keenan collected Jamison Gibson-Park’s box kick in the Scottish 22, the Irish pressure allowed the replacement scrum half to send Lowe over in the far corner. And the contest was all-but over just after the hour after Jack Conan managed to hold himself in field under pressure from van der Merwe to go over in the corner, while Sexton’s conversion brought him level with Ronan O’Gara at the top of the all-time Six Nations points scorers list. As the game entered the final 10 minutes, Ireland sufferend one more injury as Garry Ringrose was stretchered off after getting his head on the wrong side of a tackle, but the visitors still managed to create one more chance as Gibson-Park broke down the left wing and fed James Ryan inside, only for the lock to be tackled just short and—with the bonus point try looking a certainty—see his attempted offload to James Lowe sail forward, leaving Andy Farrell’s men to settle for a 7-22 victory.

rugby crest scotland
rugby ireland crest

Scotland

Oh boy did Scotland get their attacking tactics wrong this week. In recent weeks, they have had success by getting the ball out to the wings as quickly as possible to let them run rampage and make metres. However, against an Irish team featuring one of the top defensive 13s (Garry Ringrose) and a back 3 who can confidently defend, they knew that they would have to earn the right to go wide by going through the phases in midfield first. But what this resulted in was a lack of support when the ball finally made it out wide, allowing the Irish to consistently get latched over the ball before support arrived, gifting them easy turnovers.

Then in the second half, they were given a new opportunity with Ireland’s injuries at hooker leaving Josh van der Flier throwing in at lineouts. In this situation with an unfamiliar thrower, the Scots should have been kicking to the corners as frequently as they could and forcing the flanker to throw in, while they could have then really put him under pressure by lifting a pod at the front every lineout and potentially even a middle pod, forcing him to throw to the tail of the lineout every time and increasing the chances of an overthrow/steal/not straight throw.

Scotland have taken some big steps forward this Six Nations, but need to start being more clinical if they want to beat the top teams.

Ireland

While of course you never want to lose players to injury, and I hope that all the players make quick recoveries, this may be a blessing in disguise for Andy Farrell’s men.

When you play in a major tournament, the last thing you want is for an injury in a key position to screw you over in the middle of the game. And while I do still worry about how little gametime Jonathan Sexton’s back-ups get, Ryan Baird got a significant runout today with Iain Henderson’s early injury. But what was really impressive was how they dealt with the loss of both hookers.

While I’m sure many of us were expecting the game to go to uncontested scrums, Cian Healy stepped up and it turned out that he had spent some time learning to cover the position, and he did an impressive job in the scrum, where his extra ballast actually seemed to help give the Irish pack a bit more of a shove. Meanwhile, the job of the lineout throwing went to Josh van der Flier, who had apparently also spent time practicing his throwing in camp. And while he was certainly given an easier ride by the Scots than he should have been, he did a solid job at the set piece despite an unfamiliar lock pairing.

While it’s great to see that Ireland are preparing for these eventualities in camp, to get to use them in this match will give them so much more confidence heading into the World Cup that if the worst happens, they can keep going.

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2023 Six Nations: France v Scotland

2023 Six Nations: France v Scotland

After losing their winning run 2 weeks ago against Ireland, France looked to bounce back at home to Scotland, who for the first time in Six Nations history were still chasing a Grand Slam come round 3. But it was Les Bleus (ironically playing in all white while Scotland wore their traditional blue) who started better and scored the first try within 5 minutes as a concerted assault on the Scottish line drew the defence in narrow enough for Romain Ntamack to beat them to the edge and go over for the try himself despite men free outside of him. And things got immediately worse for the Scots as Grant Gilchrist was sent off for a high hit on Anthony Jelonch at the restart, leaving Scotland 75 minutes to play a man down. And the hosts immediately took advantage of the extra space, Ntamack sending Ethan Dumortier over in the corner just a minute after the game restarted. A Scottish penalty at the next restart gave them a chance to go to the corner, and with Jonny Gray coming on for Hamish Watson to add extra ballast and lineout options, the Scots found their maul stopped just short, only for Mohamed Haouas, into the squad in place of the banned Uini Atonio, to needlessly dive in and catch Ben White in the head, earning himself a red card—making it 2 red cards in his last 2 appearances against Scotland. An obstruction at the lineout allowed France, who had to sacrifice Grégory Alldritt in order to bring on replacement prop Sipili Falatea to escape without further punishment, but a 50-22 from Racing’s Finn Russell soon had the Scots back in the 22, only for Zander Fagerson to lose control of the ball as he reached for the line. Scotland kept the pressure on, but were undone as Thomas Ramos intercepted Russell’s flat wide pass and ran in untouched from 60 metres to score under the posts, giving himself the simplest of conversions. But Russell quickly looked to make amends with a break into the 22, and when Scotland quickly recycled, the Scottish forwards worked the ball out to Duhan van der Merwe, who was just forced into touch by Anthony Jelonch and Ntamack as he stretched for the line. A penalty advantage allowed them to continue their siege on the France try line, and Russell eventually found Huw Jones on the perfect angle to go over next to the posts, while Jelonch was forced to call it a day after a physical 25 minutes that had seen him pass a HIA and both give and receive a series of big hits. Scotland were dominating the possession and territory since the game became 14v14, with Russell’s kicking to the corner keeping the pressure on France and allowing the visitors to counter their clearance kicks, and yet it was France who added to their tally 5 minutes before the break via a Ramos penalty. Scotland had one last chance to attack the French deep in their half, but Russell’s looped pass to send Hogg free down the wing was judged to have gone forward, leaving them going into the break down 22-7.

  Having missed so many chances in the first half, Scotland desperately needed to score first in the second half, and after a huge carry out wide from Huw Jones brought the visitors up tho the line, Scotland tied in the defence with a couple of forward carries before hitting back to the blind side and sending Jones over for his second try of the game. But France soon hit back with some strong carries to seemingly put Dumortier over in the corner, only for Ben White and Huw Jones to stop the ball getting to ground. Another Ramos penalty extended France’s lead back to double figures and triggered the arrival of Jack Dempsey and Ali Price as Scotland continued to largely dominate the possession and territory while lacking the killer final pass. But with 13 minutes remaining, a strong carry from Sione Tuipulotu on first phase after a scrum put the Scots on the front foot and a quick recycle allowed Russell to run through a gap in the disorganised defence, before converting his own try to cut the French lead to 4 points. France turned to Mathieu Jabibert for the final 10 minutes, and when Jamie Ritchie saw his side marched back 10 metres for dissent after he was pinged for holding on in his 22, France took the quick tap penalty to send Gaël Fickou over for the bonus point try, with Ramos’ conversion making it a 32-21 victory for the hosts.

rugby france crest
rugby crest scotland

France

Has Mohamed Haouas just brought an end to his international career?

The Clermont-bound Montpellier tighthead only came into the 23 this week due to Uini Atonio’s ban for a high tackle on Rob Herring 2 weeks ago, but his return lasted a grand total of 12 minutes before a needless dive off his feet that at best was going to gift Scotland a penalty for playing the 9, but instead resulted in him clashing heads with Ben White, leaving officials no choice but to send him off.

Having been sent off for punching Jamie Ritchie in his last appearance against Scotland, and having recently received an 1-month suspended sentence for his part in a series of robberies in 2014, with another court appearance due in May after being charged with “wilful violence” for another incident, there were already questions over whether he had the right temperance for test rugby or if he was too hot-headed. It seems that this latest moment of idiocy has answered that question. Now coaches must ask themselves if this makes him too much of a risk.

Judging by recent selections, Uini Atonio and Sipili Falatea are the clear preferred pairing, while today’s selection would suggest that Fabien Galthié prefers to utilise Falatea’s dynamism by bringing him off the bench against a tiring defence. So with the World Cup fast approaching, what other options does Galthié have? Well Demba Bamba looked to be the rising star of the French front row, only for a series of injuries to limit his playing time recently. But if he can get the minutes under his belt for the rest of the season, he will surely come back into contention, while Toulouse’s Dorian Aldegheri, whose last cap came against England in 2021, could also be in contention for a recall.

And then what about after the World Cup? Well it’s safe to assume that France will likely repeat their actions in this cycle by starting an immediate rebuild by looking only at players who they think could be part of their plans for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. We know that Atonio will have aged out by then and it is hard to imagine Haouas (who will be 33 in that tournament) will make the squad when Falatea and Bamba would be arguably entering their prime at 29 and 28 respectively, as we would probably see a younger third option.

Would you select Haouas again if you were Galthié? I certainly think that this is one selection headache I would rather avoid, causing me to look at other options.

Scotland

This will be a hard loss to take for Scotland. Grant Gilchrist’s moment of complete stupidity not just allowed France to build a commanding lead before their own red card, but also cost Scotland one of their most devastating forward carriers and jackals as they were forced to sacrifice Hamish Watson to bring on another lineout option.

And yet despite that awful first 10 minutes, it’s hard to argue that Scotland shouldn’t be leaving Paris still hunting for the Grand Slam. Though barely in the game during the first 10 minutes, the Sots ended up dominating the possession and spending so much time in and around the French 22. And yet they failed to convert this to scores, leaving them without even a bonus point.

Scotland wasted so many opportunities. Getting pinged for obstruction at the 5m lineout immediately after Haouas’ red card was a big let-off for France given the recent success of the Scottish maul. Zander Fagerson’s knock-on in the corner was a classic case of a prop getting white line fever and hunting the glory, when simply recycling the ball would have likely seen the team score within a couple of phases. Russell’s wide double-miss pass that was intercepted by Ramos was unnecessary and costly. and there were a number of other occasions where it felt like Scotland were trying to force the opportunity rather than going through the phases and letting the opportunity develop, as he French did.

Of course, if any defence can hold out with 14 men, it’s one organised by Shaun Edwards. But if scotland want to start regularly beating the top teams in the world, then they need to find a way to be more clinical.

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2023 Six Nations: Scotland v Wales

2023 Six Nations: Scotland v Wales

This was it: the chance for Scotland to prove a point. Last weekend’s win over England has started becoming a regular occurrence. But in the past, they had put so much into that, only to lose their next match. Now, at home against a Wales team just beginning to try and re-find itself under Warren Gatland, the Scots found themselves in a situation where they had to back up the win…

And it was the Scots who got the first chance, as a Huw Jones break took Scotland up to the Welsh 22, where their pressure earned an early penalty for Finn Russell to open the scoring. Russell added a second as Scotland appeared the more dangerous through the first quarter, while Dan Biggar missed a relatively routine first kick at goal after the Welsh scrum earned a penalty. Scotland nearly had the opening try on the half hour as they spread the ball wide from a strong lineout maul to Kyle Steyn, only for Rio Dyer and Josh Adams to force him into touch. But the hosts had a penalty advantage from the maul and went back to the corner, and this time there was no stopping them as George Turner forced his way over for the opening try. Turner’s next action though was not so positive, as he was sent to the bin for a high tackle on George North, and while the Welshman went for a HIA, his teammates went to the corner and took advantage of the extra man in the pack to drive Ken Owens over for the try. And as the half came to an end, Wales should have had a second, only for the final pass to be fumbles into touch by Rio Dyer to keep the score at 13-7.

With Scotland back to a full complement just minutes into the second period they began to regain their dominance, and Turner was just inches from a second try, only to fumble as he tried to reach for the line. However the pressure from the Scots continued and when Finn Russell eventually found a gap just in front of the try line, he managed to throw a beautiful offload out the back of his hand to allow Kyle Steyn to simply catch the ball and fall over the line. And the next Scotland attack saw Liam Williams sent to the bin after referee Paul Williams tired of the team’s persistent offending, and the extra man proved crucial immediately, as a strong maul and a tight dummy line from Sione Tuipulotu helf the Welsh defence in narrow and allowed Russell to hit Steyn with the crosskick for his second try of the match. And as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Scotland secured the bonus point as Duhan van der Merwe took Russell’s cross kick and drew the defence before playing the ball back inside to Blair Kinghorn to go over from close range. And with just minutes remaining there was time for one more try as Russell’s looped pass put Matt Fagerson over in the corner to make it a 35-7 win and record margin of victory for Scotland over Wales.

rugby crest scotland
rugby wales crest no background

Scotland

As a Gloucester fan, when I saw that Chris Harris had been dropped to the bench against England with Huw Jones starting, I thought that Gregor Townsend was crazy. One of the best 13s in the game, Harris is a defensive linchpin and always seems to be in place to make a crucial covering tackle or shoot out the line to make a timely man and ball hit.

However, after 2 matches, it’s hard to argue that it was the wrong call. Clubmates at Glasgow, Jones and Sione Tuipulotu have formed an impressive dynamic pairing in the centre, while Jones has generally been able to form a good line with Finn Russell too, which has resulted in a Scottish midfield trio that are generally making the right decisions and then executing the plays, allowing the Scots to really take advantage of the quality they have on the wings.

The big questions are still to be answered, though. In England and Wales, they have faced the 2 teams who are just starting their journeys under new coaches, so as a result, the attacks have been relatively disjointed and easier to defend. While momentum is on their side, they now have to face 3 more established attacks, who will be far more clinical. Against such teams, can “Huwipulotu” work as well? Or will the need for security see more minutes for Chris Harris?

Wales

Welsh fans got a real look at the future today with Warren Gatland’s selection. While Joe Hawkins is already establishing himself as Warren Gatland’s first choice at 12 and Rio Dyer is taking advantage of Louis Rees-Zammit’s injury to gain some Test experience, they were joined this week by a number of fellow youngsters in the pack.

Following disappointing performances from a number of the experienced Lions last week, Warren Gatland dramatically lowered the average age of the back 5 in the pack, replacing Alun Wyn Jones with Dafydd Jenkins and seeing fellow Premiership youngsters Christ Tshiunza and Tommy Reffell joining Jac Morgan in the back row. And while things weren’t perfect for the Welsh pack, they were certainly not the issue, and if anything they were certainly adding drive and positivity to the Welsh performance while looking far more assured han their combined handful of caps would suggest.

Warren Gatland was probably hoping that he could start bringing through the youth into the squad and see them take over the starting spots immediately after the World Cup, similar to what France did in 2020. However with the major upturn in performance from last week to this, he may find that many of them are forcing their way into the XV a year early.

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2023 Six Nations: England v Scotland

2023 Six Nations: England v Scotland

We all love the Six Nations for its local rivalries, and we weren’t left to wait long for the clash of the Auld enemies as England hosted Scotland at Twickenham. New head coach Steve Borthwick would have been hoping that his first match in charge saw his team get back to winning ways after losing 3 and drawing 1 of their last 5 matches against Gregor Townsend’s Scotland.

And after almost 15 minutes of physical rugby, it was Scotland who took the lead as Sione Tuipulotu’s grubber sat up in the in-goal for Huw Jones to score the opening try after his break moved Scotland up to the English line, however England soon hit back and scored a try of their own when, following a poor kick under pressure from Finn Russell brought them into the Scottish 22, a period of 14 phases ended with Max Malins grounding Marcus Smith’s crosskick, though Farrell’s missed conversion from out wide left the visitors ahead. And that lead was soon extended as Duhan van der Merwe broke through a gap in the English kick chase and backed himself to step 2 tacklers and hold off Alex Dombrandt on his way to the line. But the hosts again found the answer, with some great attacking lines eventually creating the space to spread the ball wide and send Max Malins over, and though Farrell missed the conversion, he finally got off the mark with a penalty on the stroke of half time for a 13-12 lead.

England started taking control after the break, and when a brilliant crash ball from Dombrandt brought England up to the Scottish try line, they remained patient before sending Ellis Genge over for try number 3. Scotland found a answer though in an odd fashion, a mishandle on the floor from Ben White caused him to spin unexpectedly to pick up the ball, which allowed him to unknowingly evade the onrushing Ben Curry, before taking advantage of the gap this left to snipe over. England were soon back on the attack, but Marcus Smith found himself well handled by Tuipulotu as he tried to create something from a 2v2 close to the ry line, resulting in him being bundled into touch. As the replacements started to come on around the hour mark, Matt Fagerson was pinged for hands in the ruck, allowing Farrell t extend the lead to 4 points with just over 5 minutes left, but after a Russell crosskick just eluded Kyle Steyn, the fly half kicked a penalty of his own to make it 23-22. And with 7 minutes left, a break from Steyn pulled too many of the England defence over to his side, and a couple of quick Scottish passes allowed Duhan van der Merwe to step inside Marcus Smith and carry Malins over the line as he reached out to score the bonus point try, with Russell kicking the conversion to secure a 23-29 victory and retain the Calcutta Cup for another year.

rugby england crest
rugby crest scotland

England

After years of seeing Eddie Jones sucke the life out of English rugby, some of the play today brought real joy to my heart.

With Nick Evans now in charge of the attack, inexperienced players like Chessum, Dombrandt and Hassell-Collins carried with the confidence of veterans, players were not just looking for gaps between defenders, but hitting them with conviction and on fantastic lines. It’s no surprise to me that Marcus Smith looked more comfortable than ever in the attacking game.

Was it all perfect? Of course not. There were certainly offloads that didn’t go to hand, players left isolated or other such errors, but that is to be expected given this is the first match in a new attacking system, with some new players, and most likely some amendments made due to the number of injuries picked up in recent weeks. I would also argue that Ben Youngs appeared to be choosing the chip over the ruck far too often when continuing to go through the phases would have been a better decision.

The important thing here is that England have immediately looked much more dangerous with ball in hand and showing that they can score tries. And that immediately makes them more dangerous.

Scotland

This really was a classic Finn Russell match. For so much of the game, it looked like England would come away with the win, and the stand-off would have deserved his fair share of blame, as he often kept hold of the ball just a little too long, allowing himself to either be tackled in possession or as he was getting his kick away, with a number of England’s best chances in the first half coming from kicks that had fallen short in midfield as he was pressured in the kick.

But as the game went on, his ability to spread the ball around proved crucial, and the way that he would put the ball out in front of the players to run onto, allowing the wings to run riot down the touchlines and encouraging line breaks.

He truly is a mercurial talent, and while the risks he takes won’t always pay off, he doesn’t let his head drop and continues to find the gaps an exploit them. And by doing so, he keeps Scotland as an attacking threat right til the very end.

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Six Nations 2023: 6 to Watch

Six Nations 2023: 6 to Watch

We are now less than 2 weeks away from the 2023 edition of the Six Nations, and boy is this edition going to be exciting. Wales and England come in with new head coaches, while Italy arrive with genuine belief of picking up some wins after wins over both Wales and Australia in 2022. And to top it all off, these 5 matches will likely go a long way to helping the coaches select their squads for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with only a couple of pre-tournament warm-ups remaining after the Six Nations.

And so with the initial squads announced, it’s time for my annual look at each squad and selection of a player to keep your eyes on. And with the World Cup so close, I considered looking at some players who are maybe on the fringes of the squads, but found myself largely selecting young players who at this point are probably pushing to start but may not yet be household names. Who would your picks be?

England

Billy Vunipola’s disappointing return to the England squad is over and Tom Curry is out injured (but would hopefully not be used at 8 by Steve Borthwick), so with Zach Mercer still in France, this is a chance for Alex Dombrandt to try making the 8 shirt his own. A strong but dynamic carrier and real threat at the breakdown, the arrival of Harlequins’ Nick Evans as attack coach will surely get the best out of the Cardiff Met alumnus.

France

France did things right by completely rebooting their squad at the start of the cycle with 2023 in mind, so most places in the 23 are now secured. However the retirement of Virimi Vakatawa for medical reasons and a recent knee injury ruling out Jonathan Danty for 3 months, the centre position looks a little thin. Step up Yoram Moefana, who will provide another hard carrying option in the midfield. If he can form a strong connection with Romain Ntamack and Gaël Fickou, could he oust Danty from the starting spot come the World Cup?

Ireland

Sticking in the centres here and Stuart McCloskey had a strong Autumn campaign at 2 with Bundee Aki missing through a ban. Well Aki is back now but McCloskey also remains courtesy of Robbie Henshaw’s ban. A strong carrier with an eye for an offload, the 30-year-old Ulster star should have arguably earned more caps, having not yet even hit double figures! Can he do enough to beat out Aki for the 12 shirt? This could be the difference between a place in the World Cup squad or watching the tournament at home.

Italy

The most-capped player on this list, Jake Polledri was well on his way to becoming one of the very best number s in the game until a horror injury left his career in the balance. Well he’s back and included in the Italy squad, but has had little playing time for Gloucester this season. At his best, he has the pace to exploit a gap and the strength to make ground with every carry, while he is also an accomplished jackal. The question right now is just what level he can reach ahead of the World Cup and how much we will see him in this Six Nations.

Scotland

While Duhan van der Merwe has one wing secured, Darcy Graham’s injury presents an opportunity for Kyle Steyn. Eligible to play for Scotland via his mother, Steyn brings pace and power to the wing, which is arguably something that Scotland have often not had enough of in their lineup. Scored 4 tries on his first start for Scotland against Tonga and will surely be keen to secure his place in the squad ahead of the World Cup.

Wales

Wales’ late capitulation against Australia in the Autumn may have brought about the end of Wayne Pivac’s tenure, but it was also the Test debut for Ospreys’ Joe Hawkins. A talented playmaker who appeared to make a real difference in getting the team firing against the Wallabies after a series of dour performances, he also seems to fit the Warren Gatland template of a big physical 12 as he is comfortable taking the ball to the line and taking the contact himself. At just 20 years old, Wales may have finally found the long-term successor to Jamie Roberts and Hadleigh Parkes.

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Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v Argentina

Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v Argentina

After a week of wondering what might have been, Scotland’s Autumn Nations Series came to an end with the visit of Argentina. Having faced each other in a 3-Test series just months earlier, there was plenty of familiarity between the teams, while Scotland would have been hoping that home advantage and the return of a few stars rested in the summer would make the distance.

But the home side were immediately under pressure, giving away a penalty off the kick-off, which Emiliano Boffelli duly dispatched. As the players settled into the game, it was Scotland who were making the early attacks, and when Finn Russell’s offload put Sione Tuipulotu through a gap, he had the strength to fight his was over for the opening try. Argentina started keeping the ball in hand more, and a clever grubber to the corner from Pablo Matera forced Duan van der Merwe to take the ball over his own line under pressure from Boffelli, and after the initial planned move off the resulting scrum failed, Argentina won the ball back and immediately struck by putting the ball through the hands to put Jeronimo de la Fuente over in the corner. As the game enterest the second quarter, an illegal clean-out from Marcos Kremer on Jamie Ritchie saw the flanker sent off, and the hosts immediately took advantage of the loss of one of the Pumas’ top tacklers to score, with Duhan van der Merwe just managing to juggle Finn Russell’s offload and gain control of the ball to ground it over the line. And with the half hour approaching, another strong carry from van der Merwe and break from Finn Russell put the Scots on the front foot and resulted in Darcy Graham fighting his way over on the far side for the hosts’ 3ʳᵈ try. However, the Pimas grew back into the game and managed to cut the deficit with a try for Matías Alemanno, which left Scotland with a 19-15 lead at the break.

It didn’t take long for Finn Russell to find his way through a gap after the game restarted, and a clever offload to Stuart Hogg kept the ball alive for Graham to score in the corner. And things soon got worse for the Pumas as Alemanno was given a yellow card on 48 minutes for an illegal cleano-out, while his fellow lock Tomás Lavanini followed just moments later as the resulting maul from a 5m lineout was dragged to ground illegally. Scotland’s haste to immediately take advantage of having 3 extra men on the pitch resulted in a handling error, and when the next attack ended in similar fashion, Matías Orlando was the first onto the loose ball, and he released Boffelli for the unlikeliest of coast-to-coast tries. Scotland were soon back on the attack, and after a legitimate jackal was completely ignored by referee Karl Dickson—who was unwilling to reward the Pumas’ jackalling all game—Tuipulotu was eventually sent over in the corner. As the game reached the hour mark and tempers began to fray, Argentina welcomed back their locks from the bin and replaced Santiago Carreras with the more experienced Nicolás Sánchez, while Chris Harris was also replaced by Cameron Redpath. But after Darcy Graham was tackled into touch to spark a 2nd brawl in 3 minutes, Thomas Gallo and Jamie Ritchie were sent to the bin for their role in the fracas. And when the rugby restarted with a Scottish scrum beneath the posts, Argentina successfully held Redpath and then Zander Fagerson a few minutes later. However a missed touch from Sanchez soon put the visitors back under pressure, and after a knock-on on the floor from Tuipulotu was ignored by the officials, Russell calmly slotted a grubber behind the defence, which Redpath dotted down for hs first Test try. And then when Jamie Ritchie was allowed back on with a Scottish lineout 5m from the visitors’ line but Gallo forced to continue watching from the sideline, the Scots drew in the defence with the maul, before spreading to send Stuart Hogg over beneath the posts. And with the game over as a competition, Darcy Graham finished his hattrick in the corner with just 3 minutes left. As the Pumas looked to finish with a consolation try, Sione Tuipulotu was sent to the bin for a tip tackle, and with the final minutes played 14v14, replacement hooker Ignacio Ruiz managed to burrow over for a try, with Sanchez’s conversion making it a final score of 52-29

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Clear frontrunner

If you ever thought there should be a competition for the starting fly half spot just now, the last couple of weeks have made it very clear that Finn Russell is head and shoulders above the other options.

Not even in the squad at the start of the month, the mercurial stand-off was called up following Adam Hastings’ injury against Fiji, and immediately leapfrogged Blair Kinghorn and Ross Thompson to take the 10 shirt against the All Blacks, almost leading the team to an historic victory.

And against Argentina, he was at his best. his eye for a gap consistently found the hole to exploit in the Pumas’ defence, and he then had the speed to hit the gap and the physicality to get his arms through the tackle and offload to the supporting player, which directly led to 3 tries in the match, with Russell’s offload being the assist on 2 of the occasions. But beyond that, his speed and variation of passing kept the defence guessing, his kicking out of hand was brilliant, going long when he needed to slow things down and play a territorial game, but also with a range of chips and grubbers to tear the defence apart. Oh and even his goal-kicking was nearly faultless.

A fully deserved Man of the Match award was his reward for the performance and you must think that if there are issues between him and Gregor Townsend, it is the coach’s job that is more at risk right now.

Arg

I can’t help but feel sorry for the Pumas. Karl Dickson’s inability to referee the breakdown made it a free-for-all all game, and while that is no excuse for Kremer or Alemanno’s offences, it is just inviting offences like that to happen. Regardless, the offences happened, and then more offences as they tried to cope led to them losing even more players to the bin, while the officials also weren’t looking to treat the teams evenly, giving the hosts even more of an advantage.

And yet despite everything that was going against them, the Pumas kept on fighting right to the end. Granted Scotland rushed things by trying to score too quickly after Argentina went 3 men down, but the defence from Argentina could have easily let the numerical disadvantage be an excuse, and instead put in a monster rearguard effort that not only successfully defended the line multiple times at that point, but then also turned the ball over and scored against the run of play. And then you also just have to look at the effort to hold up Scotland over the line twice more a little later in the game, and their efforts to finish on the high of scoring the final try.

While discipline has to be much better, this is a team that will fight and claw tooth and nail for every point. And it is that passion and determination that will make them a threat against anyone on their day.

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Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v New Zealand

Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v New Zealand

After a bumper day of rugby yesterday, there was just one Autumn Nations Series match on the Sunday, as Scotland hosted New Zealand. The All Blacks were looking to test some of their depth with a number of changes, but it was new first-choice hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho who drove his way over for he opener after just a couple of minutes. The visitors failed to take the restart though,and the Scots piled the pressure on, until Dalton Papali’i eventually forced a turnover. And just minutes later, a clever grubber out wide released Caden Clarke down the wing, and while the Scottish defence managed to stop him, Jordie Barrett then took advantage of the recovering defence to kick to the corner, where ark Telea dotted down just 6 minutes into his debut. A clever piece of play released Stuart Hogg through the middle and when the fullback kicked on to take advantage of Murrayfield’s deep in goals, he was taken out off the ball by Anton Lienert-Brown in-goal, resulting in a penalty try and a yellow card for the Chiefs centre. And things got better for the Scots just minutes later as the next kiwi attack saw David Havili pass straight into the hands of Darcy Graham, who outpaced Clarke and stepped around Jordie Barrett to score, with Finn Russell—back in the suad and straight back into the 10 shirt following Adam Hastings’ injury—converting to level the scores after 16 minutes. The momentum and belief was with the Scots, and when Hogg kicked into the corner and just failed to complete the tackle on Jordie Barrett on the touchline, he had bought just enough time for Hamish Watson to arrive and play the fullback into touch deep in the All Blacks 22, but as they looked to attack the line, captain Jamie Ritchie was penalised for rolling after the tackle. As Lienert-Brown prepared to return to the pitch, Sam Whitelock was lucky to escape being penalised for a no-arms tackle on Duhan van der Merwe and the 15 men in black were soon back on the attack, the Scottish defence had answers for them this time. As the game approached the half hour, a driving maul from the Scots entered the All Blacks 22 and drew in the defence, and when the ball was spread wide, Darcy Graham just ran out of space and put a foot in touch as he dived for the line. But the maul had drawn a penalty so the hosts had another chance, and a series of hard carries from the forwards drew another penalty beneath the posts, which Russell kicked for the lead. The All Blacks were going through the gears as they looked to get back on top, but the Scottish defence held firm and forced an error from Finlay Christie in the corner, and the pack then won the penalty at the crum to allow them to clean their lines. There was just time for one more Scottish attack before the break, and when Duhan van der Merwe as stopped just short in the corner, the forwards took over with a series of pick and go carries, only to be pinged for sealing off, allowing the All Blacks to kick to touch for a 17-14 halftime score.

An offside penalty against Lienert-Brown allowed Russell to add another 3 points to the scoreline just minutes into the second half. Scotland were looking dangerous every time they entered the kiwis’ 22, but too often failed to convert, and when Stuart Hogg was stopped inches short after a break to the corner, a penalty again allowed the All Blacks to clear their lines. The All Blacks continued to look rattled and the Murrayfield crowd felt like it was beginning to believe, and when the hosts won a scrum penalty in the middle of the field, Russell called for the tee and extended the lead to 9 points. A big turnover at the maul from replacement hooker Codie Taylor gave the All Blacks a scrum in the home 22, and after the pack earned a penalty advantage, Beauden Barrett tried a cross-kick into the corner for Caleb Clarke but overhit it, leaving brother Jordie to kick the 3 points. This appeared to spur on the visitors, who took advantage of a dropped high ball from Hogg to attack into the 22, and when Jack Dempsey was adjudged to have deliberately knocked on as appearing to go for a tackle, the former Wallaby was sent to the bin, and after choosing a scrum to draw in the Scottish pack, it took just a couple of phases before Scott Barrett forced his way over, with Jordie adding the extras to put the visitors back ahead. It looked like the 14 men would just manage to hold out through the rest of the sin bin period, but as the 10 minutes came to an end, they just ran out of numbers on the blind side, allowing Mark Telea to go over in the corner with just 5 minutes left, with Barrett’s touchline conversion making it a two-score game with just minutes remaining. Of course if any team could still snatch victory, it would be one with Finn Russell at 10, and the fly half sent a lovely chip over the head of Caleb Clarke to Darcy Graham, who kicked on and was tripped as he chased, an offence the officials chose to ignore, and the All Blacks saw out the final minutes to secure a 23-31 victory that will leave the hosts wondering what might have been.

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Van the man

When you have a player like Duhan van der Merwe in your squad, you want him on the ball as often as possible. Today, Scotland really got his usage right.

The gargantuan wing was being fed the ball as often as possible, and rather than staying on his wing, he looked to bring the ball infield. While it would put him against more physical players, this was clever usage of him, as it meant that the All Blacks couldn’t just push him into touch for an easy turnover, but it also meant that he was drawing in defenders into the middle of the pitch, creating space out wide for Finn Russell to exploit, effectively using him as an extra forward to establish a physical dominance.

And this is how a unit like him should be used: helping to create the physical dominance infield to create space for others, while still having some strike plays to utilise his pace in wider positions where he can then run over smaller wings. The gameplan showed its effectiveness today against the All Blacks, now they need to keep at this, and look how to build off this to further take advantage of the situation.

Shaky

This was an odd performance from the All Blacks. When they came flying out of the blocks to lead 0-14 after just 8 minutes, I thought that it was going to be a long day for Scotland, but the immediate comeback from the hosts and the manner of it appeared to stun the All Blacks.

It was asif the reminder of their vulnerability left them scared, and while they still frequently made ground in attack, there was not the composure that we are used to, while the spaces weren’t opened sufficiently for them to convert any chances (truly only half-chances if we’re honest) that they were creating. In the end, they had just enough late on as the replacements made a difference, but they must also be thankful that Scotland wasted so many opportunities on the New Zealand try line.

So what happened here? Yes there were a number of changes from recent squads, but Telea aside they are all still highly experienced players who are used to this set-up. Did last week’s canter against Wales lull them into a false sense of security? Or is this just another example of New Zealand under Ian Foster being a shell of the team they used to be?

While they may have come away with the victory, this is just another reminder to the rest of the world that the All Blacks are very beatable right now.

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Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v Fiji

Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v Fiji

With the Test Window now open, Scotland’s Autumn Nations Series campaign continued at Murrayfield against Fiji. With Premiership players now available, the home team made a number of changes, and they found themselves temporarily a man up after just 80 seconds as Ratu Leone Rotuisolia was sent to the bin for not getting back 10 at a quick-tap penalty. With the man advantage, the home side looked to attack early, but Darcy Graham just ran out of room in the corner. Fiji may have managed to clear their lines but only to the edge of the 22, and the Scots’ pressure soon had them kicking a penalty to the corner, from which they mauled George Turner over for the opening try. A soft offside penalty gifted Fiji with an early chance at goal, but Setariki Tuicuvu pulled his kick wide. Back to 15 men, another penalty gave Fiji a lineout just outside the host’s 22, and after going through the phases, they got the ball wide to Tuicuvu, who was strong enough to stay infield espite Stuart Hogg’s tackle as he went over in the corner. Fiji had grown into the game—witht he help of Scottish indiscipline—and they went ahead early in the second quarter as Rotuisolia forced himself over from close range, while Stuart Hogg was also sent to the bin due to persistent offending from the hosts. With the man advantage, the visitors were on the attack again almost immediately, with Vinaya Habosi breaking down the left wing and only just being stopped by Adam Hastings, who escaped being penalised for a trip. The ill discipline continued from the Scots, who were forced to replace the injured George Turner with Ewan Ashman after half an hour, but a knock-on from Levani Botia at a ruck just short of the Scottish line allowed the hosts to clean their lines and get back to a full complement, while Fiji soon lost Kini Murimurivalu to injury, with Sireli Maqala coming on in his place. With just minutes left in the half, Darcy Graham was given a chance to score in the corner, only to fumble the ball as it reached him, however they had a scrum advantage between the posts, and when Adam Hastings wasn’t held by Kalaveti Ravouvou as the entire Fijian back line drifted too early, the Gloucester fly half went over for the try and kicked the conversion for a 14-12 lead at the break.

The Scots were forced to replace Hasting just minutes into the second half after he was rocked by a massive but legal hit from Rotuisolia, and the Scots were lucky not to concede just moments later a Levani Botia went over in the corner, only for the final pass to be called forward. And as Scotland got some possession and territory of their own, a wide pass from Chris Harris allowed Duhan van der Merwe to force his way over in the corner. Breaks from Graham and Richie Gray brought the Scots up to the line on their next attack of note, but Ewan Ashman was held up as he tried crashing over the line. Things got worse for Fiji just after the hour as Vinaya Habosi was sent to the bin for a swinging arm on Rory Sutherland. And with Fiji under heavy pressure, Scotland managed to earn a penalty beneath the posts with a dominant scrum and used the advantage to kick to the corner via Ben White, with Vilimoni Botitu just getting back to deny the ball reaching Darcy Graham. But the pressure continued and after Cam Redpath had a try disallowed for Jack Dempsey’s knock on at the back of the scrum, replacement prop Livai Natave was binned for a scrum offence just minutes after they returned to a full complement, and the next scrum saw Ben White scamper over unchallenged as he took advantage of wing Habosi filling in at flanker to avoid the scrum being pushed back over the line. As the game reached the final minute, a Scottish attack broke down, but Fiji’s counter was hampered illegally by Darcy Graham, who was sent to the bin, and though Scotland stole the lineout, they were turned over in their 22, only for Fiji to knock on with the clock in the red, denying them a late consolation as the game ended 28-12.

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Scotland

Adam Hastings will be desperately hoping that his Autumn Nations Series has not been brought to an early end, as his place in the Scotland squad is far from secured with a year until the World Cup. Go back a year or 2 and he was the clear back-up to Finn Russell, and a trusted starter in his own right. In the Six Nations, he found himself dropping behind Blair Kinghorn, while injury and playing in England left him unavailable for the Summer Tests and last week respectively. and in that Absence, Ross Thompson has now also come on the scene.

Today, his match was cut short following a massive hit from Rotuisolia, but even before that, he was not having things his own way. A couple of poor kicks ended promising opportunities, while even his try was more a matter of poor defence from the visitors than great play from Hastings.

Whether Russell is brought back into the squad or not, it is unlikely that Kinghorn doesn’t go to the World Cup due to his ability to also cover other positions. And with Stuart Hogg able to deputise at 10 in an emergency, Gregor Townsend may decide to only take 1 specialist 10 in the squad. Russell would be the obvious call, except that his relationship with Townsend looks strained (to put it lightly!). And if it comes down to Hastings v Thompson, while the former may have the greater experience, Thompson is playing and training with many of the squad on a weekly basis at club level.

As long as Russell remains out of the squad, the selection at 10 for Scotland will be one of the key points of interest.

Fiji

Fiji have pace. Fiji have power. Fiji have incredible handling skills. All of that will take you a long way in rugby. But what Fiji really missed was a fly half. With Ben Volavola left out as he struggles for minutes at club level, and Fijian Drua 10 Teti Tela arriving in camp late after passport troubles, the team were left giving Vilimoni Botitu a first Test start at 10.

And as great a player as he is, he is not a natural 10, and it cost Fiji. Their kicking gamewas limited, as they didn’t get much length on their penalties to touch, and many open play kicks were able to be countered by the Scots. Also without a recognised kicker, it led to them struggling off of the tee, reducing their ability to fully penalise the Scots for their ill discipline.

While there is an incredible strength in depth at some positions for Tier 2 teams, especially the Pacific Island nations, it’s noticeable how few fly halves are coming through, and those that are often choose to push for a Tier 1 nation instead. And fly half is arguably one of the most important positions in Test rugby. Until these teams can get a capable 10, it’s going to be very difficult to consistently pick up victories over the Tier 1 nations.

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Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v Australia

Autumn Nations Series 2022: Scotland v Australia

The Test window may not start until next weekend, but Scotland chose to kick off their Autumn Nations Series a week early with the visit of Australia. The Wallabies were welcoming back their talismanic openside Michael Hooper to the squad—though James Slipper retained the captaincy—and though the visitors appeared to have the upper hand early on, Scottish jackalling provided some crucial turnovers. However when a scrum penalty allowed the Scots to kick themselves up to just outside the Australian 22, they took advantage of their first real attacking opportunity, with some well-timed passes from Sione Tuipulotu and Blair Kinghorn unleashing fullback Ollie Smith to step 2 defenders to go over for the opening try. A Bernard Foley penalty quickly cut the deficit as he continued his return to Test rugby, but the Scottish defence and some poor control at the breakdown kept the attack in check, and when the Scots found themselves down the other end the should have made it 2tries from 2 attacks, only for Tuipulotu to fumble the wide pass with the corner at his mercy. However, a penalty gave the hosts another bite at the apple and they laid siege on the try line, only for early replacement Glen Young to find himself held up over the line. A trio of penalties in quick succession saw Scotland go from attacking the Australian 22 to defending a lineout 5m from their line, but the defence held strong and another great jackal allowed them to win back the ball and clear their lines. As the clock ticked down at the end of the first half, a failure to roll away from Dave Cherry allowed Foley to en the half with a kick at goal, which he successfully hit to put the Wallabies ahead 5-6 at the break.

The second half could not have started much better for Scotland: Foley saw the ball slip out of his hands as he tried to pass wide in a strike move, and Blair Kinghorn was able to hack it on and win the footrace to score his team’s second try, while also kicking the conversion to make it 12-6. As the visitors struggled with their discipline early in the half, the Scots were going to the corner with their penalties but failing to get the results they wanted as the Wallabies dealt with the driving maul, with Taniela Tupou winning 2 penalties in his first 10 minutes in the pitch to end 2 attacks. after a third 5m lineout maul was immediately stopped in the second half, Scotland chose to call for the tee with the next penalty and Blair Kinghorn added the 3 points to start pulling away on the scoreboard. The home team were taking over the game, and when Duhan van der Merwe beat Andrew Kellaway to Ali Price’s box kick, he broke down the wing and was stopped just short by Bernard Foley and Tate McDermott, who was then the victim of a dangerous clear-out by Glen Young, who was sent to the sin bin, with referee Luke Pearce judging that the contact being made by his bicep reduced the danger compared to contact with the shoulder. With the extra man for 10 minutes, Australia started looking for gaps and found a dangerous grubber into the in-goal well covered by van der Merwe, but the extra man and increased speed of ball with the arrival of Nic White soon made a difference as they forced an overlap to send skipper Slipper over just after the hour. An error from Tom Banks trying to take a Blair Kinghorn kick above his head in the swirling winds of Murrayfield gifted the hosts a lineout in the 22, however after setting a platform, the wide ball to captain Jamie Ritchie was just a little too high for the flanker, who was probably left wishing that he had hugged the touchline rather than coming some distance infield. Meanwhile just minutes later, an awful penalty kick to the corner from Foley was let off as van der Merwe and Smith failed to communicate and allowed the ball to bounce in between them and into touch, while a penalty off the resulting phase allowed Foley to kick the Wallabies into a 15-16 lead with 9 minutes remaining. With just 2 minutes left in the game, Tupou was penalised for not supporting his weight at the breakdown and Blair Kinghorn stepped up to kick the Scots into what should have been a late lead, only for him to pull the ball left of the posts, and with the clock in the red, the Wallabies made sure that their restart bounced into touch to secure a 15-16 victory.

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rugby crest australia wallabies

Making it worse

Except for the try when down a man, Scotland’s defence looked like it had answers for the questions that Australia were posing, while the jackals were a constant menace for the Wallabies. However, Scotland were never able to truly pull away on the scoreboard, and eventually paid the price.

While part of this was down to costly handling errors and an insistence on continuing to kick to the corner (when the opposition was dealing with the 5m lineouts) rather than slowly build up a lead 3 points at a time, the manner of Scottish indiscipline is what really killed them.

Not only did Scotland concede more penalties, but the would also give them away in burst of 2 or 3. What this meant is that almost every time they gave away a penalty, they were then compounding the issue with more penalties, allowing the visitors to first clear their lines, then find an attacking position, then either kick for goal or go for the corner to put heavy pressure on the defence. As good as their defence is, if they keep allowing the opposition to get possession and territory, it is just gifting the opposition the game.

What will be even more disappointing is how many penalties were soft or stupid. Multiple times they were penalised for putting too much pressure on the Wallabies lineout, there was a lazy tackle off the ball by Pierre Schoeman, who had earlier been penalised for jumping into a tackle, and while Grant Gilchrist’s knock on meant that Glen Young’s illegal cleanout did not cost a try, it still allowed the Wallabies to clear their lines with no pressure, rather than having to win the scrum and set up a clearing kick, which would have likely given Scotland the ball around the edge of the 22.

Scotland’s defence should just theoretically get better with the return of Chris Harris next week. But until the team sorts out its discipline, much of this defending will be in vain.

The race for number 10

With a World Cup just a year away, the lack of a clear starter at 10 must be a real worry for the Wallabies. Quade Cooper looked in position to take that role, but injury has left him unavailable at a crucial time. In his absence, Noah Lolesio looked to be the obvious choice, but has struggled to keep hold of the shirt in recent years and has recently found himself playing backup to Bernard Foley.

And that in itself is a worry to me. Foley can be a great talent who can win games—just look at the victory over England at RWC2015—but he also has a long list of questionable performances in the gold shirt. Even tonight, he struggled to create anything of note, while a couple of kicks were horribly mis-hit (though he got away with one thanks to a Scottish mistake) and a handling error during a strike play led to Kinghorn’s try.

At 33, it’s likely that the World Cup will see the end of Foley’s career, and it feels like a match against Scotland would have been the right chance to increase Lolesio’sexperience as a Test starter, especially as he has generally performed well in recent outings for the Wallabies. With 4 games still to come on the tour, Dave Rennie has a big call to make. Does he stick with Foley as the starter, which will likely see Lolesio on the bubble for the World Cup squad (if Cooper is fit) and delay his development? Or does he try to give them both roughly equal playing time, which in turn reduces the time that players can gel as a combination. The selection against France next week will be telling…

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