Six Nations: Where the 2012 Calcutta Cup was won and lost

Published on Sunday 5 February 2012 00:45

Iain Morrison assesses the areas in which Scotland lost - and England won - the Calcutta Cup

1. The obvious answer

IT’S easy to point the finger at Dan Parks and sure enough the stand-off did not have a brilliant game. He kicked too much ball aimlessly downfield, inviting Ben Foden to counter attack and then, just as Scotland were tightening their grip on proceedings, his charged down clearance kick turned the tide in England’s favour. Parks has a distinctive low, sideways kicking style that invites the chargedown and Charlie Hodgson was alert to the situation. Had it happened anywhere else on the field it might not have mattered but five yards from his own try line and on a day when tries were at a premium it was always going to be a costly mistake. Just because it is the obvious answer doesn’t make it the wrong one.

2. The English defence

WHILE all the focus in Scotland will narrow in on their team’s inability to score tries (sorry, to score a try) credit must go to the English defence that threw bodies at feet and kept good line speed throughout this game so that, even at the death, Al Kellock was still pressured into conceding a penalty at the breakdown allowing Owen Farrell to ensure that England, at worst, would come away with a draw.

Chris Robshaw led the effort but Brad Barritt put in some hits and, although he was targeted remorselessly, Hodgson stood up well to the Scottish runners.

3. Mistakes

WHEN you don’t have Brian O’Driscoll in the backline to conjure up a little moment of individual magic then you rely upon consistent pressure eventually causing a mistake in the opposition line but all too often the Scots’ handling let them down. Every time someone in a blue shirt knocked on, and it happened a lot in that second half, it raises the siege, gives the defence a breather and a chance to realign and reasses the danger in front of them. All too often the Scots got themselves into a promising situation but, typical of a team that has found tries hard to come by, they lacked patience in the England red zone and all too often they gave the visitors an easy “out”.

4. Chris Cusiter

THE scrum-half is the kind of wholehearted nine that you’d want on your side, his tenacity won one penalty from Chris Ashton in the first half, but his core skills have never been the best and yesterday his service could be timed with a sundial. It was also a little erratic, with passes going above head height and some around the ankles, which matters when the backline need every split second they can get if they are to find a way through or around a well-organised defence. If Andy Robinson and Gregor Townsend call upon Greig Laidlaw or Duncan Weir to start at stand-off against Wales next Sunday then they will probably partner him with a scrum-half who boasts a slicker service than Cusiter.

5. Finishing

TWO years ago in Cardiff, Sean Lamont delayed his pass to Kelly Brown by a split second and the flanker had nosed in front of him and the ball was called forward. Had it stood that try would surely have ended Welsh resistance there and then. In similar fashion Ross Rennie, one of the stand-out players on the field, made a clean break in England’s half of the field with the final quarter well under way. He had Laidlaw and Blair in support on his left and only fullback Ben Foden to beat. The Englishman did well to attack the player because once Blair was past him there would have been no stopping the scrum-half. Like Lamont the flanker delayed his pass by a nanosecond and Foden’s interfering hand, which could have been called a professional foul by another referee, was only given as a knock-on by George Clancy. At the time Scotland were trailing by four points and a try under the sticks would have put them in the driving seat with the clock working for, rather than against them.

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Lola sport

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:59 AM

Iain at last an article i entirely agree with, we are all entitled to our opinion and yours is getting better well done. Keep reading comments and be harsher when people who have been given their chance fail time and time again and as you spot please include the ref.

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