Graham Bean and Mark Atkinson discuss Scotland's 35-29 win over Wales.
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00:00Hello and welcome to this episode of the Scotsman Rugby Show. My name is Mark Atkinson, Sports
00:07Editor, and I'm joined this morning by our Chief Rugby Writer, Graeme Bean. It's the
00:12morning after the night before for Scotland. They played Wales on Saturday, won 35-29 in
00:19the Six Nations. Graeme, what were your thoughts on Scotland's performance of the match itself?
00:26Yes, it was a strange sort of game again, wasn't it? They were sort of scintillating
00:31and sloppy in equal measure. They started off very well. The first 50 minutes they dominated.
00:38They were 35-8 up, I think it was, when they scored their fifth try early in the second
00:44half. And then they kind of just really dropped off and it's something that's happened a couple
00:50of times in this Championship. Wales ended the stronger team, 21 points without reply
00:57in that final half hour. Got to within six points of Scotland, got two bonus points,
01:06but Scotland held on in the end for a bonus point win of their own, which was much needed
01:13after the defeats by England and Ireland. So, overall, a bonus point win, five good
01:18tries, some good rugby, but a worrying drop-off in the second half.
01:23It's a strange sort of atmosphere afterwards, Graeme, because while, as you say, Scotland
01:28had won the match, it felt like the final half hour really took a shine off what Scotland
01:33had done and the really sort of Jekyll and Hyde nature of this team. How was Gregor Townsend
01:40afterwards? Did he try and see the positives in what Scotland had produced over the 18 minutes as a whole?
01:46He did, yeah. I mean, he stressed they were delighted to get a bonus point win. He said
01:50that's why we're here. But he also made the point, you know, he didn't like the way they
01:56dropped off in the second half. And that would be a concern because, you know, even going
02:02back to the first game against Italy, Scotland were going well in that game and then Italy
02:05brought it back to, I think it was 19 all at one point. And, you know, suddenly things
02:10were looking a little bit hairy. And then we all know what happened at Twickenham a
02:14couple of weeks ago when Scotland blew that lead. So, no, it is a concern. I think you're
02:20right about the crowd. I think they became disengaged in the second half. Moneyfield
02:24got very quiet. You know, there was something, people lighting their phones up and it was
02:29more interesting than what was going on in the pitch. But I think Wales' strong finish
02:36eventually got the crowd a bit more engaged. But, you know, it was a strange atmosphere
02:41after such a, you know, such a kind of vibrant first half.
02:46What do you put that down to, Graeme? Is it the fact that the Scotland team can't maintain
02:52the level they produced for the first half of matches? Is it down to the bench not being
02:57quite as strong? Or is it just down to the fact that in sport you have peaks and troughs
03:02and other teams do play well at times?
03:04Yeah, I think so. I think it's hard to maintain those levels for the full 80 minutes.
03:11The way Scotland play is very energetic, you know, it's such exciting back play. But, you
03:17know, it's hard to keep that going for the whole match. I think you're right about the
03:22bench. I think Scotland definitely suffered with the substitutions they made. I think,
03:27you know, taking Finn Russell off with, you know, what was it, 15, 20 minutes to go, they
03:33definitely had a dip after that. Russell said later he was cramping up, so it was probably
03:39a sensible precaution to take him off. But, you know, there's no doubt that Scotland miss
03:44him, you know, as any team would, one of the world's best playmakers. But also, you know,
03:50up front, I think, you know, Scotland rely so much on Xander Fagerson. They suffer a
03:56little when he comes off. And just, I suppose, the number of changes that, you know, they
04:01make in rugby these days is going to disrupt the flow. You know, it can re-energise a team
04:06and I think that's what happened in Wales' case. But, you know, it can have the opposite
04:10effect too.
04:11Absolutely, absolutely. We talked about Finn Russell, it was a fantastic performance from
04:15him, creative spark. He was at the heart of all good things Scotland throughout the first
04:20half. Who else stood out for you yesterday?
04:25I think Blair Kinghorn, the obvious one. He was the man of the match, scored two very
04:31good tries and just continued the form he's been in throughout this championship. And
04:36maybe getting the rewards yesterday for his performance in terms of the tries. He's just
04:42such a threat, you know, he's just galloping around an open field and he's a very hard
04:46man to stop. You know, he joins the line and he just combines really well with the others
04:53in the back line. It's great to see them in full flow like that. You know, I thought he
04:56played really well. Tom Jordan too, his first tries for Scotland yesterday, got two. You
05:05know, I think there's so many in the backs that stand out. You know, great to see Darcy
05:10Graham back, scored a good try as well, set up by Russell. But the forwards gave him that
05:15platform in the first half to play, you know, they got some really good ball and Scotland
05:19went wide and found the space. Hugh Jones again, very good. Yeah, no, it was a really
05:28heartening first half performance from Scotland. It's just a shame that they just weren't able
05:33to maintain those standards as the game wore on.
05:37Of course, it means that we go to Paris for the last game, Super Saturday next weekend.
05:45Technically, Scotland can still win the Six Nations, but to even be in with a shout, they
05:49have to beat France by 52 points and deny them a bonus point, which feels just completely
05:56unrealistic. So we're not going to dwell on the fact that Scotland can come in the Six
06:00Nations. They can't. It's almost an impossible scenario for them. And they go to Paris playing
06:05the one team right now that has it in their own hands. If they beat Scotland, then they're
06:11going to get their hands on the title. Blair Kinghorn said afterwards that Scotland want
06:17to go there and spoil the party. How realistic a notion is that, Graeme? Has the Scotland
06:23team got it in them to go to the Stade de France and be the ultimate party poopers?
06:28Well, they've done it before. You know, they won at the Stade de France four years ago,
06:32a really good performance. They'll be massive underdogs next Saturday. And Gregor Townend
06:40highlighted that the Stade de France will be absolutely jumping next weekend. It'll
06:44be rammed full, it'll be noisy, it'll be a light show. It's a nine o'clock kick-off
06:49local time, so they'll crank up the atmosphere and it should be a great occasion. There's
06:56going to be so much in France's favour that it's going to be such a difficult job for
07:00Scotland. But, you know, they have got the players there in the back line. You do worry
07:05about, you know, up front, will France dominate them? Almost certainly France will be without
07:11Antoine Dupont, who took a bad injury yesterday against Ireland, his knee. But, you know,
07:18his replacement, Maxime Luku, was excellent against Ireland. So there's no shortage of
07:24ready-made replacements coming through. It's such a tough task for Scotland. You know,
07:30you'd love to see them go and do something, but it'll be very, very difficult.
07:33Does it help put away the pressures off? The Scotland team has sometimes struggled
07:38to deal with expectation, but they can go there with a free-hit mentality. They can
07:43go there and play expansive, attractive rugby, knowing that the reality is that the result
07:49is not going to have a massive bearing on what happens to them.
07:52I think so, and it could work both ways, because there's so much pressure on France as well.
07:57I mean, the home support will be so expectant. You know, it's a great opportunity for them
08:04to win the title in front of their own fans. As you say, there's no pressure on Scotland.
08:09They go there as huge underdogs. No-one's going to give them a chance. But, yeah, you
08:15know, with Finn Russell, I think, at the helm, anything's possible. So, yeah, we'll see
08:19what happens.
08:20Indeed, indeed. So Scotland take a couple of days' break, don't they, Graeme? And then
08:24they're back in camp, I think, on Tuesday, when all the media briefings start again,
08:28ahead of the last week of the Six Nations. It's flown by, hasn't it?
08:32It has, yeah. I think they're going to have a lighter week this week, Scotland-Regattown
08:36has said. It's such a kind of gruelling end to the tournament with these back-to-back
08:42games. So, yeah, I think they'll move the Monday off and then they'll regroup and take
08:49things a little bit easier this week before heading over to France on Thursday to prepare
08:53for the match.
08:56We should probably say there's a concern around Rory Darge, the Scotland co-captain, who
09:01picked up a hip injury yesterday. Granted, hopefully he'll be back. But, you know, I
09:11think we'll wait and see. I think we'll know later in the week how he is. But he had to
09:16come off just before half-time. So, that is a concern for Scotland.
09:21It is. It is one of the key players you want him involved in such a match. Although, if
09:26he was to miss out, would it be Matt Ferguson who would come in most likely?
09:30Yeah, most likely. He did really well. He did well, didn't he, on Saturday? Matt Ferguson,
09:35when he came on. It's a great replacement to have. Scotland are really strong in the
09:41back row. The four that have played in this tournament have all been very good.
09:46Absolutely. Well, Graeme, we'll let you have a little rest before we head to the home straight
09:51ahead of the game against France next Saturday. We'll have a reaction to Scotland's win over
09:57Wales online today and in the newspapers tomorrow and then we'll build up to that huge match
10:02at the Stade de France next week. Graeme, thanks for joining me and thank you all for
10:06watching. Bye for now.