Scotland are not mentally tough enough claims Jim Telfer

Published on Tuesday 15 February 2011 16:06

FORMER Scotland coach Jim Telfer believes only three players who took part against Wales deserve pass marks, and thinks some of the others may not be mentally tough enough for Test rugby.

Perhaps the sole saving grace of the 24-6 Murrayfield defeat, according to Telfer, was the fact that the Welsh were not a better team, and so did not punish Scotland as heavily as they might have done. But although critical of Saturday's performance, he remains hopeful that the squad can reclaim their form for the next RBS Six Nations Championship game, against Ireland, also in Edinburgh, on Sunday week.

"Scotland were almost unrecognisable from the side that played so well against France," Telfer wrote on his blog on the STV website.

"An error-strewn display against Wales which resulted in a comfortable win for the visitors underlined the worrying lack of consistency of Andy Robinson's team.

"In fact, the occasion reminded me of the All Blacks game in November when we went into the game with a lot of confidence and were blown away in the first 20 minutes. Luckily, the Welsh aren't as good as New Zealand."

Although some players said afterwards that the poor start had virtually ensured a home defeat, Telfer argues that two chances around the hour mark - for Nikki Walker and John Barclay - could have brought them back into the contest. "If one of these chances had been taken, Scotland would have been within three points of Wales with 15 minutes to go and we could have kicked on and won.

"We didn't deserve to win, however, and serious questions must be asked about the mental toughness of some of our players. If they thought that they just had to turn up and assume that the result they achieved against the Springboks (Scotland's last Murrayfield match, in which they beat the world champions) would automatically follow last Saturday when they returned to Murrayfield, then they were given a very rude awakening by a Welsh side hurting from criticism at home but still containing some world-class players.

"And it was those players - Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, Ryan Jones and James Hook in particular - who led by example. Only Sean Lamont, Kelly Brown and, to lesser extent, John Barclay compared favourably with their opposite numbers.

"Andy Robinson was honest enough to admit that the team had taken a couple of steps backwards in development, and it may be a blessing that he and his coaches have a fortnight to assess the situation and try to get the show back on the road. They did it after the All Blacks horror show in November and, hopefully, they can do it again for the Irish game."

It was just a week after losing heavily to New Zealand that Scotland beat South Africa.

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