Richard Bath: Ruthless Robinson hunts down Pumas in style

Published on Saturday 12 June 2010 23:33

IN LITTLE over a year, these two sides are going to be meeting on the other side of the world in a one-off World Cup pool match which gives real context to this two-Test series in Argentina. When it comes to winning, Scotland coach Andy Robinson is a single issue obsessive, and yesterday in one of the most impressive performances of recent years by a Scotland side, he surely learnt the secret of how to kill off that most tenacious of all animals, the Pumas.

Strangely, very little of what he would have gleaned from yesterday's game concerned the Pumas. Their brand of unchanging Route One rugby based around their big men bish-bash-boshing their way up the middle of the park was exactly the same cussed and outrageously physical style of play that saw them outmuscle Scotland 9-6 at Murrayfield in the autumn.

No, what Robinson learnt yesterday was that his own side has the capacity to be far more than an outfit built around the set-piece in general and the lineout in particular, that they can put sides to the sword rather than rely on winning enough penalties to let Chris Paterson's boot doing their talking. Throwing the ball to the wings, Scotland looked like a side which has the ability – and, more importantly, the appetite – to play the sort of wide game that will bring the tries that consistently win games. This was a high tempo approach with quick passes from players standing right up on the gainline, with centres looking to run into space and offload at every opportunity.

By and large, it worked. The dangers of Scotland's positive credo were apparent from the first whistle, not least in the third minute when Gonzalo Tiesi went over for a try that came directly from a knock-on in contact when Max Evans ran into space and found himself isolated. There were others, too, most notably when Contepomi picked off a forced pass and would have gone over for a try but for a fantastic tap-tackle by Nick De Luca.

Yet one of Robinson's great talents is that he has managed to inject a sense of self-belief and composure into a side who now know exactly what they are supposed to be doing. The way they stuck to their guns rather than retreated into a safety-first comfort zone was one of the single most impressive aspects of this Scotland performance.

No-one exemplified that better than a trio of backs in De Luca, Rory Lawson and Dan Parks. The centre and stand-off have struggled with form in the past to the point where confidence is inevitably an issue, while Lawson has had so few opportunities to stake a claim for the scrum-half berth that few would blame him if he tried too hard to impress. Instead, even when things went awry, all three were absolutely exemplary. De Luca, in particular, did enough to suggest that he may be in the process of forging his undoubted talent into a player of true test class. His incisive running in attack and his hard-hitting defence were out of the top drawer.

Two relatively easy penalty misses would not have helped Parks' confidence, yet he has never managed to consistently stand as flat as he did yesterday, and his passing consistently put men into space. He was surely helped by Lawson's virtually faultless choice of options. He may not have the pace of Mike Blair, but he demonstrated a sang froid under pressure that now makes the Gloucester player a genuine contender.

Yesterday was proof positive that Robinson has finally managed to imbue his charges with his burning desire to win and the discipline to follow orders with real conviction. Scotland defended with the sort of grit they displayed against Australia, and they played a wide game that nullified the Pumas' strengths at the breakdown while dragging the ageing Argentine pack around the park. They avoided the war of attrition which the home side always try to engineer and invariably win, and did so with an expertise that warmed the heart.

The result was one of the most impressive Scotland performances of recent years. It wasn't flashy, and you might miss the Youtube highlights if you blink, but for the purist this was a match in which Scotland exerted an almost unprecedented degree of control. In fact, had the forward passes in the opening try been spotted, had Leguizamon been adjudged not to have grounded for the second try, or had Parks kicked those two penalties in the first half, the margin of victory might have matched Scotland's dominance of this game.

Robinson's tenure as Scotland coach will reach the year-long mark shortly after the tourists return to Scotland. So far, they've been the nearly men, a bunch of players who have become increasingly competitive but have yet to become consistent winners. If there was a day when that changed, then perhaps this was it – a first ever win in Tucuman and only Scotland's third Test win over the Pumas in 11 times of asking.