Yer Sushi, Deep Fried
Scots overcome Japan to make it three out of four for the autumn
WELCOME: well there you have it, three wins out of four for the autumn internationals, capped off with Stuart Hogg becoming Scotland’s leading all time try scorer. Happy days right? Perhaps Scottish rugby fandom needs to keep the champagne on ice though. Yesterday’s win over Japan was another scrappy affair, following patchy performances against Australia and South Africa, plagued by ill discipline at the breakdown, loose kicking in attack and multiple handling errors. Still, looking at the bigger picture, a 75% win rate is impressive, the only loss was to the current World Champions, and Sold Out BT Murrayfield™ was in fine voice across the autumn. Bring on the Six Nations, we say.
DEEP FRIED SUSHI: Scotland made it three wins out of four in the autumn internationals with a 29-20 victory over a stuffy Japanese side that made life difficult for their hosts throughout. Scotland started brightly, and were rewarded for the decision to kick for touch rather than opt for an easy three points, with Duhan barging over from close range. However, discipline was once again problematic, Scotland conceding six penalties in the first 25 minutes. Two of these were converted by Matsuda, giving the visitors a 6-5 lead.
Stuart Hogg then brought life to proceedings, breaking from half way before releasing Harris down the right wing. The ball was then recycled quickly for Russell to send Hogg through to the line for his 25th test try, becoming Scotland’s leading try scorer in the process. Russell was instrumental in Scotland’s third try, looping around the Japanese defence and firing a beautiful left to right pass to put Darcy Graham, who still had work to do, in at the corner. 19-6 to the good at the break and with all the momentum, it looked like Scotland were poised to kick on and build their lead.
However, continued ill discipline led to Jamie Bhatti being sent to the sin bin, and two Japanese penalties narrowed this lead to 19-12. Scotland managed to extend their lead when restored to 15 men, Rambo crossing after a powerful driving maul, but once again the Japanese were next to score, albeit the manner of their try was somewhat fortunate. 26-19, cue squeaky bum time. However, Scotland managed to close out the match, Finn stroking over a penalty (Hogg overruling his pal’s rogue desire to kick for the corner) in the final minute to secure the victory.
HERO HOGGY: when Stuart Hogg crossed in the 28th minute he became Scotland’s leading try scorer, breaking the long-held record jointly held by Ian Smith and Tony Stanger. His 25th try in his 88th test came at a crucial point in the match, putting Scotland into a lead they managed to maintain to the final whistle. It is sometimes easy to forget how world class Hoggy is, and he has often single handedly won matches for the national side. His all round ability and passion for the jersey makes him a true superstar of the game, and in some ways he transcends just the oval balled sport in Scotland.
His try scoring record begs the question: is he Scotland’s greatest of all time? Answers in the comments section below…
Friend of the pod Gary Heatly has broken down his try tally (see below) and we have come up with what we think are five of his best.
AUTUMN WRAP-UP: most Scotland fans would have bitten off your hand if offered 3 out of 4 victories ahead of the autumn campaign, particularly with heavyweights Australia and South Africa coming to town.
DEPTH CHARGED: beyond the headline win rate, Townsend will be pleased with the depth he has added to his squad. There were an astounding 12 debutants in total, all of whom should be challenging for places as the 2023 World Cup looms, and some of whom will carry Scottish rugby even further into the future.
Starting in the pack, Pierre Schoeman adds a more than capable option at loosehead prop. Although Sutherland remains the man in possession, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Schoeman usurp his former Edinburgh teammate, particularly if fitness becomes an issue. Ewan Ashman also shone against Australia, and with some work on his arrows could start to challenge Rambo or Fraser Brown.
Elsewhere, Josh Bayliss impressed against Australia and Japan, and his versatility across the back five of the scrum could prove useful in a world cup squad. Jamie Hodgson perhaps showed enough against South Africa that he can mix it with the best, and adds further competition to the second row.
In the backs, Rufus Mclean shone against Tonga before stuttering slightly at the hands of the South Africans, but has a spark that Townsend clearly admires. More experience and exposure at the highest level can only be a good thing. Kyle Steyn offers more power and height on the wing, whilst also covering 13, and Sione Tuipulotu looks comfortable in either centre position. Jamie Dobie and Ross Thompson must think international rugby is a comparably easy affair, and it will be interesting to see them tested against stronger opposition in the coming months.
PERFORMANCE LACKING: However, Gregor Townsend will be disappointed at the general level of performance his charges produced over the four matches. Scotland were untidy against Australia, South Africa and Japan, with a high error count and ill discipline preventing them from displaying any real fluency, particularly in attack. While there are now enough players in the side to make something out of nothing - see Hogg’s first try against South Africa - this clearly isn’t a sustainable strategy. Scotland need to be able to string together phases, build pressure and construct scores if we are to compete with the international heavyweights. They only got above 7 phases once against Japan.
Finn Russell continues to frustrate and delight in equal measure, which was perhaps symbolic of Scotland over the autumn. Moments of brilliance punctuated with moments of madness. Townsend and co will know that is not how you win the big Six Nations and World Cup games.
SUPER 8? While some positions are increasingly nailed on - centre partnership, second rows and back three - Scotland are maybe still struggling to plug the final back row spot beyond Jamie Ritchie and Hamish Watson, who remain some of the first names on the team sheet. Matt Fagerson has impressed at times in the Scotland shirt, but is yet to have a defining performance on the international stage, and is often outshone by Ritchie or Watson. Josh Bayliss showed enough against Japan to show that he could be a real contender for the no 8 jersey, although once again he looks like a 6/7 doing a passable turn at the back of the scrum. How about a left field suggestion: Duhan at 8? There is plenty evidence he could do a pretty decent job…
MATCHPINT WINNERS: perhaps more importantly, we can now officially announce the winners of the Thistle MatchPint Guinness Predictor League. At the end of four weeks of play, Jack Sinclair has emerged as our champion with points, and will receive a signed Scotland match ball. Commiserations to 2nd placed Stewart Mcintosh and 3rd placed Dave Poole, who weren’t far behind. Massive congratulations to Jack, and make sure to get in touch with us over Twitter to arrange delivery of the prize.
SCOTS ABROAD
Premiership Cup
Harlequins v Northampton: Scott Steele (9) - who helped himself to a try - and Huw Jones (13) v Rory Hutchinson (12) and Nick Auterac (17)
London Irish v Saracens: v Calum Hunter-Hill (5) and Andy Christie (8)
Sale v Newcastle: Gus Warr (9) v Gary Graham (8)
Gloucester v Exeter: v Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (21)
Wasps v Leicester: Gordie Reid (1) - yes, big Gordie - and James Tyas (6) v
Worcester v Bristol: Isaac Millar (2), Tom Dodd (7) and Anton Bresler (19) v Mitch Eadie (6)
Also a word for former Scotland head coach Andy Robinson, and his assistant Stevie Scott (formerly of the national team and Edinburgh) for their recent good work with Romania, who defeated Tonga over the weekend.
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