David Ferguson: Infuriating lack of tries still proving Scotland’s curse
Dan Parks (centre) could be replaced for the Wales game. Picture: Ian Rutherford
THERE is no escaping the tide of déjà vu that engulfed Scottish rugby at the weekend, but it is of no use to the sport, the players nor coaches to submit to it.
There has to be improvement and, more precisely, tries when Scotland take on Wales in Cardiff if the game is to retain the optimism generated by the new SRU leadership, and Edinburgh’s Heineken Cup and Glasgow’s league drives are to signal a corner turned. Otherwise, with France to come to Murrayfield and then Ireland away Andy Robinson’s side could be heading to Italy for another wooden spoon decider and the peg holding his coat wobbling.
So, after four tryless games in a row, where do Scottish five-pointers come from? Tactics and coaching help to hide weaknesses and improve strengths, but it cannot produce something that is not there. Players, ultimately, fashion tries, through rugby intelligence and skills.
Robinson did not shirk the question, but could state only that the coaches took responsibility for the blunt nature of Scotland’s attack and the answer was simply more hard work on the training field. Really? Does it not lie in the area he deftly avoided mentioning – the players?
Robinson, Gregor Townsend, the attack coach, and Graham Steadman, a defence coach with many ideas on attack, have worked with the players closely over the past 32 months, sharpened angles of running, and improved passing skills, the ability to threaten and off-load.
They have also worked with the pro team coaches and players through the club season, and the fact that Glasgow, Edinburgh and Scotland are now consistently breaking defences shows a wider improvement. It is better to watch than the stultifying rugby before Robinson took over, but still adds up to little at Test level.
Coaches come and go, dependent on the levels of SRU or public frustration, but it does not alter much. From 2000-2003, McGeechan worked to overcome the lack of finishers by altering tactics to target specific weaknesses in opposition. His best moment came with a diamond formation attack, a strength-in-numbers approach, ensuring the ball-carrier had options left, right and directly behind. It produced four tries against Ireland in 2001 and helped move Warren Gatland towards the Dublin exit door.
They also scored four against Italy in 2003 but never since in a Six Nations match - in four of the last eight championships they have not scored more than that in total - and since McGeechan’s sides scored 30 tries in four championships it has only become harder. Williams claimed 12 in two championships, Hadden 19 in four, and Robinson so far has nine in 11 games.
The try rate is dropping and it comes back to the skills of players. One watched Wales pip Ireland in Dublin yesterday with interest. Unsurprisingly, Tommy Bowe and George North notched tries. Bowe scored 34 times for Ulster and so far has 31 tries at the Ospreys, while North has five in his first 22 Scarlets games and now ten in 17 Wales Tests. The recently-retired Shane Williams scored over 80 at club level, 59 for Wales and two for the British and Irish Lions.
England’s Chris Ashton was prolific in Rugby League, and has 88 so far with Northampton and 15 from 19 England Tests, while full-back Ben Foden has over 30 in his career. They have innate skills, but are used to scoring and know how at the top level.
By contrast, Scotland are trying to make a finisher out of the creative Max Evans, who has scored six at Glasgow, three for Scotland and is waiting for his first at Castres. Scotland’s most prolific club scorer, Sean Lamont - with 45 in his club career and eight in 60 Tests – has moved to inside centre. Full-back Rory Lamont has 29 at club level and six for country in seven years and Lee Jones only made his debut at the weekend.
Why are Edinburgh scoring more often? Tim Visser, mainly. He has notched 34 league tries since he pitched up in Edinburgh in 2010, while Jones is following suit, and is just one behind Visser’s four in the Heineken Cup this season. Visser qualifies for Scotland in June, but Robinson cannot afford to wait, hope and pray through a third championship in a row.
His finishing problem does not lie with Dan Parks, though he is not the attacking style of stand-off either to make the most of opportunities in the last third of the field. Greig Laidlaw came off the bench and came closest to scoring for Scotland – other TMOs might have given the try – and so he deserves the chance to lead the team in Cardiff next Sunday.
When Parks is on top form he has great value, but he has not been on form at Cardiff lately and was unable to pick it up on Saturday. The Welsh capital, against players who know him well, is not the place to try to recapture his form.
Chris Cusiter did much that was good on Saturday, but struggled at other times, and with Mike Blair having developed a good relationship with Laidlaw at Edinburgh, and offering a half-back pairing that can inter-change, Blair must in line to return to the No 9 jersey.
Robinson will be looking seriously at promoting one of the Scotland ‘A’ stars. Duncan Weir played well if still behind Laidlaw in his ability to run a game, but the time may be right to promote Stuart Hogg, who underlined his quality with a stunning try against the Saxons.
He is a scorer, albeit not prolific having played much of his club and pro career at stand-off and full-back, and a threat that can shake up the Scottish back line, and worry the Welsh. He is only 19 and, like Laidlaw at stand-off, remains a work in progress, but both have proven themselves ready.
Nick de Luca is nursing a dead leg from the weekend, as are Dave Denton, Richie Gray and Al Kellock, and if De Luca fails to make it Hogg could slip into the centre. Another possibility is shifting De Luca to 12 and giving Hogg the 13 jersey, or star Hogg at full-back? It is a gamble, obviously, and would mean a tough baptism for the teenager inevitably, but Scotland need attacking quality and Hog possesses that.
Up front the pack is strong and with Geoff Cross already replacing the unavailable Euan Murray no-else deserves to be dropped. Faith has to be shown in the efforts of the team to make Scotland more competitive and dangerous in the past two years, but action also has to be taken on the abject failure to turn into tries good scoring opportunities against Argentina, England and England again, on top of Wales, Ireland and England last year. All of those games were eminently winnable, most with just one Scottish try. A team relies on many things to succeed, and cannot with finishers alone. It requires the great, tireless grafters that probably all in this squad have proven themselves to be, and it feeds off creators many have shown themselves to be, but none have been able to take on the mantle of consistent, quality finishing with the pressure at Test pitch.
It is not only public confidence that is finely balanced after Saturday’s drab affair. The longer the drought goes on the more it will affect belief throughout the squad. Nothing comes with a guarantee in sport, but shake it up in the search for tries and the confidence it injects into the squad could be the final ingredient that Robinson needs to make Scotland a genuine title contender.
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Comments
There are 48 comments to this article
Page 1 of 4
The Lord
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:34 PMComment removed by moderator
Dissillusioned Supporter!
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 09:07 PMLaidlaw did score too. There is a Getty images photo (google it) showing hand touching ball on ground. The video side replay is a tad dubious, but the behind posts video shows the ball momentum stop as his hand clearly reaches down below Youngs to touch the ball. At least the revert to the penalty should've happened. If Clancy did say over as he chipped, that is scandalous reffing. You see multiple phases, kick troughs, drop goal attempts always brought back for a pen advantage. Shocking. If we got either try or pen, I've a feeling the pressure would've calmed and we could well have scored more (tries).
Dissillusioned Supporter!
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:59 PMRobinson has to put his ego to the side, this is about Scotland, nothing else. So, get Bradley on board, TODAY. Select the in-form players: BlairLawson, Laidlaw, Scott, Hogg, Wrir on bench. Let's go for it, the panic to scrape a win should be gone now. Most won't care about a loss in Wales if we just make a start to a new era. Look st England's tour of hell to Australia, the same young players went on to win a world cup. Time is up for Parks, he did his best, but you can't blame him for being selected, when he is both limited and off-form anyway!! Robinson to go though if he doesn't make the correct choices..
Aubrey Wilson
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:03 PMWales will suffer from several key injuries. Scotland need to make the most of it. This is their chance.
On the brink
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:27 PMThing is #41 we are in the classic catch 22 situation then aren't we? We must bring young players in at some point - Wales have done it and it has worked brilliantly....agreed they were not in the duldrums like us and it was forced through injury BUT I would argue that the 6N is already finished for us and so therefore the pressure to some extent is off - let the A team youngsters of Scott, Weir and Hogg have a go - Robinson would gain a lot more respect for biting the bullet. Things will not change with the current personnel - they have had there chance time and time again and not delivered. Trouble is you know I can almost write the team sheet now - the only change maybe Parks - but I bet that will be the only amend and I'm sorry, good as Laidlaw is - he will not manage anything with Lamont at 12. Finally, like everyone on this site - I am sooooo angry at the selections we have had to endure - if it so obvious to us - why oh why is it not obvious to the backroom staff of AR et al? Confidence fading rapidly in them. I had (like every year) such high hopes this year - dashed yet again!!
SeniorandSenior
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:17 PMStart with Laidlaw on Sunday. Maybe move Sean Lamont to the wing, where he can be good value. I suppose you would have to bring in Matt Scott unless you went for Morrison, but any other youngsters, even Stuart Hogg, should start from the bench if they're involved
SeniorandSenior
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:13 PMWhat happened to Rob Dewey? That's got to go down as one of the biggest wastes of talent ever.
SeniorandSenior
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 06:08 PMYou cannot throw young players into a losing team for a high profile game and heap expectation on them. Everyone who thinks you can should think of the 20067 Magners League top try scorer, dead cert for 50 caps and dead cert for the 2009 Lions Rob Dewey who went on from there to the heights of the Ulster and Glasgow Warriors benches.
SeniorandSenior
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 05:46 PMHindsight is always 20:20, but I don't think Andy Robinson had much choice but to pick Dan Parks when Ruaridh Jackson pulled out. Starting an inexperienced 10 in such a high profile, high pressure game runs the risk of ruining them. you can't compare our selection with England's - they had no pressure and a shed load of injuries so nothing to lose by picking youngsters and they still went for a core of guys from Saracens and Harlequins who had won at every level beneath international. You can't compare us to Wales either - they have brought youngsters into a winning national side from winning regional sides, and they've picked them in friendlies etc. to begin with, not the highest profile game of the season. If Andy Robinson did one thing wrong it is that he put too much pressure on himself and the team to deliver before the game. He did the same thing when he was England coach - pressure on himself and pressure on his team, then he started messing his selections every game and it cost him his job. I hope this isn't a portent. He's a good coach, I hope he doesn't walk or get sacked, who would replace him? We won;t go anywhere sacking our coach every 2 years.
alan.montgomery@ntlworld.com
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 05:14 PM33 for avoidance of doubt I`m not advocating Morrison at centre but we will have to front up at 13 and 14 V Wales ie v Davies and North that means without doubt no De luca Maybe Sean Lamont has to go to 14 V North but if we play Hogg at 13 V Davies that is a big ask for him physically having seen him V Leinster Repeat we need a comitted quick distributor at 9 ie Lawson with Laidlaw at 10 and Weir on the bench. We could go with both Lamonts at 13 and 14 and Hogg at 15 With Evans on the other wing that leaves 12 Can Scott hack it as a debut in Cardiff -I don`t know but I do know we need to move Cusiter Parks and De Luca out NOW We then have the alternative to bring Weir on and move Laidlaw to 9 if required AR simply must change the midfield or his credibility is shot.
GTM
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 04:44 PMI'd love to see somebody come in to help us with our back play, but not going to happen surely. AR would just admitting that he has run out of ideas. Without major surgery in the back division the Welsh will run riot on Sunday. If we were an NFL team Townsend as "offensive co-ordinator" would have been dismissed. What influence does he have with AR when it comes to picking side?
Venachar
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 04:15 PMEdinburgh played exactly what they were at the start of the season ie a bunch of strangers. Michael Bradley has had them improve for the most part to where as a season ticket holder I booked my tickets today for the HC quarter final. Perhaps Andy Robinson should give Michael Bradley the same opportunity that he had in coming in as an assistant coach in the Scotland set up. Am I the only one who is beginning to see selection "stuborness" as ego. R Lamont, Cusiter and Parks were hardly the form players of recent months. Stick to what you said you would do ie pick on form and then armchair punters have less to complain about.
salad cream or mayo?
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 04:08 PMIf we p[lay the young boys now and take a few huimpings so be it. At least we'll then be able to see who has the right mentality for the big time. How I long for a player who carries the ball in one hand, doesn't run straight and has a bit of cockiness about him. I want to see outrageous dummies and a bit of invention, not safety first narrow defeats. Get them in and let's see what they can do. Can't be any worse than the old guard.
ronburgendy
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 03:52 PM#34 - I agree that we need to show we are moving in the right direction and that's all we really want as Scotland fans. However as proved by his selection in the England match Robinson himself feels he just wants to win. He'd easily take a narrow win with 5 kicks from Parks than a defeat with us moving forward, playing exciting and expansive rugby and scoring a few tries. I made a comment in a previous article that narrow wins in 2006 and 2008 and the draw in 2010 through drop goals and penalties has done nothing for the team and I would be feeling the same way if we had scraped a 15-13 win on Saturday there. The most annoying thing is that we all know we have the players capable of doing it. We see it every week for Glasgow and Edinburgh and I for one am completely fed up of having the likes of Davies, Guscott, Dean Ryan etc saying we have no talent behind the scrum. I watched a clip on Scum V on BBC Wales and they had a very brief discussion about the Scotland team. Their pundit Gwyn Jones (former Wales captain) claimed we only had 2 decent players in Gray and Barclay, our scrum halves were completely overrated and we were impotent in the backs. Until we take a chance, start with the young, in-form players and score some tries this way of thinking by our southern neighbours will continue.
salad cream or mayo?
Monday, February 6, 2012 at 03:39 PM33 Ron, Robinson doesn't need a awin on Saturday. He needs to show we are moving in the right direction. Playing Parks to scrape a 15 - 13 win will do nothing for us. Give these guys a go before it is too late. Remember a promising 10 called Chris Paterson? We don't want the same thing to happen to Weir and Laidlaw.
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