Gregor Townsend leaped to the defence of his new captain, Stuart Hogg, after the full‑back lost control of the ball in the act of touching down. In so doing, he missed a simple try for Scotland at what felt a crucial juncture of a match Ireland won 19-12.
Townsend, the Scotland head coach, was optimistic in the lead‑up to the Calcutta Cup match in Edinburgh on Saturday, backing Hogg to continue an otherwise promising start to his captaincy.
“The way Stuart has led the team with so many challenges in front of him gives me great encouragement for how great a captain he can be over the next few years,” Townsend said after Scotland’s latest defeat in Dublin. “He was ill and in bed on Thursday and missed training. We had two players ill [on Saturday morning], a couple of players injured.”
Hogg’s howler, committed after some smart approach play worked him free into the corner, came early in the second half with Scotland trailing 13-6. It was not as expensive a mistake as it could have been, because the referee brought play back for a penalty that Adam Hastings converted. But the sense of despair at another chance missed by the Scots must have felt crippling, as their quest goes on to win in Dublin 4 (they did win in this city in 2010, but across the Liffey at Croke Park).
“We don’t judge players on one mistake in the game,” Townsend said. “There’s hundreds of mistakes in any game, and we did get three points from that. We had other opportunities to score five and seven points. He’ll be fine and will bounce back. I think he’s a real driving force as captain of this side.”
For all Scotland’s promise in attack, the familiarity of the failure to make it tell on the scoreboard might incline Scots to feel as if nothing has changed, despite the fresh faces in the lineup on Saturday. There were changes, too, in Ireland’s setup but their doggedness and refusal to yield, no matter the cuts inflicted on them by Scotland’s flashing blades, felt just as familiar.
Johnny Sexton, assuming the captaincy from Rory Best, scored all of Ireland’s 19 points, including a nicely worked try in the 10th minute that promised more in the way of technical excellence than Ireland would go on to deliver. Sexton’s brilliance was surpassed only by that of Ireland’s back row, who stole ball time and again just as the visitors seemed certain to score.
Opposite them, however, Scotland boasted fine performances from their own back row, as well as the man who stepped up for his first Six Nations start under controversial circumstances. Hastings looked the part at fly-half, landing all but one of his five kicks at goal, his one miss from a long way out on the angle. He will go into the match against England on Saturday with confidence.
The last time the Calcutta Cup was contested on Scottish soil, Scotland ran rings round England courtesy of a masterclass by Finn Russell. After his controversial departure from the squad a fortnight ago for disciplinary reasons, there seems little hope of a rapprochement in time for Saturday.
“It is not something I have thought about,” said Townsend. “We had two weeks’ training and cohesion was very important in our selection this week. Players who missed two or three days’ training did not get selected. It will be difficult for anybody who has missed the last two weeks to get into the squad.”
Despite his absence, Russell made a point of supporting his erstwhile protege at Glasgow, sending Hastings a text before the match. “Finn is a class bloke,” said Hastings. “He’s been a good friend of mine ever since I arrived at Glasgow a few years ago. It was really nice of him to text me. It made me feel comfortable. He was wishing us all the best, so there is no bad blood at all.”
Russell may yet be rehabilitated later in the tournament, but it feels too late for the Calcutta Cup. No matter, the calibre of playmaking is far from Scotland’s problem, whether it is Hastings or his mentor wearing the No 10 shirt. Scotland, as ever, can play a bit. What their long-suffering fans will want to see is more evidence they can make their prowess register on the scoreboard. If they can, the Calcutta Cup might remain in their hands for a third year. That has not happened since 1972.
