Six Nations: Greig Laidlaw enjoying life under coach SCott Johnson

By DAVID FERGUSON
Published on 21/02/2013 00:00

FEW probably buy into the thinking of interim Scotland head coach Scott Johnson more acutely than Borderer Greig Laidlaw and there was a particular relish yesterday when the scrum-half spoke about why there was a new belief in the Scottish camp.

After years under Andy Robinson of a commonly held belief that the team was progressing and just a win away from turning a corner, now that a first Six Nations victory has been uncovered in nearly two years, Laidlaw was quick to state that players realise that they were, to a 
degree, kidding themselves.

He was talking of Johnson’s approach, the focus on small things, basics, and a recognition that the new man has made effective changes to Robinson’s focus. So was a change of coach more necessary than players ­realised?

“Maybe, ultimately,” Laidlaw said. “I’m just a player, so I just get on with my job but the key message from me is we needed to change and the players have realised that now and, hopefully, that will give us the results going forward.

“You have to keep changing. We spoke as a squad, and said we’ve not had the results so let’s change because, if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep come up with the same results. So we’ve changed a few things this week in training and, hopefully, that will help give 
us the back-to-back wins we so desperately want.”

But what of Johnson’s influence? “Scott has made no secret of the fact it’s about the dirty work a lot of times, the breakdown and tackle contests.

“The Italian win was built on the back of good defence. We never had loads of the ball, but, when we did, we squeezed them. A lot of little things go a long way. It’s a tough place to be when you keep losing and the pressure is piling on and he pulls it back to simple things: ‘Do this boys, and we’ll give ourselves every chance of winning Test matches.’

“He’s absolutely right about the basic skills and he keeps hammering on about it, and if we stay on that script we’ll give ourselves the best chance of 
winning games.

“But I’ve said all along he strikes a good balance. The good thing about him is you know exactly where you stand. He has 
always said if there’s a knife coming, you’ll see it – he doesn’t stab you in the back.

“Off the pitch he enjoys banter and keeps you on your toes. He’s laid back and doesn’t let the scoreboard rule his life when he’s away from rugby. A lot of players can learn from that.”

So, have there been knives flying? “He has kept them in his cupboard so far,” said Laidlaw, with a rueful grin, “and, hopefully, they’ll remain there if we get a good performance this weekend.

“This is an open championship, and everyone wants to win it. We’re looking forward to playing at Murrayfield and if 
we win the game we’ll be in a reasonable position in terms of the championship.”