Vern Cotter admitted “it doesn’t get any easier” after watching his Scotland side play their part in a superb match that Wales eventually sealed 27-23 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
The Scotland coach, who was overseeing his side’s ninth successive winless game in the Six Nations, told the BBC: “I don’t like losing. The information from that game will make us grumpier and will helps us push for that win.”
Although it was hard to swallow, Cotter said that there were positives to take from the game. He said: “The attitude was better so if we can build on that we can keep on improving. We need to get better at stopping team scoring.”
Having trailed 7-0 early on, Scotland twice came back to lead, only to concede the lead for a third time in the closing minutes. Greig Laidlaw, the Scotland captain, was understandably crestfallen after coming so close and playing so well, but he admits the gap between the top home nations and the Scots is narrowing. Speaking on the BBC he said: “We are getting closer. We are doing so many good things, but a couple of soft moments cost us. We just gave them the game in the end.”
The Gloucester scrum-half paid tribute to his opponents saying: “Credit to Wales, they were better on the day. We need to improve on the lineout.This view was echoed by the final Wales try scorer, George North, who said: “We knew it would be an immensely tough challenge.”
