Six Nations: ‘Belief’ is watchword for Scotland coach and captain in pursuit of victory

IT WAS more what he didn’t say than what did that revealed Ross Ford’s true feelings. When Andy Robinson was being pressed on his poor record in the Six Nations – three losses in a row and five on the trot in all competitions – the Scotland captain didn’t like the questioning, his body language and heavy sighing telling of his support for his coach.

Ford is a soft-spoken character but he was one exasperated man when Robinson was being questioned in the wake of this bitter defeat. The captain, described as “immense” by Robinson, interjected at one point.

“Andy’s got belief in the players and we as a team believe in what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re pretty tight together and we do believe we’re on the right track and going in the right way. We just need to screw the nut. During the game we felt in control. We put a lot of pace on the ball and stretched France. We went out and played how we train. We really put them under pressure. We let that accuracy drop before half-time and it cost us.”

Ford was, indeed, excellent for Scotland but he is carrying with him the baggage of a captain with a 100 per cent losing record, a mantle that is, no doubt, causing him all sorts of frustration.

“We showed today we’re on the right track. We’re scoring tries,” he said. “When you get to this point, in those situations, it’s about being able to handle that.

“We’ve got belief in the way we’re playing – just with that bit of composure and being a little bit more clinical in certain areas we can get the results. If we can do that we can kick on from there.”

A realistic hope or a case of wishful thinking. Whatever it is, Ford spoke up for his coach yesterday. There is, unquestionably, an impressive togetherness about this Scotland squad but there is also the spectre of a wooden spoon around them at the moment.

They have Ireland at the Aviva in Dublin next. Ireland were impressive when battering Italy in a five-try romp on Saturday. The final game for Scotland is in Rome. It might not seem just, given some of the fine things Scotland have done in this championship, but it’ll be the reality unless they can pull of an upset against the Irish.

“That’s life,” said Robinson last night. And it’s a tough life for these Scottish players. Asked if he still had faith in them to start winning, Robinson was adamant. “I do, because I watched how they played. We’re here to win games and we have belief in what we’re about.”

Belief, yes. But victories remain as elusive as ever.