Alastair Kellock: So hard to watch, I’m desperate to be back in the fold this week

THERE is no point in looking backwards now. It is gone, it is done, we know we could and should have beaten Argentina but we didn’t, and there is no use spending hours worrying now about the hows and whys.

We had a good team meeting yesterday where a lot of bruised and thoroughly dejected players came together and that was the clear message: we will learn from the mistakes of the Argentina game, but we will also take confidence from what we did right in a match that we controlled for the most part and use all the disappointment, frustration and desire that we have to remain in this tournament and turn it into a positive motivation moving to Auckland today and the start of the build-up for England.

Sometimes you can over-analyse, go over things too much, and sometimes you can learn from mistakes and move on without needing to see it again.

I have to admit that I found the whole weekend tough, and matchday when you are there but not there, in the sense that you are at the ground, part of the Scotland squad, but not involved with the squad down there where it matters is just horrible.

I saw my family on Sunday before the game and met up with mum and dad, and my cousin and girlfriend who have been backpacking for a year. It was great seeing them and that helped take the mind off an interminably slow day. The guys left an hour or so before, and my parents went off to the game and the rest of us were left.

We got to the ground, myself and Scott Lawson sitting together, Chris Cusiter in front, and there was very little chat. It was so strange. You just want to be out there with your mates to play your part in dealing with the pressure and winning, and at the same time you’re willing the guys that are out there to go on and win it.

One of the things you do become more aware of is the crowd and the Scottish supporters were fantastic because there was a lot of Argentina support too, and the atmosphere was incredible. It makes you so proud of our country to see that number of people backing you as a team and I know a big disappointment among the guys since the game has been the gut-wrenching feeling that they let them down. I thought we were going to win it; I really did. Everything was great for about 70 minutes of the game, but we just switched off for a minute and they scored a very well-taken try. But even then I still knew what we’d try to do and we got a bit of luck with the ball bouncing into touch off Dan Parks’ kick, and I knew we had the ability to drive them infield and give Dan the chance of a drop-goal. It was so hard to watch what unfolded.

But these games have always been very close and they come down to small things like that, a pass at the right or wrong time, a knock-on or a mistake in defence or in attack.

However, that game is now gone and we are still here, with a big chance still to reach the quarter-finals. It is hard on the guys at the moment and some are struggling with letting that go, but the entire focus will change today when we leave Wellington behind and fly into Auckland.

We are used to playing tournaments like the Six Nations, where you have to turn around quickly and that will stand us in good stead. This is going to be a very hard week, but this is the challenge that we play the game for. Obviously, I am desperate to be in the squad this week, in the 22 but preferably the XV. I do not yet know the coaches’ thinking on selection. I think we will have a chat today at some stage, but there is nothing I can do about it now.

I want to play in every game but this is a huge game and for me it cannot get any better than Scotland v England in a World Cup, a game that means something, where the winner could potentially go through and the loser go out. High stakes and you can bet every single player in this squad wants to be a part of it. It is quite a complicated scenario, but the only thing we can control is what we do on Saturday and the build-up.

We lost at the weekend, but the pack played well. Our front row were great and took the scrum, a big attacking weapon for the Pumas, away from them. Hindsight is always 20-20, and there are always little things you might do differently, but we played it tactically well in that rain and wind.

We threatened quite a bit and Max Evans especially was dangerous every time he got the ball, and I thought Ruaridh Jackson controlled the game beautifully. He was devastated afterwards and I went into the dressing room and said to him ‘you wouldn’t play that game differently again if you could’. I spoke to a lot of the boys in there. It was a sombre place to be, but I know how important it is to try and inject some perspective when emotions are running high. Ruaridh took it hard and he had to go and do his ‘Man of the Match’ interview on TV when he was still devastated, which was tough. If he is selected this week then he has to learn from a good performance and take confidence from it. We have two great stand-offs who offer us a lot, and different things, and that has become clear through the squad; we have two guys who can do the job in every position and three in some.

England are a big challenge. We know that. I have beaten them, drawn with them and lost to them, and on every occasion nobody gave us a chance so I know we are capable of winning this game, if we play well.

I would also like to pay tribute to the support we have had from home, the various messages before and after games, which are of great motivation to all the lads in the squad. I can assure you all that we are not ready to come home yet. This has been a great tournament and we want to play our part in it for a bit longer.