WHEN it comes to England v Scotland clashes in any sport, receive wisdom is - because of England's greater resources in players, cash and facilities, for any Scottish team to beat any equivalent English team, in any given sport: ALL the Scottish players have to have good games, one or two English players have to be off-the-boil and, the Scottish team has to get at least an even hand from the referee.
If that happens, we just might win, otherwise, we will lose.
And thus it proved in last night's Glasgow v Northampton match in the European Rugby Champions Cup. I thought Glasgow had a chance, particularly with home advantage at Scotstoun. But, that wee bit of received wisdom was sitting at the back of my brain, and, it proved to be true. Glasgow didn't perform, Northampton did; the referee was mince, at least as far as the Scots were concerned - Northampton won.
I didn't see the game, since I refuse to subscribe to Sky TV. But, I did listen to the BBC radio commentary, with the wonderful Bill Johnstone and the always entertaining, if not exactly unbiased Peter Wright.
That Wright considers referees a plook on the face of the game we would do better without is hardly a secret in Scottish rugby. He was not impressed by the French official at Scotstoun. However, Peter was not that biased he could not admit, the better team won.
So, where does Glasgow go from here?
Well, for a start, back to basics in the pack. I appreciate they have a new forwards coach this season, who is still getting to know his pack - particularly since 12 of his forwards were involved in the Rugby World Cup, while another four were in Scotland's pre-tournament squad and didn't do the club pre-season, while his second and third-choice hookers are both out with injuries sustained during the World Cup. So, it can reasonably be argued, the pack is still under-cooked as a club unit.
Since Northampton, like every other Aviva Premiership club, is locked into the English philosophy of scrum dominance. this was always bad news for Glasgow, going into yesterday's game. The fact, due to circumstances beyond their control, Glasgow didn't get a chance to get up to European speed against Racing Metro, and were even more under-cooked than the Saints - well, it was an accident waiting to happen.
Some very hard work is now called for, between now and next month's next round of European games. But, for a start, I hope Dan McFarland quickly wakes-up to one obvious point: sadly, Ryan Grant is now a shadow of the wonderful prop he was two years ago. I fear Grant, like his great long-time opponent, Adam Jones, has completely failed to deal with the change in the scrum engagement protocol. Ever since the change both he and Jones, have been going backwards.
Unless Grant can very quickly adapt, then perhaps the younger Alex Allen should be promoted as back-up to Gordon Reid, who is now surely beyond doubt, Glasgow's number-one Number One.
On the other side of the scrum, it now seems self-evident, losing both Euan Murray and Jon Welsh go at the same time was a huge mistake. I accept, Zander Fagerson has huge potential, but, he is not yet ready for regular first team rugby. In fact, I would suggest the slightly older D'arcy Rae, currently offers more. I also have my doubts about Sila Puafisi being the answer, he has yet to convince me.
On the evidence of Bill Johnstone's commentary of last night, Finn Russell and Mark Bennett both had an off-night. Disappointing thought that was, I am a firm believer in form being temporary, class being permanent - they will be back.
OK, Glasgow lost, and badly, but, they will bounce back.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh went to Agen and won well in the European Challenge Cup. They just might be capable of doing a Glasgow, and, in season two, winning a competition in which they reached the final in season one.
MELROSE, meanwhile, did themselves and the rest a huge favour by beating Ayr at The Greenyards, to half the Ayrshire side's lead at the top of the BT Premiership to five points.
Of course, now the destination of the league title is decided by the outcome of the end-of-season play-offs, rather than by coming out in front after the 18-game regular season, finishing first is not the be-all and end-all it used to be, but, finishing first at the end of the regular season, though it carries no tangible reward, is still a major feat.
Ayr, Melrose and Heriot's will again feature in the play-offs. Which club finishes fourth is now the main point of interest, with several contenders vying for the position.
SO, Eddie Jones is the new England coach. At his age, a nice move and a great little earner. After he fails, and the RFU system virtually ensures he will fail, he will have a nice little top-up to his pension pot to look forward to.
No comments:
Post a Comment