Six Nations: Geoff Cross gets another chance to prove he’s No 3

IT IS NOT what the players would like, but Scots sportsmen and women have perhaps become used to drawing inspiration from adversity.

So, for tighthead prop Geoff Cross there is something to be taken from the fact that, while Scotland may not have won games lately, he has managed to put to bed the notion that Euan Murray is so far ahead of him and other props that he is the No 1 name on the teamsheet.

Cross’ performance against France earned him the right to keep the No 3 jersey when Murray returned from his self-imposed exile. He refuses to play on Sundays on religious grounds.

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Murray did come off the bench in Ireland, no doubt hoping to prove that he was worthy of the starting jersey again, only for Scotland’s scrum to hit the rocks.

Whether that was down to Murray, the change at hooker with Scott Lawson replacing Ross Ford or something else is largely irrelevant. Cross has been given the chance to start again and his ability to compete with the renowned Italian front row on Saturday will be crucial to Scotland’s ability to finish the RBS Six Nations Championship with some succour.

“I take a lot of confidence from the time I was on [against Ireland],” Cross said, “and from the training during the week. “I am really pleased with the commitment the guys have shown this week to prepare to deal with what will be a huge physical challenge. I would expect nothing less.

“Successful scrummaging is a team effort. It is not just the eight guys on the pitch pushing. There is the preparation beforehand with the substitutes and the individuals in the team challenging each other to get the best out of each other.

“It is not always comfortable, it is not always polite or friendly but it is an important part of improving and performing, and something we have been doing well.”

So he would not be drawn specifically on the battle with Murray, but there is little doubt that Cross’ improvement in skill, technique and strength over the past year is clearly paying dividends.

He will need all of that with the Italians restoring Martin Castrogiovanni to their front row this weekend, after injury kept the hirsute Leicester star out of the side.

But, now with 12 caps to his name, Cross has also learned that Scotland’s scrum success is less to do with the opposition and more reliant on the ability of captain Ford, Allan Jacobsen and Cross himself to get their technique and aggression spot-on at every scrum, with decent support from the second and back rows.

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“He [Castrogiovanni] is one of their regular players and a good scrummager,” said Cross.

“I am sure they will be happy to have him back but we need to concentrate on our drills. The brutal fact is that we did not perform well enough as a team in Ireland.

“We are sitting on no wins in the Six Nations because our opponents are punishing us for the errors we are making. Until we fix those actions and get those behaviours correct we will get more of the same.

“But I am heartened by what I see in training and what I believe we can achieve. Boys are angry but anger can be channelled into aggression and that is what we will need against a very physical Italian team, who are in a similar position to us and want to have something tangible to show for their campaign.”

With a smile, Cross added: “They are a big set of boys and a great challenge, but I am looking forward to it.

“I believe we will win if we perform to the standards we have in training. We have not won so far because we have not met those standards and makes mistakes that have been punished.

“If we change those, I believe we will win. The emotional drivers are just a tool to tune into that accuracy you need in Test rugby.”

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