Six Nations: Scotland 6-13 England: Scots undone by avoidable mistakes
Dan Parks frustrated the Scottish fans. Picture: Ian Rutherford
SAY what you like about him, but Dan Parks will have his say in any game he contests for good or evil – however, it was Beelzebub’s work he was doing yesterday as far as Scots fans in Murrayfield were concerned.
The veteran stand-off was picked ahead of Greig Laidlaw to do a specific task against England and at half-time he was well worth his wages. Thirty-one seconds into the second half he had made the short hop from hero to clown after one moment of madness. His low-slung clearance kick was charged down by Charlie Hodgson, who dabbed down the ball for the first and only try of the match to give his side a lead that they never relinquished.
It may be a New Year but the same old problems continue to haunt Andy Robinson’s team. Scotland grew as the game went on, they bossed the final ten minutes of the first half and dominated great swathes of the second. They made numerous line breaks but still they were unable to turn a single one of them into a try that would have given them something to take away from this match (and a few others beside). The last Scot to score five points against England at Murrayfield was Simon Danielli and that was way back 2004, which is ancient sporting history.
Whatever else he has done for Scottish rugby, Andy Robinson is no nearer to solving the try drought, although whether you point the finger at the players or coaches is a moot point.
The crowd could almost smell the Scots’ desperation as they went in search of that elusive touchdown in a second half that they dominated.
No one questions Scotland’s commitment but their execution at the highest level let them down again. The dark blue shirts threw themselves at the English and threw the ball about like an end-of-season sevens, with every player lining up to take their turn on the charge, but still they couldn’t find a way to the try line although they did everything but. Richie Gray had a crowd-pleasing charge up the middle of the park but Alasdair Strokosch was unable to hold on to his offload when the English finally felled the big man. Lee Jones enjoyed a bright debut and the little winger scorched up the left flank before chipping ahead but Chris Ashton was equal to the challenge.
With 20 minutes to play Laidlaw got his chance to tug the attacking strings and he made a difference almost immediately. The playmaker chipped the rush defence and raced Ben Youngs to the bounce of the ball in the dead-ball area. The referee sent it ‘upstairs’ for a look by the television match official and, for what seemed like several aeons, the crowd half believed that their dreams had come true. But the Englishman always looked to have it covered, which is what the TMO adjudged.
Ross Rennie was outstanding all afternoon. The livewire flanker made a clean break up the middle of the park but delayed his pass to the supporting Mike Blair long enough for Ben Foden to get a hand into the mix and the best chance of the afternoon was gone. Sean Lamont then twisted and turned to within ten yards of the line. It was agonising to watch, so much possession, so much effort and so little reward in return. The febrile mood of the crowd reflected the mix of edge-of-the-seat excitement and growing, grinding frustration in equal measure.
In the end the only other points of the match came at the other end of the field. Al Kellock got himself isolated and Owen Farrell added his second penalty to give the final score a more comfortable look than it deserved.
Robinson is left reflecting on another unlucky loss, although he can take heart in the performance of the Scottish back row, who stood out on an afternoon when that was difficult to do. David Denton and Rennie almost seemed to take it turn about to carry the ball into the heart of the white wall of England. The No.8 looks the real deal, an imposing combination of speed and power, who obviously surprised the visitors on his first start. The big Zimbabwean-born forward enjoyed several great runs and he threw in a try-saving tackle on David Strettle after the winger had plucked Hodgson’s cross kick out of the air. It was probably England’s only try-scoring opportunity...bar one. On a day dominated by a mistake it was only appropriate that the other points also came from errors. Farrell opened the scoring when Rory Lamont failed to hold a high ball that bounced kindly for Strettle. The English wing was scragged before too much damage was done but a Scots hand was spotted in the ensuing ruck and Farrell made no mistake with his second kick at goal.
Parks got one back when England skipper Chris Robshaw was pinged for the very same reason and then the set scrum got the nudge on England and Chris Cusiter caught his namesake Ashton in possession ten yards from his own tryline, with the England winger choosing to cling on to the ball and concede the three rather than risk the five. The net result of these penalties was a narrow 6-3 advantage to the home team that was nullified by Parks’ unfortunate contribution just 31 seconds into the second half. It may have been his final act in a Scotland shirt.
• Hooker Ross Ford, following his first Test as captain, summed up the mood in the dressing room after the dismal defeat to England at Murrayfield.
He said: “We’ve been here before. We’ve created chances, we’ve just not taken them. In the latter stages we kept playing and got ourselves into good positions. We just didn’t convert that pressure.
“We said in the changing room it’s not what we do, it’s the execution of what we do.”
BBC pundit Jonathan Davies slated Scotland. The former stand-off said: “I think Scotland in the opposition 22 are dreadful.”
The Scots won the ball 33 times in the England 22 without scoring a try and Davies added: “I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but they are professional players and there is just no alignment there.”
Email to a friend
Print this page- Scottish independence: I don’t want ‘separatism’ says Sir Tom Farmer
- Craig Levein insists Scotland will recover from US thrashing
- Rangers administration: End game nears for fallen icon
- USA 5 - 1 Scotland: Donovan grabs hattrick as Scots routed in Florida
- Vatican poised to make more arrests in papal leaks scandal
- Scottish independence: I don’t want ‘separatism’ says Sir Tom Farmer
- Scottish independence: Labour voters ‘will deliver independence’
- Rangers administration: End game nears for fallen icon
- Leaders: Blurred vision on independence
- Rangers administration: Duff & Phelps ‘hopeful’ that Taxman will agree to CVA
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Edinburgh
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Comments
There are 117 comments to this article
Page 1 of 8
Dissillusioned Supporter!
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 11:57 PMHere's a thought - get Bradley involved.. and now, as in Monday, straight away, no messing about! He doesn't have to leave Edin or replace Townsend (yet), but for the goodness of Scottish rugby, get him involved in the full team. Allied to the correct, form players, the tries will hopefully come!
jerrymanders
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 11:12 PM#86 What planet are you from? "A player does not need to be holding the ball to ground it. If the ball is on the ground or just above it, it can be touched to the ground with a hand, arm or front torso. Grounding of the ball can be instantaneous, it does not matter if the player immediately lets go and the ball then bounces forward". It was a try, even Jerry Guscott has backtracked on this one.
Lancaster10
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 08:50 PMNo player wearing the dark blue (and gold!) of Scotland select themselves. Matt Williams introduced Dan Parks as his 'playmaker'. Williams failed Scotland. Frank Hadden persisted in picking Parks. Hadden was moved on following poor performances results. Andy Robinson also retains Parks in his match squad, and I suspect will do so again this week. He may of course now opt to start with Greig Laidlaw at 10, but would Laidlaw even have been on the bench yesterday if Ruaridh Jackson had been fit? Who knows, I suspect not! Alas, not for the first time - or I fear the last - Parks has been found wanting in a Scotland jersey. Now, with RWC 2015 considered, would be a good time to invest in the future by opting for young talented players - as was the case immediately prior to Scotland's last 'golden era' of the late 80's early 90's - and sticking with them. Swallow your pride Mr Robinson and be bold.
Buzz Bartholomew
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:54 PM#97 Well George, to be fair England's biggest game of the season will probably be against Italy too!
Bandit6
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:48 PM111 shrek4 - Note to IRB- give TMO's iPhones!
Bandit6
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:44 PM93 Agile_David - don't be silly, Lawson at 10, Weir on the bench. He's a young natural talent and that's what Scotland need, that an an attack coach with some (any) coaching experience.
shrek4
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:38 PMNow that the emotions are subsiding, it was a good defensive performance by a new England team, however they would still have leaked 4 or 5 tries against a decent back division. Probably good for them they had us first up!--------------------------- A mate showed me on his I-phone that Laidlaw's try was good - but thats not to say we deserved to win. We didn't. In some way it would have masked the blunt attack we have so lets forget the Laidlaw score (not sure what happened to penalty advantage though!).................................. Anyway it should never have come down to that and the forwards must wonder what they have to do to win a game!....................... Ok glass half full time - yes I am disappointed that Laidlaw didn't start but he and Blair will surely start against Wales and then we can see the rest of the backs for what they are. I reckon that these are the only changes that AR will make.------------------- Aside from when he didn't pass to Blair I thought Ross Rennie was awesome.-----------------------------------
Boab1
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:10 PM#104 - Bad losers is exactly what we need to become. I'm sick to the back teeth of the, 'Oh well, never mind. We tried hard and we were unlucky' brigade. It's time we shook off this plucky losers attitude and started emphasisng winning. Plucky losers are still losers. In both our football and rugby sides I'm bloody fed up with it! Yesterday was as bad as it gets. To not be able to beat that English side was inexcusable.
CALLANT
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 07:08 PM6ft 10" 20 stone but if you cant make the telling pass then take up basket ball
crofter20
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:59 PMHaving watched Paul Lawrie play the most controlled round of golf to take the title in Qatar we should maybe bring in players from other sports to give tips on getting over the line and if you fail you don't get a cheque at the end of the week. The players in our national team are all on high salaries so when they play for Scotland they should only be on a win bonus. Pro rugby players are in the comfortable position of not having to win. They might manage to get themselves over the try line if their salary depended on it. As for the game yesterday, it's hard to believe that a talent like Laidlaw was used for around an hour to heat a plastic seat at Murrayfield. Watching him play for Edinburgh is always exciting because he both takes and creates chances for players around him. As for the coaching staff, Bradley is doing a great job at Edinburgh and Brian Redpath likewise at Gloucester. There too they play a style of game that is worth watching. Sadly, I can't see them ic at Murrayfield any time soon.
Double D
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:50 PMWhy is it that some professional coaches can't see what is so blindingly obvious to the vast majority of supporters? There was a massive consensus among supporters that picking an out of form Parks was a flawed selection that was likely to backfire. Why couldn't Robinson see this? What is also blatant is that this team needed restructuirng especially in the backs post the World Cup. This current crop of backs have had countless opportunities to arrest this try drought. Is it not obvious that some of them are never going to cut it? The Pit Bull was spot on on Robinson. Good coach, poor selector. His innate conservatism is sucking the life out of the national side and the post Heineken Cup group stages' bubble has been well and truly burst. Robinson also constantly bangs on about experience. Experience of what? How to lose in a Scotland shirt? There's plenty of that in the squad. Too many players with too much baggage and rock bottom confidence. Get the young players in the team sharpish. They have none of this baggage and play with a freedom long since battered out these 'more experienced' players. They also have natural ball playing ability that is sorely lacking in many in the current side as shown by the A team result v the Saxons. I think it was Doc Martin who suggested a team earlier in the thread. Looks spot on to me. Throw caution to the wind Robinson. You may still end up with the Wooden Spoon but you might well be able to point to some tangible progress and some hope for the future. Stick with the current side and the knives will definitely be out come the end of the championship. I don't expect a bolder selection for Cardiff. I think Robinson will go into his shell. The one change I can definitely see him making is recalling Morrison and 12 and S Lamont on the wing to mark his Scarlets teammate North. That should see the tries flooding in Andy!
Dandyhurl
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:17 PMAnd please girls, this isn't soccer. Stop all this moaning about the match official. If Scotland had scored three, four or five tries, the "pressure on or not" discussion would be irrelevant. But we didn't. We couldn't.
Dandyhurl
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 06:11 PMA brighter future ... I've just watched Ireland and Wales play a wonderfully entertaining and exciting game of rugby. So if that was rugby, do we have to invent a new name for the scuttling around of clueless and headless chickens delivered up yesterday, both by Scotland and England?
expat
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 05:30 PMAs a Scot I am more dismayed with some of the comments on this forum than what happened at Murrayfield yesterday. Why are we such bad losers? If you don't know the laws of the game you shouldn't comment, and if you thought that was a try you should try a visit to Specsavers. Parks has always been a liability, time after time he takes the wrong option, yet he seems to be Robinson's first choice. There is a few good points to be taken from this game, we do have some young players who with the right coaching and encouragement can become world class. So stop taking the bitter pills, get over it and look forward to a brighter future.
R Green
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 05:04 PMParks was dire, Townsend is out of his depth and Robinson is not a good selector...BUT these three should not be made to carry the can for the dire state of scottish rugby. We are here because of chronic mismanagement in the game for the last 15 years. We are here because as a nation we spend more on booze and cigs than we do on sport. We are here because of a lack of PE at our schools. There is a danger that Laidlaw is now being seen as the great white hope of Scottish rugby. Years ago everybody believed that moving Chris Paterson to 10 would instantly solve all of Scottish rugby's ails. This not make the same mistake again.
Page 1 of 8
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.