Allan Massie: Scrum is the major worry as Scots seek solace in Italy

“Richie Gray’s try was splendid and put us back in the game – for all of a few minutes”

WELL, just when we think things may be getting better, we play our worst match of the season. Admittedly there was a good deal that was promising and praiseworthy in the first half, but all this was negated by carelessness when we were in possession and, worse still, by gifting Ireland three tries.

Dominance of territory and possession is no doubt better than being on the back foot most of the time, but the truth was that, in the first 40 minutes, Ireland always looked as if they might score a try on their comparatively rare incursions into the Scotland 22, while we seldom did so in theirs.

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In what was for both teams a poor second-half, Ireland were almost never under pressure because of the deterioration in our set-piece. For the first time this year, the line-out was in trouble and the set scrum became simply awful. Euan Murray appeared to be in difficulty from the moment he came on and, by the end of the game, our set scrum was an embarrassment. It seems to get weaker as soon as Jim Hamilton is substituted.

When the forwards were winning an adequate supply of good ball in the first half, opportunities were lost – literally thrown away – by careless passes, some of which went forward while others went behind the intended recipient, a couple indeed going straight into touch. Our lack of fluency was accentuated by the lines some of the backs chose to run. Max Evans especially seemed to crab across, heading for the touchline, even twice doing so when he had Stuart Hogg and Lee Jones running outside him. We missed the directness that Nick De Luca can bring to the midfield and, if Evans is to have an international future, it is surely on the wing rather than in the centre. In extenuation, this was his first game of rugby since he went off injured in the first half in Cardiff a month ago. So while he was fit, he was not match fit. The only players who changed the angle of attack were forwards, Richie Gray, Ross Rennie and David Denton.

The defensive alignment which made the first Irish try not only possible but easy was inexplicable. If the opposition puts a penalty into touch five metres from your line, surely you station your wing on the try-line to guard any barge round the narrow side; but Sean Lamont was somewhere in midfield. It looked to me as if Mike Blair was very groggy after trying to stop Rory Best; certainly he didn’t quite recapture the verve he showed in the early part of the game.

The second try was a comedy of errors. Then in the third, Jones forced Andrew Trimble to take the inside and then missed the tackle. That was bad, but Trimble was also missed by two covering players, which was worse. Jones, having marked Sexton’s speculative kick, should surely have taken his time, only a minute or two before the interval and then kicked for touch himself rather than passing back to Stuart Hogg.

It was disappointing that neither of these exciting young players had opportunities in attack, though Jones had one good run in the first half and later was coming fast through a well-read half-gap in the middle only for Trimble to lay him out. Hogg, Jones and De Luca run better lines than other backs we have available.

Then, having reportedly planned not to kick the ball to Rob Kearney, we did just that, more and more often the longer the match went on. There was one moment when Ruaridh Jackson, with a nice side-step, made a half-break, and then kicked downfield straight into Kearney’s hands. Sad.

Gray’s try was splendid and put us back in the game with a chance – for all of a few minutes. (If Ireland had lost, Kearney would have been severely criticised for buying Gray’s outrageous dummy, as would Tommy Bowe for his feeble attempt to tackle the big man.) But then we made a mess of the restart as we are in the habit of doing. We have rarely been secure at the restart since the days of Scott Murray, Simon Taylor and Jason White.

Given the improvement shown in easier matches – improvement in performance if not results – it is probably sensible to dismiss Saturday simply as a bad day. There’s not much point in making changes for changes’ sake, and I imagine that any made will be on grounds of injury.

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Nevertheless, something must be done about the set scrum. Otherwise, even in the absence of Martin Castrogiovanni, it is in danger of being taken to pieces again. Since teams now seem to see the set scrum primarily as a means of winning a penalty rather than providing ball for their backs, and since referees go along with this, failure in the set scrum costs points as well as possession.

Two things are certain. First, there are few sides better than the Irish at taking advantage of their opponents’ errors. Second, this Scotland team is capable of playing much better than they did in Dublin. They will undoubtedly go to Rome determined to make amends, eradicate the memory of last Saturday and avoid the Wooden Spoon. Nevertheless, Italy will face them with a good deal of confidence, especially after their competent defensive performance in Cardiff. For some years now, they have been difficult to beat in Rome and so they will surely start – in neutral eyes at least – as favourites, despite their continuing lack of a reliable goal-kicker. Dublin saw Scotland take a step, or a couple of steps, back. Victory in Rome would not rescue what has proved to be another poor season, but it would at least mean it was not a disaster, especially if we can win there in some style. That this team is capable of doing that, I’ve no doubt. Whether they will bring it off is another matter.

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