Scotland v Italy: How they line up in Pretoria

SCOTLAND’s interim head coach Scott Johnson has stuck by impressive newcomers and restored experienced campaigners in another new-look squad that he believes has the ability to finish the Castle Lager Test Series with victory over Italy – if they stop getting carried away with themselves.

Greig Laidlaw (capt) will play number 9. Picture: SNS

Six new caps were handed out to players who featured in the first match against Samoa, which ended in a deflating 27-17 defeat in Durban. Three more were rewarded for a far more vibrant performance against South Africa in Nelspruit last week, but which still ended in a loss.

One changes this week sees Tom Heathcote return at stand-off for the injured Ruaridh Jackson for his third cap, and second start, his first having come against the Samoans.

Alastair Kellock replaces Jim Hamilton, back in England for the birth of his child, and David Denton is in the back row for the injured Ryan Wilson.

That means a shift for Alasdair Strokosch to the openside flank, while the second row reunites Glasgow duo Kellock and Tim Swinson, one of the stars against the Boks. Greig Laidlaw retains the captaincy.

There remains a callow look to the back division, where Sean Lamont, with 78, possess nearly double the number of caps (40) of the other six combined.

But, for Johnson, team selection is almost immaterial to the mantra of this three-week South Africa tour – that Scotland could be on the verge of a new era of consistency if the players start to grasp the difference between the good and bad performances and act on them.

This match, therefore, could not be a better test. Italy have frequently been the nation to pull Scotland into the mire after fine displays. A team under-estimated by Scottish players too often, and, while many insist that not to be the case, the way performances have fallen off suggest otherwise.

So, how important is finishing the tour with a win?

“I’m a coach trying to get a mindset here and, if we chase the win first, we’ll struggle. We need to get the performance and this team will grow when we understand that,” said Johnson.

“When we can say right through the country that Scotland is good at this and this, then we’ll have a good rugby team and we’ll win more than we lose. It’s about doing what you do well. There are things you can’t control. I can’t control the scoreboard, I can’t control the referee and I can’t control an opposition. What we can control is what we do and my mantra is ‘do what we do well’ and, on the back of that, we’ll get good performances. On the back of that, we’ll get wins more and more

“But it’s acknowledging what you’re needing to do. Stop trying to be something you’re not. I don’t want that. I’ve stuffed up in the past with that. I’ve got to know the society and the lads here, and it’s acknowledging what you are.

“It’s really simple. Part of the game that we’ve gone away from a little bit is the skill-set I think that is innate with us [Scottish players], and which will make us a good rugby team and competitive at all levels across the board. But we get caught up trying to be something we’re not.”

Pushed to be more specific than the sort of general rhetoric heard from many coaches, Johnson explained in more detail what he meant, and he pointed to the usual clamour for slicker attack and more tries.

“Defence creates more tries than attack and the kick-chase has more bearing on tries but we don’t talk about defence and take great pride from it. We’re not saying we’re a great defending team, when we could be the best in the world. Is that a wrong thing to say? Everyone keeps talking about ‘we’ve not scored a try, we’re not doing this or that’. But tries come off the back of other stuff. We score tries off the back of really good defence, off great contact work, because that’s disruptive, but we don’t talk about that and don’t take pride in that. I want us to build a reputation for that.”

Johnson was at pains to praise Euan Murray, the tighthead prop having emerged from a period moving between clubs and missing Tests due to his religious beliefs, to become a quiet, but powerful cornerstone of the team.

Swinson’s emergence was picked out as an example of the tour benefits, while, similarly, Tommy Seymour and Peter Murchie hit the ground running on their Test debuts. And Fraser Brown is now only a day away from becoming the tenth new Scotland cap on tour, having made the step from Heriot’s to Glasgow only last month and now impressed in Scotland training to the extent that he overtakes fit-again Stevie Lawrie.