Alex Dunbar: Scots add impetus to Cotter template

ASK Vern Cotter why Scotland have improved so quickly since he became head coach and he is likely to tell you it is down to the players. There may be an element of self-deprecation in that assessment, and the softly spoken New Zealander certainly appears to have little or no interest in receiving public praise for his work.

Alex Dunbar is looking forward to Scotlands next Autumn Test against Tonga. Picture: Ian Rutherford

But, in one sense, it is also an accurate summation of what has happened this summer.

After all, there has been no massive turnover of the national squad. The players who have won four games out of six under Cotter are by and large those who were found wanting before, so in that respect the improvement must have come from within. According to Alex Dunbar, who will today be named in the team to play Tonga on Saturday, it is a joint effort. Cotter and his coaches have identified a style of play that suits the team, and then the players have had the self-confidence to put it into practice.

“It’s a bit of both really,” the Glasgow centre said when asked whether the head coach or the players were responsible for Scotland’s impressive recent displays. “Vern and all the other coaches give you the template, but a lot of it’s player-led.

“I think that’s the best way. It’s the players out there who are doing the job at the weekend, so it’s got to come down to them. It’s not just the senior guys who determine what we’re doing. There are a lot of young guys – Finn Russell, Hoggy [Stuart Hogg] – who have come through and have ideas of what we can do and have their own stamp on the game.”

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In other words, while Cotter is an imposing figure who unquestionably commands respect, he is no would-be dictator, intent on forcing the team to bend to his will. Instead, he wants to enable them to find the talent within themselves.

“I think it’s got to be that way,” Dunbar continued. “It’s the players who are out there at the weekend, so when it gets tough and you’re knackered, it’s got to come down to the players to have ideas and solutions.

“I don’t think you can rely on being told what to do. You shouldn’t have to hear from upstairs what you have to do. It should be heads up and play what you see.

“It’s been good for the past couple of weeks, because the players have had a great focus and are buying into everything we’re doing. We have an understanding of what we want to do and where we want to do it.

“I don’t think there have been too many opportunities for him to raise his voice, which is good. Boys know what they’re meant to do and know when they’ve messed up.”

Of course, these are still early days under Cotter, and in recent years other coaches have come in and brought about a quick upturn in performances only for results to quickly tail off. So, no matter how promising the signs are this time, nothing is guaranteed.

Dunbar and his colleagues know that they have hardly begun their evolution under Cotter, and that the good work achieved in the win over Argentina then the narrow defeat by New Zealand could be undone if they drop their standards against Tonga at Rugby Park. And they know that if they do allow those standards to slip, the Tongans could punish them painfully, as happened the last time the teams met, at Pittodrie two years ago.

“We know they’re going to be hugely physical,” he said. “They’re a big squad and we know we have to do the basics well. Defence is going to be a big part of that. We have to shut down their opportunities to run and really put pressure on their skill set. “Collectively, in this whole campaign we’ve been trying to put teams under pressure defensively. I think our defence in the last couple of games has been spot on. We just need to keep working on that, keep putting teams under more and more pressure and live off the mistakes that they make.

“Any team you play at international level is going to be hugely physical. If you give them chances, they’re going to be clinical. We know the strengths that Tonga possess, so we just have to get off the line and put them under pressure again.

“We want to get our attack firing as well. We can’t just rely on defence: we have to get our attack going and obviously scoring tries helps.

“Defences are so good that you need to stretch them. Just having that little spark, that bit of pace and outside break really stretches defences. You might not see it in that phase, but two or three phases later, when the defence has been stretched across, you will see a gap somewhere.”

Seeing a gap is something that can only be done by those who are on the pitch. But giving the players the confidence to exploit that gap is really a job for the coach.

Too often in the past, some Scotland coaches have lacked real belief in their players, and communicated a nervousness that has led to an over-conservative approach. By backing his players to the hilt, Cotter has given them the mental strength to complement their physical prowess.

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