Six Nations: Drawing a backline in the sand

By IAIN MORRISON
Published on Sunday 19 February 2012 00:00

SCOTLAND compete like tigers but can’t score tries. Four of the nation’s most respected rugby figures give their opinion on what has to change

The Six Nations continues to exhilarate and frustrate in equal measure. No one forecast the Arctic blast that has enveloped much of Europe for the last few months, although the possibility that Paris might freeze at 9pm in mid-February should not have been such a surprise, even if Dan Parks’ retirement after just one match was.

Given the absence of one third of their starting XV, few predicted Wales winning in Dublin or dared imagine the scale of refereeing incompetence. Gethin Jenkins should have walked for slapping the ball out of Allan Jacobsen’s hand. Stuart Hogg very obviously didn’t drop the pill last Sunday. Bradley Davies should have seen red in Dublin and, in the same match, Stephen Ferris made a legitimate tackle that cost the flanker a yellow card and cost Ireland the match.

Sadly, one thing everyone managed to predict correctly was that the Scottish backline would struggle to score tries and you don’t need a deerstalker and a magnifying glass to arrive at that genius deduction.

Wales are playing a brand of total rugby that Ajax fans circa 1970 would surely recognise as similar in ambition, albeit in wildly different disciplines. Sooner or later Scotland need to find a backline that can score tries so we asked four experts to select theirs, specifically primed to find their way to the line:

ALLY DONALDSON (Coached Currie to two league titles in four years and helps coach the club international squad)

I’d have Mike Blair at nine and [Greig] Laidlaw at ten. Blair is good at generating pace in the game, he has his confidence back and he is close to being back to the player he was a few years ago.

I’d like to see Matt Scott (a product of Currie) at 12. He’s handled everything that’s been thrown at him so far and the way he has played for Edinburgh this season gives everyone hope. He would bring more creativity to the midfield.

At 13 I’d play [Currie’s] Dougie Fife… no, only joking, although he’s one to look out for in the future after winning the man of the match award in his first professional start for Edinburgh. I know he hasn’t been playing well for Scotland but I think we need Nick de Luca’s experience in there at 13.

My wingers would be Sean Lamont and [Lee] Jones, who is only going to get better. [Stuart] Hogg has to start at full-back because he looked to the manner born against Wales and probably should have started that match. He has pace and a real rugby brain that Scotland have been lacking.

All in all I’m quite confident about the future because I think there are some very good young players coming through the system such as Mark Bennett and Robbie Ferguson from Ayr, Fife, who we have already mentioned, and the big winger Jamie Farndale, who scored two tries against Wales for the U20’s last weekend.

Donaldson’s pick: Blair, Laidlaw; Jones, Scott, De Luca, S Lamont; Hogg.

CRAIG CHALMERS (60 Scotland caps, 1 Lions Test. Coached Melrose to the league title and helped Scotland A to their recent win over England)

I’d stick with Chris Cusiter, although his kicking game hasn’t been the best. He and Greig Laidlaw both kicked too much possession too far downfield and gave a potent Wales back three the luxury of time and pace to attack us. Laidlaw deserves another chance, although longer term I think that Duncan Weir might be the answer, and I’d select Matt Scott at 12, although he is still an elite development player at Edinburgh. Matt did well for the A team against England at Netherdale and he has better distribution skills than Sean Lamont.

If he’s available I’d stick Joe Ansbro at 13. He may lack a bit of match fitness but he’s never let Scotland down. If he’s not fit I’d shuffle Sean Lamont out to 13. My wingers are Max Evans and Lee Jones with [Stuart] Hogg at full-back.

Mike Blair did well in upping the pace for the last 20 minutes against Wales but that’s his forte, picking up the pace of the game at the end, and it’s not obvious he can do that from the start. Rory Lawson is another who did well for the A team and his kicking game is probably the best of the lot.

We are making a lot of line breaks but many of them are coming from the forwards and we need to support the breaks better. Basic skills are letting us down and the coaches can’t go out there and make the passes for the players.

Chalmers’ pick: Cusiter, Laidlaw; Jones, Scott, Ansbro, Evans; Hogg.

BRYAN REDPATH (60 Scotland caps, coaches the most exciting back line in English rugby at Gloucester)

I’d stick with the half-backs because I haven’t seen enough of Ruaridh Jackson or Duncan Weir to know if they are any better than Greig Laidlaw.

The problem position is 12 and I firmly believe that we need a better rugby player there than we have. If you want to have a good attack then you need a good inside centre.

At the moment every move that Scotland do is off ten and, because the pass is made early on, the defence can drift across the field very easily. You need the ability to make moves from 12 to keep the opposition guessing so you need to pick a creative force and distributor.

There are times when a player thinks for a split second about scoring himself and ruins a chance for a team try and Scotland do have some pace out wide if they can find a way to use it.

I haven’t seen Matt Scott play so I’d stick with Sean Lamont and Max Evans as the centres, although I’d like to see them mix and match, swapping roles occasionally.

I’d have Lee Jones on one wing which would leave Stuart Hogg and Rory Lamont to fill the last two places with the Hawick man at fullback.

Redpath’s pick: Cusiter, Laidlaw; Jones, S Lamont/M Evans, R Lamont; Hogg.

JIM RENWICK (52 Scotland caps, 8 tries, 1 Lions Test)

The point is that, if you’re going to attack, then you have to attack. I don’t know why Andy Robinson picked Chris Cusiter to play alongside Greig Laidlaw when he plays with Mike Blair at Edinburgh and Duncan Weir plays with Cusiter at Glasgow?

It’s all about balance. You need the guys who can beat a man and you need the players who can give you go-forward a bit like myself and Cranny [Alastair Cranston]. I think Sean Lamont is probably a better wing than a centre but I don’t know who the alternatives are…

I meant to ask Andy [Robinson] what his best backline was but I know what he’d say – ‘it depends upon who we are playing against’ – and I don’t really go with that.

If you have a team of instinctive players like John Rutherford, Keith Robertson, myself and Andy Irvine, then you don’t need many moves but, if you have a lot of the less instinctive types – the bigger, stronger guys – then you need lots of moves, especially from set piece. We were a man short but Wales scored from the set piece against us.

We went safety first in the backs for the England game, we were a bit more adventurous against Wales and I think we need to build upon that. How many alternatives do we have, how many players are ready to make the step up? I think we have to be patient and wait for some of the younger guys to come through.

I’d rather not pick a back line… that’s for the coaches to do.

Comments

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Duncan McInnes

Friday, February 24, 2012 at 03:40 PM

Fitter, faster, bigger,more enterprising, totally committed to maiming the opposition, NO EXCUSES, 80 minutes rugby every match, supporters who believe they can do it, keep sacking the coaches who fail, sell the players as heroes to the public, Scotland does not have to be many, or rich, nor Rugby the first game nationally to win; after all if some poverty stricken islands off the east coast of Australia can do it so can the Scots

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MrJaffa

Monday, February 20, 2012 at 03:25 PM

#7 - I tend to agree that maybe we should be looking to go with Matt Scott, if only because even if he is not quite ready yet, he is the kind of player we need at 12..................................... #4 and #5 .....sorry, what is wrong with pointing out the number of calls that go AGAINST Scotland. You say these things even themselves out over time.....well if this is the case I look forward to them evening out because I cant remember the last high profile call that went in our favour whether it be a fictitious foot in touch, getting pressure on the ball but not enough to satisfy the video ref....catching a pass but it being given as a knock on...... knock ons not given against the opposition, persistent fouling by the opposition not being penalised...................... In fact if luck does even itself out then Wales are in a LOT of trouble. They would have lost to Ireland in the last two Six Nations were it not for unbelievably poor refereeing decisions going in their favour. They have had several decisions go in their favour in the last 2 matches against Scotland in Cardiff (at least one of which directly affected the result).......They are in for a lean time soon according to your logic.

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Sevendirtywords

Monday, February 20, 2012 at 10:11 AM

Interesting that two home-based coaches that have seen a lot of our players would both pick Matt Scott at 12. Why? Presumably, not least because he is the only ball playing centre we have availble and has been in fine form for Edinburgh [he looked their only competent back this weekend]. It doesn't take a genius to see how much more balance this would give to our backline. Sure, he's only in his first Pro season but given the 6N is now a bogey it is surely time to focus on building for the future!

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Mr Super Bad

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 06:09 PM

Comment removed by moderator

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Aubrey Wilson

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 03:18 PM

midlothianboy is quite right. There is more than a whiff of the pathetic about this article. It says very little, relies on too narrow a range of individuals (what about asking people from other countries?) and perpetuates the myth - with not much desguising too - that Scotland is hard done by. Bad luck averages out. The weather, knock ons, the ref, it all cancels out. Yes, rugny is about fine margins. It always was. But coming close, or looking good in the last quarter (when the opposition may have taken players off to rest them or when there is nothing to lose in attacking at all cost) is not really the formula for success. It's about scoring early on and putting the pressure on the opposition then. Scotland's game with France and also with Ireland are mammoth events. Because if Scotland win only one match this year, this will confirm a dismal and unprecedented and consistent failure over three complete 6N tournaments under Andy Robinson. Andy: you should know who your first team is. Stick with it and live with the consquences.

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midlothianboy

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 11:27 AM

Well that's this years excuse sorted out - cheating Welshmen AND incompetent referees.Any plans yet for next year?

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lederblix

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 10:27 AM

One of our problems is that we tend to over-coach and stifle players' instincts; on the rare occasion that a move comes off the commentator says 'straight off the training ground' - it tends to be so predictable. Young players need to be encouraged to think for themselves - we hear about players (not usually Scottish ones) having a rugby brain; let's encourage our youngsters - all in fact - to develop theirs, and use them, not to extinguish flair by too much rigidity.

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Turbrech

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 08:05 AM

It is a newspaper, of course it is pointless. Quite entertaining though.

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DJ77

Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 06:53 AM

What pointless article. Two of those that were asked were a waste of time. Redpath clearly doesn't have a clue about Scottish rugby at present and admitted to not having seen half of the players and Renwick wouldn't even offer his selection opinion.

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