Wants and Needs

ONE THING which this season's Six Nations Tournament has shown is: the margin between winning and losing in rugby is often small. Aside from the England v Italy match, every game has been a close one, often decided by one referee's call or a single incident.

In such tight matches, the difference between success and failure is often that, while both sides want to win the game - perhaps one or other's need for success is greater, and that need is of ten transferred into victory.

This is surely the case when Scotland and Italy lock horns at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon. Of course, both countries's players want to win the game - the losers will, after all, take possession of the mythical wooden spoon for a year.

But it would surely not be over-stating or simplifying the situation to say that Scotland NEEDS to win it rather more than the Italians. The tournament began with such high hopes: a terrific series win in the Argentine, followed by a thumping from the peerless All Blacks, followed by a morale-boosting victory over World Champions South Africa, before a hard-fought success over Samoa at Pittodrie had apparently left Scotland well-placed to over-achieve in the Six Nations.

Losing the opener in Paris was disappointing, but hardly the end of the world, and we did score three tries, which hasn't happened too-often of late. Then came the shambles of defeat to Wales and the only slightly-less disappointing defeat at the hands of a less than stellar Ireland. Suddenly we were in the Scottish default position: "We're awe doomed, doomed ah tell ye".

Of course such a position is tailor-made for us having a right good go at the English at Twickenham and after our Braveheart showing on the cabbage patch, the fact the crucial calls went against us was simply another example of fates and the English conspiring against brave Caledonians.

So, where to from there. Given the roller-coaster path of the 2010-2011 season, we'll probably lose to the Italians - that's a realistic assessment, based on years of Scottish teams flattering to deceive in games they shouldn't win, then falling flat on their faces in the follow-up game they are expected to win.

But, let's hope I'm wrong - because we need to beat the Azzuri more than they maybe want to beat us. Victory will show the players, they can win tight games, and will surely set us up better for the build-up to the World Cup this autumn.

Andy Robinson has thankfully kept faith with XIV of the XV who came so close at Twickenham, assuming Kelly Brown is passed fit. Geoff Cross certainly looked the part off the bench against both Ireland and England and with Moray Low maybe treading water a wee bit after his heroics in the Argentine, the Edinburgh man deserves his start.

There is pressure too on Euan Murray, should he be pressed into service off the bench. Alan Tait reckons regular games for Newcastle have got him back to something like his best, let's hope so, for an on-song Murray would be a definite asset to the side.

Low may well be the future, but he, like Johnnie Beattie, has some extra work to put-in for Glasgow to make up lost ground.

We face a difficult group in the World Cup later in the year. Make no mistake we NEED to win on Saturday and put some initial impetus behind us on the road to New Zealand and if we can post a victory and avoid that wooden spoon, well we can maybe move on and take one of the two qualification spots from our World Cup group.

Go for it boys.