Scotland 6-9 Argentina
Posted on | November 28, 2009 | No Comments
I suppose I should know better by now than to expect good things from Scotland when they seem to be on a run of good form. Perhaps I am actually the jinx that turns form on it’s head the moment I utter the words “I think they can win this one”?
This was a game there for the winning and instead of clinically killing off the Argentines the Scots grabbed a hammer each and helped the Argentine half-backs whack nail after nail into the coffin that was this match.
The BBC Scotland commentators mentioned a couple of times that the game was “coming to life”, but I think a half empty Murrayfield watching Scotland putting ten sideways phases together does not constitute “life”. It represents a slow decline into extinction.
If Scotland’s rugby team cannot capitalise on a result as magnificent as the one achieved last week, they may as well go home.
Positives? Thom Evans got the ball a couple of times and made yards. That’s about it.
I don’t want to be hard on the likes of the Lamonts – they both did well, Sean in particular, but we expect that each and every week. And I hope for Scotland’s, Toulon’s and Rory’s sake that his injury wasn’t as bad as it might have been. I thought Godman distributed the ball well, although he could have mixed it up a bit, and Oh! if he had worn last week’s boots! Grove had a mixed game, but I find that encouraging because this is the first time he’s had to attack AND defend against quality. I feel for Ben Cairns because despite his usual tenacity didn’t effect much on the field. I think he will be disappointed with his performance but he will get many more opportunities.
Scotland’s best player was Nathan Hines. He showed genuine “go forward” and demonstrated that he can play the off-loading game that Andy Robinson has talked about. It’s unfortunate that none of his team mates followed suit. His yellow card was justified – he’s one of those players – but I felt that Robinson was wrong to substitute White for Hines when the ten minutes was up.
Chris Cusiter put in a performance reminiscent of those which made is name: shovelling shit behind a quickly retreating pack, and clearing up the mess behind. Its something he does very well; I bet it wasn’t on his C.V. though.
The match was disappointing on so many counts. We hoped to see some rugby. Well, we saw some, but only sideways rugby. We hoped for a resounding Scottish victory. I think it was plainly clear that that was not going to happen from about the third minute.
So what contributed to this result? Many talk of a “hangover” after a great victory. I think this was evident – the Scots clearly didn’t play with the vigour of last week. Was this down to fatigue? I can’t believe that the coaches had worked them too hard this week so I’d be inclined to look elsewhere. Was it because they thought the Argentines too comfortable a foe? I can’t believe anyone in international rugby would make that mistake.
I think perhaps the Scots thought they could play a bit against the Argentines and actually played too much rugby. The one-up-bosh-then-go-wide approach that Scotland took against Fiji would have worked wonders against Argentina, as long as they could have backed it up with a high tempo and the stamina to go like that again and again.
On the evidence of this year’s Autumn International’s Scotland are once again looking down a pair of barrels. Italy even held the All Blacks to 20 points.
I like Andy Robinson’s selections and as much as the Jason Whites and Chris Patersons are legends of Scottish rugby, I can’t help but feel that their time has passed and it’s nice to see younger, enthusiastic players in their shirts. Obviously it’s nice to have the senior guys on the bench for the odd dropped goal or seismic tackle in midfield.
So, Scotland’s Autumn International Series ends with a mixed bag of huge extremes – huge optimism and massive disappointment. What’s next?
As I’ve mentioned I can only see a fifth or sixth finish in the Six Nations. Yes, the Scottish sides are doing well in the Magners, but they rarely do well in the Heineken Cup, and almostt alway lose against English or French teams.
Progress though is appreciated by the fans, and as long as Andy Robinson can turn the talent we have into gradually more frequent wins, it’s a good start. For any Scottish rugby fan to believe we can win the Six Nations let alone the World Cup is probably deluded, but there may just come a time when all the pieces fall into place…
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