Scotland have endured a torrid 2015 thus far. The six defeats, nine tries, and 95 points, with a wooden spoon to boot, highlight the disappointment of the year.
With a new season came a new spark, and the back and forth nature of the scoreboard in last weekend’s defeat to Ireland had many Scottish supporters hoping that Cotter’s men would break their duck. Indeed, Scotland took the lead thrice but ultimately ran out of puff – it was not to be just yet. However, the coaching staff could finally wield a substantial list of positives in analysis meetings – the Scots scored three good tries, demonstrated structured attacking play (21 defenders beaten and 11 offloads) and battled well at the breakdown. On the down side, they leaked four tries and were haunted again by ill-discipline, conceding ten penalties.
One Small Step For Scotland; One Giant Leap Toward Regaining Confidence
This weekend, the Scots travelled to Turin to face an Italian side without Sergio Parisse as captain. With desperation and sheer determination, they managed to haul themselves over the line in a 12-16 victory. It was Henry Pyrgos who was the match winner – he scored his second try in as many matches – but overall the game was uninspiring and uneventful.
Honours were even at half-time with Duncan Weir and Tommaso Allan exchanging penalties. It was not until the 75th minute when Pyrgos crossed the line and ended their losing streak. His and Peter Horne’s introduction from the bench were masterful substitutions by Vern Cotter – both of them did their squad chances no harm at all, playing decisive roles in lifting the tempo to edge out the Italians.
After a long eight months, Scottish supporters finally had a victory to celebrate. Those who own tickets to see their side at the World Cup now have a lot more to look forward to. Indeed, this win was undoubtedly crucial – to qualify from their World Cup pool without a win this year would have been a tough ask – and now they have it, the Scots can use it as a large stepping stone to gain confidence from. With two fixtures against Italy (H) and France (A) to come, Scotland have a chance, albeit a slim one, to go into their opening World Cup encounter with Japan on the 23rd September on a three match winning streak.
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