After an incredibly disappointing showing against Ireland Scotland were looking and needing to come back. The attack of Scotland had been yet to fire, not scoring a try. This therefore was a major worry. Yet despite this the game against Samoa also required a defensive performance.
Scotland did really show up against the Samoa in defence, holding them to 0 points whilst the attack did enough despite the amount of handling errors and the inability to convert. This is what really damaged Scotland and showed just how far they still have got to go.They had a forward momentum of 25.7% the mistakes meaning they played the majority of the game in between the 10m and 22. Samoa had a record of 43.8% of moving into the Scotland 22, whilst Scotland languished at 31.6%. This statistic shows an interesting story in the game. Samoa could move and attack but were unable to complete scoring plays.Whilst Scotland got trapped in between the 22m, but able to score when it mattered,
This ability to score when it mattered was still shrouded in a wasteful style of play. Take this Scottish sequence from a line-out in the 7th minute The ball comes off a lineout with Scotland crashing up the middle
The pod is sat slightly backward but Russell has 2 options and finds Bradbury, playing slightly wider and wanting to stretch Samoa. The carry is effective and more importantly the cleanout is quick and the ball is presented well. This means Scotland have fast clean bal for the next phase. From which they use Gray as a carrier and clear this quickly.
However whilst this also allows fast ball Scotland attack back into bodies. This means that they lose all momentum. The pass is a good one but the decision to attack back into bodies makes it easy for Samoa to defend. The decision also has all the hallmarks of being rushed. Russell does carry the ball close to the line but he has runners tracking him, this means that he has to turn, he slips and the ball slows.
The carry from Bradbury is good and enables Scotland some forward momentum. But the wide angle below shows the damage have done. Having started just beyond the 10m, Scotland have done any real territorial damage. This is symptomatic of the game and Scotland just simply being unable to progress.
Eventually however, Scotland do manage to break the Scottish defence playing off the inside shoulder against an aggressive Samoan blitz defence. This half break enables Scotland to expose Samoa and they can then really begin to attack the holes which are left in their wake. But this break, no doubt frustratingly for Scotland fans leads to Russel trying to force another chance. The fragmentation of the Samoan line enabling him to play in bhind, but then he forces an offload. Scotland just seeming to lack a temperament of control. This turnover meaning that Scotland lose the new found momentum.
Yet, this passage of play also shows a dangerous edge to the scottish attack. Shown again in the 27th minute where Sam Johnson and Darcy Graham attack the short side following a scrum. Johnson makes a long run but then throws an offload behind him to the ground, luckily for Scotland it doesn’t quite fall for the Samoan Scrum half. As a result the ball goes out, rather than Samoa being able to play with it.
Scotland’s first try however came off an incredibly interesting passage of play. In which, following a lineout Scotland kick in behind. Maitland then regathers the ball, but rather than play through the hands, Scotland kick wide yet again having retightened the Samoan defence through a carry by WP Nel. This time, it is luckily regathered by Hogg and won off the ground by Scotland. Scotland then do another carry slightly in field, this is then followed by another cross kick. This time however, with Penalty advantage the kick is perfectly placed and Maitland is able to gather easily and score.
Just from looking at this wide angle you can see the effect the multiple kicks in the build have had in the build up. The Samoa defence lined up on 1 defender on the inside rather than the winger keeping his width. This means that Russel rather than previously kicking into a crowded area can make a slight misjudgement with the entire 15m area in Scottish hands.
Looking forward, this may well become a tactic for Scotland. The Japanese defence struggled to counter the Irish kicking game. As a result the tactic and set play may be brought again in the crunch game. However most importantly for Scotland if they are going to challenge and manage to avoid an embarrassment they will need to limit the mistakes and play a more limited and controlled style of rugby. Not to the effect that they don’t play with their style of play but merely that they don’t looking in the dark for chances. By trying to force it Scotland lacked a fluidity and as a result it led to an incredibly broken performance.
The Analysis Guy 