REMEMBER the early days of Gregor Townsend's reign as Scotland Head Coach; all that optimistic talk of playing the fastest rugby in the world. Well reality intervened and, more-so since the honcho from Gala appears to be having what is known in the rock music business as “creative differences” with front man Finn Russell and lead guitarist Stuart Hogg, that wish for free-flowing riffing appears to have been replaced by a sort of Victor Silvester strict tempo play.
OK, before you decide: “The old bugger's flipped again” and switch quickly to The Offside Line, bear with me – all will become clear. Remember how it was when Toony was in-charge at Scotstoun and Glasgow Warriors, with Leone Nakarawa and Niko Matawalu in the van, used to go “coast-to-coast” on a regular basis, scoring epic tries which often began behind their own line.
Yes, I appreciate the “Weegies frae Fiji” are no longer on the Warriors' roster, but, they weren't the only ones who could off-load, support run and score breathtaking tries. I just feel, the coaching encouragement which brought us those glorious times has been lost. Toony no longer asks his Scotland side to try the things he used to encourage his Warriors to attempt – and his successors at Scotstoun appear to have gone back to almost “rugby by numbers” - with ball carriers seemingly encouraged to take contact, set-up rucks and mauls and attack from set-pieces, rather than attempting flowing, ball retaining handling rugby from anywhere.
The problem appears to be spreading. Week Two of the FOSROC SUPER6 competition was a case in point. Certainly, in the Watsonians v Ayrshire Bulls match, the meeting of arguably the two best sides in the competition, there were passages where both sides indulged in off-loading and we saw some great inter-play. But, both at Myreside and in the other two matches, such passages were few and far between, and much of what we saw, while at almost full-time levels of physicality, and was a terrific example of defensive effort, was mundane, perhaps over-coached rugby by numbers.
I get the impression, because the SRU Professional and Performance Departments are so centralised – the Union either totally owns or has a controlling financial interest in the two full-time professional and six semi-professional teams, the playing style is being dictated from inside EH12.
Rugby Union is not like Association Football. In “The Beautiful Game,” coaches have more choice in how they set-up their team. Some play 4-4-2, others 4-2-4, 4-3-3, 3-4-3, 4-2-2-1-1 etc. Even today, some 70 years since any team last played in this formation, teams are published in 2-3-5 formation. That's two full-backs, three half-backs and five forwards.
I was born in February, 1947 – the first Scotland football team of my lifetime was the one which faced England, at Wembley, on 12 April, 1947: Willie Miller (Celtic); George Young, Jock Shaw (both Rangers); Archie McAuley (Brentford), Willie Woodburn (Rangers), Alex Forbes (Sheffield United); Gordon Smith (Hibernian), Andy McLaren (Preston North End), Jimmy Delaney (Manchester United), Billy Steel (Greenock Morton), Tommy Pearson (Newcastle United).
That's the way it was read-out after the SFA Selectors picked it. However, on the day it lined-up: Miller; Young, Woodburn, Shaw; McLaren, McAuley, Steel, Forbes; Smith, Pearson; Delaney. That's 3-4-2-1 rather than 3-5-2. That's the formation Scotland played up until the mid-1960s: the guys wearing shirts numbers 2, 3 and 5 remained at the back; numbers 4, 6, 8 and 10 operated as box-to-box midfielders, numbers 7 and 11 played in an advanced role on the wings with number 9 as a traditional old-style centre forward, up front.
Then, around 1964 or thereabouts, one or other of the guys wearing 4 or 6 dropped back to become a twin centre-half, at the same time the wingers began to be re-classified as “midfielders” while generally the guy wearing number 10 began to play “in the hole” as a slightly withdrawn, second centre forward.
By the time we posted that epic Wembley win over the Auld Enemy in 1967, things were tweaked again. Bobby Brown may have announced his team as: Simpson, Gemmell, McCreadie; Greig, McKinnon, Baxter; Wallace, Bremner, McCalliog, Law, Lennox, but, they actually lined-up: Simpson, Gemmell, McKinnon, Greig, McCreadie; Baxter; Wallace, Bremner, McCalliog, Lennox; Law. Subtle changes, but, they worked.
To come right up to date, the last Scotland team to take the field, the XI which beat Armenia 4-1 back in June, was published as: Craig Gordon (Heart of Midlothian); Nathan Patterson (Everton), Greg Taylor (Celtic); Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Greg Hanley (Norwich City), Jack Hendry (Club Brugge); John McGinn (Aston Villa), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea/Norwich City), Che Adams (Southampton), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Stuart Armstrong (Southampton). That's how it was announced, but, the actual formation was: Gordon; McTominay, Hanley, Hendry; Patterson, McGinn, Gilmour, Taylor; McGregor, Armstrong; Adams.
Now look at Rugby Union in my lifetime. The first Scotland team of my life was the one which lost 5-24 to England in the Calcutta Cup clash on 15 March, 1947. This team was announced as: KI Geddes; TGH Jackson (both London Scottish); CW Drummond (Melrose), WH Munro (Glasgow High School FP), DD Mackenzie (Edinburgh University); CR Bruce (Glasgow Academical), E Anderson (Stewart's College FP); TPL McGlashan (Royal High School FP), AT Fisher (Waterloo), HH Campbell (London Scottish); FH Coutts (The Army), IC Henderson (Edinburgh Academical-Wanderers); DD Valentine (Hawick), DI McLean (Royal High School FP), WID Elliot (Edinburgh Academical-Wanderers). The team, in that order, wore numbers 1-15, but lined-up: full-back; winger, centre, centre, winger; stand-off, scrum-half; loose-head, hooker, tight-head; lock, lock, wing-forward, number eight, wing-forward.
The last Scotland team to take the field, the one which lost to Argentina on Saturday, 16 July, was: Ollie Smith; Rufus McLean (both Glasgow Warriors), Mark Bennett (Edinburgh Rugby), Sione Tuipulotu (Glasgow Warriors) Duhan van der Merwe (Worcester Warriors); Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh Rugby), Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors); Rory Sutherland (Worcester Warriors), Ewan Ashman (Sale Sharks), Zander Fagerson; Scott Cummings (both Glasgow Warriors), Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs); Rory Darge (Glasgow Warriors), Hamish Watson (Edinburgh Rugby), Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors).
The team, in that order had Smith wearing 15, then in descending order to Price wearing 9, then Sutherland to Matt Fagerson wore numbers 1 to 8. The numbering may have changed but, the only other difference was the back row was named: wing-forward, wing-forward, number eight.
This reflects the slight deck chair reshuffling over the past 75 tears. Back in the immediate post-war years, there was still a presumption that the Scotland pack would line-up in 3-2-3 formation. The great argument between 3-2-3 and 3-4-1 was still a decade away, before even the arch-traditionalists such as Lord Bannerman had to concede to 3-4-1.
Today too, we have increased specialisation – the centres tend to line-up inside (12) and outside (13), props who can work on either side of the scrum are prized for their rarity and versatility, while wing-forwards, like centres, no longer appear to pack down left or right, but as blind side (6) and open-side (7).
Common sense today might suggest the forwards should be numbered as they pack down: 1-2-3; 4-5-6-7; 8. However, they are still more or less numbered as if 3-2-3 remains the formation of choice.
Obviously, Rugby Union is a more-structured form of football than the free-flowing Association variety; our game has never been prey to the tactical innovations and occasional out of the box thinking of football.
OK, occasionally you will see the full-back, rather than the stand-off as first receiver, and we have wing-in incursions at odd times and angles. Yes, Scotland, under Toony, have demonstrated some innovative thinking at the lines-out, but, other than asking why the ball carriers attacked defenders rather than space, I doubt if any of the 1947 Scotland rugby team, recalled from that great pavilion in the sky, would be unable to work out what was going on on the modern field.
The 1947 footballers, in a similarly hypothetical situation, having to have “sweeper-keepers” - “pressing” - “false nines” and “wing backs” explained to them, might well be asking: “what game is this I am watching?”
[LEFT FIELD THINKING ALERT]: I am told packing 3-2-3 was essential for Scotland to launch their famed forwards' foot rushes, as the cry of “Feet Scotland, feet,” reverberated around the great open bowl of post-war Murrayfield. I've been following Scotland since the 1955 win over Wales, in “Arthur Smith's Match.” I cannot recall an old-fashioned Scottish foot rush in all that time, but, I understand, from speaking to some now departed old timers, when done properly – and the forwards of the time practised it religiously, it was a deadly ploy.
Maybe the SRU could look out some grainy old sepia-toned film, study it and bring the foot rush out of retirement and right up to date. As a shock tactic it might work.
I might be talking out of my erse with this dissertation on “Feet Scotland, feet,” or, on the other hand, I might be on to something. Let's see some innovative thinking coming out of Murrayfield, it might be good for Scottish Rugby. To reference the old Avis Car Rental advert. They admitted, they were not as big as arch-rivals Hertz, but, they did promise to try harder.
Trying harder might be a good place for Scotland to start from.
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