New coach must silence calls for Scotland to be ejected from the Six Nations after their surrender to England in the Calcutta Cup
*SCOTLAND ARE DOWN … BUT THEY SHOULD NOT BE OUT*
It has been said this week, after a limp and ineffectual display against England, that Scotland do not have an inviolable right to be in the Six Nations and that countries such as Georgia should not be condemned to dwell in the shadows perpetually.
The democracy of the game in Europe is something that will be discussed when the future of the European Cup is sorted out. France want an end to the rule of the Six Nations committee, and with it an inherent conflict of interest. They have proposed a governing organisation that embraces every member union in Europe with everyone to have access to all cross-border areas, including the Six Nations. Nothing will change any time soon, but with rugby union now an Olympic sport, giving smaller nations access to government support, the old order needs to evolve.
What was most disheartening about Scotland's performance against England was that it never threatened to match the fervour of the home crowd. If the home side lacked the overall quality of England, the atmosphere, the wet weather and the poor state of the pitch should all have acted as a leveller.
It was set up for a typically passionate and attritional Calcutta Cup encounter, furious and frantic if not fast, but Scotland were as damp as the conditions, not so much losing as surrendering. When Scott Johnson, the interim head coach who is handing over to Vern Cotter in the summer, started his after-match media conference with a hint of levity, his tone changed under hostile questioning. No one was laughing.
Two matches had produced two penalties, although Scotland's defeat away to Ireland in the opening round was not as heavy as Wales's there six days later, 22 points compared with 23. Their next match, against Italy in Rome, will be as significant in the battle to avoid finishing bottom as the encounter between England and Ireland at Twickenham on the same day will be in the contest to win the title; as it has been for most of the Six Nations years.
Scotland are down. The problems facing the game north of the border have been well chronicled – only two professional teams, one of which has a surfeit of South Africans – and the task facing Cotter, a New Zealander who has helped turn Clermont Auvergne into a consistent force in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup, will be to make the most of what he has.
Johnson has adopted a policy this season of blooding young players, knowing that his future does not depend on results or performances. Cotter will start work little more than a year before a World Cup campaign that will pitch Scotland with South Africa and Samoa, and the interim head coach wants him to have a deeper pool of players than he himself inherited.
Scotland may have made little impact in the 15 seasons of the Six Nations but they have been able to rise to the one-off occasion, and in recent years they have beaten Australia home and away and defeated South Africa at Murrayfield, something the current champions Wales have not managed.
A head coach can make a difference. Wales had won two Six Nations matches in two years when Warren Gatland took over at the end of 2007 and they had been dumped out of the World Cup that year at the group stage. They had won the championship once in the previous 29 years and failed to make the knockout stage in three World Cups, but there was never a suggestion their place in the tournament should be reviewed.
Wales may have a stronger infrastructure than Scotland but under Gatland they have risen above the form of their regions in Europe. It may not be realistic to expect Cotter to have the same impact, but it is not fanciful to suggest that under him the players will better reflect the emotion shown by the crowd last Saturday.
Cotter will need to match Gatland's shrewdness in selection. Johnson's decision to drop Kelly Brown, who had been Scotland's captain, and omit him from the matchday 23 along with the second-row Richie Gray, who not that long ago was regarded as their one player nudging world class, was questioned before the England game and even more so afterwards.
The decisions did not work and his side showed a chronic lack of leadership. Scotland were beaten in every aspect at forward, their discipline fell apart and they failed to put a side with an inexperienced three-quarter line under pressure. It was not a contest.
The same could be said in Dublin where Wales suffered their ninth and heaviest Six Nations defeat in the Gatland era. He released two of his leading forwards, Gethin Jenkins and Sam Warburton, back to Cardiff Blues this week so they could play against Glasgow on Saturday having returned from long lay-offs.
Wales were undone at forward by Ireland as emphatically as England overwhelmed Scotland. A team that sets out to dominate opponents physically fell down and then fell apart when taken on at their own game. What had promised to be one of the matches of the tournament was one-sided and showed the impact a new head coach can make.
Joe Schmidt's Ireland won the tactical battle with Gatland's Wales, the latter remarking this week that Ireland had played two-pass rugby, kicking to the corners or high in the air. They did not allow Wales to feed off their mistakes and the frustration of the champions turned into penalties and acts of petulance, culminating in the yellow card shown to Mike Phillips after a scuffle.
This is when Gatland earns his money. Wales responded to defeat against Ireland last year by winning in Paris, and even though France have started with two victories, it was their opportunism that made the difference against England and Italy. They are feeling their way back after a dismal 2013.
France have a deep player base, as do England. Ireland are underpinned by successful provinces and Wales have strong roots, even if they have focused more on the elite end in recent years. Scotland have to make do with less and the Six Nations as a tournament needs Cotter to maximise the resources he will have.
*EXODUS: MOVEMENT OF WALES PLAYERS THREATENS SPIRIT*
Wales have it all to do to defend their title. Even if they defeat France in the next round and England overcome Ireland at Twickenham, meaning that four teams would be level on points, they would probably be fourth in the table because of their inferior points difference.
Ireland have a points difference of 45, France 22 and England 18. Wales are minus 15, meaning they would need to defeat France by 19 points, something they have not achieved since 1950, to move above Les Bleus with a trip to Twickenham, where they have not won by a double-figure margin since 1976, to follow.
In the Gatland years, Wales have risen above the mediocrity of their regions in the Heineken Cup, but their defeat to Ireland was reminiscent of the way Ospreys subsided at home to Leinster in the Heineken Cup last October, caught in a vice which clamped shut.
What remains to be seen is whether the exodus of players from Wales to clubs in England and France is weakening the spirit that Gatland has built up in the last six years. When the squad returned to camp this week, a number of players were absent: Dan Lydiate, Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips and James Hook, an unused replacement in the opening two matches, were in France while Paul James was in Bath.
Three more players are bound for France next season – Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and Ian Evans. Gatland developed a club atmosphere at Wales's retreat in the Vale of Glamorgan, enjoying the access to the squad he wanted. No longer.
He expressed a concern in the autumn that Wales's performance in the final Test against Australia had been affected by the dispute between the Welsh Rugby Union and its four regions over a new participation agreement. Players coming out of contract who wanted to remain in Wales had no idea what tournaments they would be playing in the following season; and they still don't.
Even though it is the second week of February, nothing is in place for next season. The Pro 12 is set to become the Pro 10, with the Italians looking to set up an eight-team league, although the International Rugby Board is against the idea, fearing it would weaken Italy in the Six Nations, and the future of the European Cup has still to be resolved.
The Vale of Glamorgan was a refuge for players, a cocoon, and they found success with Wales that had eluded them in the Heineken Cup. International rugby was their proving ground, but the dispersal to France and England has changed that.
Gatland released Sam Warburton and Gethin Jenkins, saying they needed game time after going straight into the Wales team after returning from injuries. Before, Gatland used his training sessions to get players up to speed, but he no longer has two teams to oppose each other in fallow weeks such as this.
By picking a fight with its regions, the WRU has undermined Gatland. It has threatened the environment he has created and it was no wonder that when he was asked by a French journalist this week whether there were any benefits of having players in the Top 14, he did not hesitate before replying in the negative.
*WELLINGTON SEVENS MAY TURN OUT DRY*
The Wellington Sevens are one of the highlights of the New Zealand rugby calendar, gaining in popularity in recent years, but the boot may be put into them.
Police in the New Zealand capital criticised the organisers of the event after 270 spectators were ejected from the Westpac Stadium last Friday and Saturday, mostly for drunkenness; the figure last year was 47. They were considering whether to take further action, which would include revoking the alcohol licence for the ground.
One fan, who had travelled to Auckland for the event, said he would not be returning. "This place is an absolute zoo," he complained. "There are guys exposing themselves and the behaviour has changed. They have to have a good look at what's going on here."
His mood was not softened by winning NZ$10,000 in a best costume competition. As a can of 7 Up.
*RYAN LAMB TAKES THE LONG VIEW*
It was not that long ago that Ryan Lamb was regarded as a potential England outside-half. When he started his career with Gloucester, he had an impudence and a willingness to take risks that got him talked about, even if he did not forge a reputation for tackling.
He made the Saxons squad but got no further. This week, at the age of 27, he joined Worcester, the club propping up the Premiership which has a realistic chance of avoiding relegation only by finishing 11th and ahead of the club immediately above them, Newcastle.
Worcester is Lamb's fifth Premiership club after stints at London Irish, Northampton and Leicester. He left the Tigers after last week's victory at Sixways with 16 months remaining on his contract having made only seven appearances for the champions.
He was signed as an understudy to Toby Flood but reckons his career at Welford Road was effectively over when he suffered a fractured hand in an A match, in what was described as an unsavoury incident that did not impress Leicester's director of rugby, Richard Cockerill.
Lamb has signed a three-year contract with Worcester which, given his turnover of employers, may be described as a triumph of hope over expectation. The director of rugby there, Dean Ryan, at least knows what he has taken on, having worked with Lamb at Gloucester.
"I don't want to waste this now," Lamb said. "That's why I signed for three years: I wanted to be in this for the long haul and I didn't want it to be a quick fix for either party. The vision Dean has for the club is impressive, so that's why I asked for a longer deal; he gave it to me and I really want to repay that faith."
If he fails, he will be a Lamb to the laughter.
*STILL WANT MORE?*
There's more to European rugby than the Six Nations, writes Robert Kitson
Dan Lucas on Northampton's tilt at the Premiership title
Re-live the Battle of Cardiff in 1987 on the sport blog Reported by guardian.co.uk 16 hours ago.
*SCOTLAND ARE DOWN … BUT THEY SHOULD NOT BE OUT*
It has been said this week, after a limp and ineffectual display against England, that Scotland do not have an inviolable right to be in the Six Nations and that countries such as Georgia should not be condemned to dwell in the shadows perpetually.
The democracy of the game in Europe is something that will be discussed when the future of the European Cup is sorted out. France want an end to the rule of the Six Nations committee, and with it an inherent conflict of interest. They have proposed a governing organisation that embraces every member union in Europe with everyone to have access to all cross-border areas, including the Six Nations. Nothing will change any time soon, but with rugby union now an Olympic sport, giving smaller nations access to government support, the old order needs to evolve.
What was most disheartening about Scotland's performance against England was that it never threatened to match the fervour of the home crowd. If the home side lacked the overall quality of England, the atmosphere, the wet weather and the poor state of the pitch should all have acted as a leveller.
It was set up for a typically passionate and attritional Calcutta Cup encounter, furious and frantic if not fast, but Scotland were as damp as the conditions, not so much losing as surrendering. When Scott Johnson, the interim head coach who is handing over to Vern Cotter in the summer, started his after-match media conference with a hint of levity, his tone changed under hostile questioning. No one was laughing.
Two matches had produced two penalties, although Scotland's defeat away to Ireland in the opening round was not as heavy as Wales's there six days later, 22 points compared with 23. Their next match, against Italy in Rome, will be as significant in the battle to avoid finishing bottom as the encounter between England and Ireland at Twickenham on the same day will be in the contest to win the title; as it has been for most of the Six Nations years.
Scotland are down. The problems facing the game north of the border have been well chronicled – only two professional teams, one of which has a surfeit of South Africans – and the task facing Cotter, a New Zealander who has helped turn Clermont Auvergne into a consistent force in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup, will be to make the most of what he has.
Johnson has adopted a policy this season of blooding young players, knowing that his future does not depend on results or performances. Cotter will start work little more than a year before a World Cup campaign that will pitch Scotland with South Africa and Samoa, and the interim head coach wants him to have a deeper pool of players than he himself inherited.
Scotland may have made little impact in the 15 seasons of the Six Nations but they have been able to rise to the one-off occasion, and in recent years they have beaten Australia home and away and defeated South Africa at Murrayfield, something the current champions Wales have not managed.
A head coach can make a difference. Wales had won two Six Nations matches in two years when Warren Gatland took over at the end of 2007 and they had been dumped out of the World Cup that year at the group stage. They had won the championship once in the previous 29 years and failed to make the knockout stage in three World Cups, but there was never a suggestion their place in the tournament should be reviewed.
Wales may have a stronger infrastructure than Scotland but under Gatland they have risen above the form of their regions in Europe. It may not be realistic to expect Cotter to have the same impact, but it is not fanciful to suggest that under him the players will better reflect the emotion shown by the crowd last Saturday.
Cotter will need to match Gatland's shrewdness in selection. Johnson's decision to drop Kelly Brown, who had been Scotland's captain, and omit him from the matchday 23 along with the second-row Richie Gray, who not that long ago was regarded as their one player nudging world class, was questioned before the England game and even more so afterwards.
The decisions did not work and his side showed a chronic lack of leadership. Scotland were beaten in every aspect at forward, their discipline fell apart and they failed to put a side with an inexperienced three-quarter line under pressure. It was not a contest.
The same could be said in Dublin where Wales suffered their ninth and heaviest Six Nations defeat in the Gatland era. He released two of his leading forwards, Gethin Jenkins and Sam Warburton, back to Cardiff Blues this week so they could play against Glasgow on Saturday having returned from long lay-offs.
Wales were undone at forward by Ireland as emphatically as England overwhelmed Scotland. A team that sets out to dominate opponents physically fell down and then fell apart when taken on at their own game. What had promised to be one of the matches of the tournament was one-sided and showed the impact a new head coach can make.
Joe Schmidt's Ireland won the tactical battle with Gatland's Wales, the latter remarking this week that Ireland had played two-pass rugby, kicking to the corners or high in the air. They did not allow Wales to feed off their mistakes and the frustration of the champions turned into penalties and acts of petulance, culminating in the yellow card shown to Mike Phillips after a scuffle.
This is when Gatland earns his money. Wales responded to defeat against Ireland last year by winning in Paris, and even though France have started with two victories, it was their opportunism that made the difference against England and Italy. They are feeling their way back after a dismal 2013.
France have a deep player base, as do England. Ireland are underpinned by successful provinces and Wales have strong roots, even if they have focused more on the elite end in recent years. Scotland have to make do with less and the Six Nations as a tournament needs Cotter to maximise the resources he will have.
*EXODUS: MOVEMENT OF WALES PLAYERS THREATENS SPIRIT*
Wales have it all to do to defend their title. Even if they defeat France in the next round and England overcome Ireland at Twickenham, meaning that four teams would be level on points, they would probably be fourth in the table because of their inferior points difference.
Ireland have a points difference of 45, France 22 and England 18. Wales are minus 15, meaning they would need to defeat France by 19 points, something they have not achieved since 1950, to move above Les Bleus with a trip to Twickenham, where they have not won by a double-figure margin since 1976, to follow.
In the Gatland years, Wales have risen above the mediocrity of their regions in the Heineken Cup, but their defeat to Ireland was reminiscent of the way Ospreys subsided at home to Leinster in the Heineken Cup last October, caught in a vice which clamped shut.
What remains to be seen is whether the exodus of players from Wales to clubs in England and France is weakening the spirit that Gatland has built up in the last six years. When the squad returned to camp this week, a number of players were absent: Dan Lydiate, Jamie Roberts, Mike Phillips and James Hook, an unused replacement in the opening two matches, were in France while Paul James was in Bath.
Three more players are bound for France next season – Leigh Halfpenny, Jonathan Davies and Ian Evans. Gatland developed a club atmosphere at Wales's retreat in the Vale of Glamorgan, enjoying the access to the squad he wanted. No longer.
He expressed a concern in the autumn that Wales's performance in the final Test against Australia had been affected by the dispute between the Welsh Rugby Union and its four regions over a new participation agreement. Players coming out of contract who wanted to remain in Wales had no idea what tournaments they would be playing in the following season; and they still don't.
Even though it is the second week of February, nothing is in place for next season. The Pro 12 is set to become the Pro 10, with the Italians looking to set up an eight-team league, although the International Rugby Board is against the idea, fearing it would weaken Italy in the Six Nations, and the future of the European Cup has still to be resolved.
The Vale of Glamorgan was a refuge for players, a cocoon, and they found success with Wales that had eluded them in the Heineken Cup. International rugby was their proving ground, but the dispersal to France and England has changed that.
Gatland released Sam Warburton and Gethin Jenkins, saying they needed game time after going straight into the Wales team after returning from injuries. Before, Gatland used his training sessions to get players up to speed, but he no longer has two teams to oppose each other in fallow weeks such as this.
By picking a fight with its regions, the WRU has undermined Gatland. It has threatened the environment he has created and it was no wonder that when he was asked by a French journalist this week whether there were any benefits of having players in the Top 14, he did not hesitate before replying in the negative.
*WELLINGTON SEVENS MAY TURN OUT DRY*
The Wellington Sevens are one of the highlights of the New Zealand rugby calendar, gaining in popularity in recent years, but the boot may be put into them.
Police in the New Zealand capital criticised the organisers of the event after 270 spectators were ejected from the Westpac Stadium last Friday and Saturday, mostly for drunkenness; the figure last year was 47. They were considering whether to take further action, which would include revoking the alcohol licence for the ground.
One fan, who had travelled to Auckland for the event, said he would not be returning. "This place is an absolute zoo," he complained. "There are guys exposing themselves and the behaviour has changed. They have to have a good look at what's going on here."
His mood was not softened by winning NZ$10,000 in a best costume competition. As a can of 7 Up.
*RYAN LAMB TAKES THE LONG VIEW*
It was not that long ago that Ryan Lamb was regarded as a potential England outside-half. When he started his career with Gloucester, he had an impudence and a willingness to take risks that got him talked about, even if he did not forge a reputation for tackling.
He made the Saxons squad but got no further. This week, at the age of 27, he joined Worcester, the club propping up the Premiership which has a realistic chance of avoiding relegation only by finishing 11th and ahead of the club immediately above them, Newcastle.
Worcester is Lamb's fifth Premiership club after stints at London Irish, Northampton and Leicester. He left the Tigers after last week's victory at Sixways with 16 months remaining on his contract having made only seven appearances for the champions.
He was signed as an understudy to Toby Flood but reckons his career at Welford Road was effectively over when he suffered a fractured hand in an A match, in what was described as an unsavoury incident that did not impress Leicester's director of rugby, Richard Cockerill.
Lamb has signed a three-year contract with Worcester which, given his turnover of employers, may be described as a triumph of hope over expectation. The director of rugby there, Dean Ryan, at least knows what he has taken on, having worked with Lamb at Gloucester.
"I don't want to waste this now," Lamb said. "That's why I signed for three years: I wanted to be in this for the long haul and I didn't want it to be a quick fix for either party. The vision Dean has for the club is impressive, so that's why I asked for a longer deal; he gave it to me and I really want to repay that faith."
If he fails, he will be a Lamb to the laughter.
*STILL WANT MORE?*
There's more to European rugby than the Six Nations, writes Robert Kitson
Dan Lucas on Northampton's tilt at the Premiership title
Re-live the Battle of Cardiff in 1987 on the sport blog Reported by guardian.co.uk 16 hours ago.