Edinburgh's Mike Blair unhappy with coverage of Wales defeat and insists Scotland are still on the up

Mike Blair believes Scotland remain on an upward trajectory despite the defeat by Wales and has criticised the negative reaction to the 20-17 loss at the Principality Stadium.

Gregor Townsend’s side travelled to Cardiff full of optimism following the victory over England on the first weekend of the Guinness Six Nations but were left deflated as they allowed a 17-14 lead to slip in the second half in the Welsh capital.

Scotland have not won in Cardiff since 2002 and their poor record there underlines how tough a venue it is, said Blair.

“I think it’s a shame that it’s being reported how it’s being reported. The players put their bodies on the line,” said the Edinburgh coach.

“Some things you read about the style of play – that ball was really wet during the game. It’s a difficult one, because you’ve got to manage the game in those circumstances, when potentially a strength is to shift the ball and move it around you’ve got to have a rethink.

“I find it interesting journalists saying ‘Why did they not move it around more?’ – I’d love to see them doing hand catches in those kinds of conditions. It is difficult. Wales potentially played the conditions a little bit better.

“But I think Scotland are in a really positive place. Wales is a very difficult place to go and win – they’ve got a good record there.”

Liam Williams tries to find a way through against Scotland pair Duhan van der Merwe and Chris Harris during Wales' 20-17 win in Cardiff. Picture: Nigel French/PA

Blair, who was Scotland assistant coach until taking over at Edinburgh in the summer, believes there is a tendency to jump from one extreme to the other when covering the national team. One former captain described the current squad as the best of all time but Blair believes more perspective is required.

“Scotland winning against England was a fantastic result against a really strong team,” he said. “I think Scotland are in a good position. They’ll be frustrated that they didn’t win the game, because it was there to be won. But you can’t have this huge jump [in extremes of coverage].

“Scotland are on an upward curve at the moment over the last three or four seasons. And for me one below-par performance doesn’t warrant some of the media chat that it’s been getting.”

Scotland’s next Six Nations match is against France at Murrayfield a week on Saturday.

Edinburgh coach Mike Blair believes Scotland are in a good place despite the defeat in Cardiff. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

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