Hats off to the front row – and my second row rivals

WE SAID after the Romania game that we were not going to get too depressed with what did not go well because we won the game, and, similarly, after finishing our “first phase” in Invercargill with victory over Georgia we are not about to get carried away.

But what you look for from your team is always improvement and a positive reaction to aspects of a performance that were not at the levels which we demand. So, at the top of the tick chart has to be the front row display. Euan Murray, Ross Ford and Allan Jacobsen put in a solid performance against what many commentators viewed as one of the strongest scrummaging units in this tournament.

As I said, we are not going to get carried away with it because, as good as it was, we have big challenges ahead with Argentina and England, but it was a step in the right direction and we needed that after the questions raised by the Romanian pack.

That trio in particular deserve enormous credit for the way they went at the Georgians in the scrum, with a terrific blend of technical skills and passion that is easy to underestimate.

It all has to be right – not one thing or one person putting one aspect ahead of another – to dominate a scrum the way they did at times in this match. Only people who have played Test rugby against sides of this strength will fully understand the intense physical pressure that comes on in a game like that. It is incredible and unique to this level of the game.

The conditions were also difficult to play so, from my perspective, to get the win was the most important thing. Sitting in the stand I never thought we were going to lose, which was a nice feeling, and while the front row were good the second row and back row and the backs all played an immense part.

I was delighted with the way Jim Hamilton and Nathan Hines played in particular. I don’t know if people expect me to say otherwise and imagine that I would want guys I’m competing with for the jersey to have an off-day, but that kind of thing never enters my head. It never has. We have got a good squad, 30 guys who all want each other to do well and that is a message I have preached for a long time. I wanted to play of course, but when I knew I wasn’t playing then the focus shifted wholeheartedly to supporting the guys in the squad.

We were on the edge of our seats and screaming at them, 100 per cent behind the boys, and that goes for every single one of us. Big Moray Low hasn’t played yet, but he was the first to go into the changing room and congratulate big Euan for his performance. I have studied successful teams, spoken to successful captains, and it is clear to me that no team can be successful without that kind of genuine togetherness and support.

The guys not playing last night really felt for the boys who were. They have built on what we started at the weekend and no matter how much you have played in the opening two games every single player in this squad has contributed to us going to Wellington with nine points from ten.

The comment of the night has to be Chunk’s, who told me, wearing a big smile: “That was my kind of game – old school, knuckle down, wet weather – a real front five’s game!”

He had an outstanding game and while props don’t often get much credit, Chunk is a massive part of this team.

And what also pleased me about last night was the way we thought about the game. This wasn’t the night for chucking the ball around and going for 50-50 passes, and you could see the guys keeping the focus when some passes looked on watching from the sidelines and thinking about it. It wouldn’t have taken much to take some chances going for that gap or trying to get clean away, which might have got us the tries we wanted, but also might have resulted in a turnover or interception, and suddenly given the Georgians hope.

On a night like that, territory is important, standing up in defence and taking the high balls Rory and Sean Lamont plucked in the wet are important.

We have not played our best rugby in the first two games but we have shown in different ways that we can produce what is needed to win games, so we leave Invercargill and move on to the second phase with a degree of success.

I’d also like to mention Canada’s win. It’s easy to get wrapped in your own World Cup, but those of us not playing were able to watch the Canada game and I was delighted for DTH van der Merwe, my teammate at Glasgow, Chauncey O’Toole, who was with us for a while, and another Scot, Ander Monro. They showed terrific heart and pulled off a fantastic win, even with DTH’s terrible haircut, so I hope they can build on that, too.

And a final word for the people of Invercargill. I know my Scotsman colleagues David Ferguson and Tom English have been blogging about the reception we have had, and I want to add my thanks to the people who have gone out of their way for us. We’ve been bowled over.

We have had cards made by local schoolchildren, met countless Scots from here and home, and of course been entertained by Mayor Tim Shadbolt, who came to speak to us on Tuesday night and was absolutely hilarious. That was a great way to lighten things on the eve of the match and we have to thank him and urge any Scots thinking about visiting New Zealand to make sure you put Invercargill on your itinerary.

We fly north to Wellington now and have a couple of lighter days now before restarting training properly on Saturday. We have no idea about selection or the coach’s thoughts for the Argentina game, but I don’t think there is a player in Scotland who would not want to be part of the match in the “Cake Tin” a week on Sunday. The competition is going to be fierce.