Williams: Scots can win Six Nations

UNDER-PRESSURE coach Matt Williams has predicted that Scotland can emulate Grand Slam winners Wales by turning around their ailing rugby fortunes and winning the RBS Six Nations Championship.

His forecast came after Scotland conceded seven tries to England for the first time in the 122-year history of the Calcutta Cup, crashing to a 43-22 defeat just a week after being trounced 46-22 by Wales. Scotland were also humbled 40-13 by Ireland.

“What this game showed, the one thing it proved to me, is that Scotland can win the Six Nations. We can win the championship. It might take us another year but every one of our players competed and we can show the players ‘this is what you did right and this is what you can do better and if you do that you can win’.

“That was a passionate display from the players out there. The way their effort and commitment kept up, even though the game seemed lost, they came back again and again, ran the ball from their own try-line so I thought that was absolutely first rate,” he said.

But the former schoolteacher admitted: “What we are not getting is 80 minutes of constant, world-class rugby. We are getting it in patches, sometimes for a half, against France and out there was different. That’s what the Welsh have done this tournament, they have had a lot more consistent performances than any of the other sides.

“We are bringing in new players, we have brought in new conditioning systems, new sports science systems and we are delivering in patches in games but at the top end, internationally, the improvement from nine to 10 up the scale takes a long time.

“It is not something anyone can deliver in a very short period. We have proved in this tournament we are delivering it in patches.”

That sense of hope for the future seems to be commonplace in the international rugby management landscape at the weekend.

Andy Robinson is convinced England have emerged from a troubled RBS Six Nations campaign stronger for the experience and ready to take on the best sides in the world.

The England head coach reflected on the lessons learned from a frustrating campaign, in which his side lost their first three games by the grand total of just nine points.

“International sport is won by small margins and we have to make sure that when we play and it comes to the wire, our belief and attention to detail means we have the ability to win those games.

“We’ve moved forward as a team,” said Robinson. “This Six Nations has helped the long-term planning because our leadership has been tested. We have had to find leaders. We have had to play players in back-to-back games and they learned from their mistakes in a tough environment.

Kicking coach Dave Alred conceded he was to blame for the fiasco against France that saw Charlie Hodgson and Olly Barkley switch the responsibilities between them only to miss six penalties and a drop goal.

But Robinson insists mistakes have to be made in the development stages of a side. After all, it took Clive Woodward three botched attempts before England finally sealed the Grand Slam in 2003.

“I am passionate about England and I have confidence in the players selected and the process we have gone through to select those players,” said Robinson.

“You are learning new things about players, about the game. I have made mistakes and I will always put my hands up. That is part of being strong. You can own up to your mistakes. The great thing for me is whatever decision has been made, everyone has stuck with it. That is why the spirit has really developed.”

That sense of optimism was shared by Robinson’s French counterpart Bernard Laporte.

France put themselves in with a chance of retaining their title with a comprehensive thrashing of Italy on Saturday, but Wales’ victory over Ireland meant the Six Nations trophy had found itself a new home in Cardiff.

The impressive way in which Les Bleus finished the competition against Italy, Ireland and for some of the Wales game was in stark contrast to how they began the tournament, where they scraped uninspiring victories over Scotland and England.

And Laporte, who has drafted in a host of new faces in recent months, believes he has seen enough potential from his young side to feel hopeful about where France go from now.

“The emergence of all the young players is definitely one of the most positive things to point out in this year’s event,” said Laporte.

“Of course I am happy and also proud of my team because we reached the objective of beating the Italians with the necessary score,” said Laporte.

“But there is still a lot of work to complete until the 2007 World Cup. The road will be long.”