Hadden: Scotland deserved better fate for efforts

SCOTLAND coach Frank Hadden found the scoreline in the 34-13 defeat by Ireland hard to accept after his side had dominated possession in the opening quarter of the RBS 6 Nations game.

Ireland struggled to get out of their half in the opening 10 minutes, but Scotland could not turn possession into points.

In contrast, David Wallace scored from Ireland’s first chance in the 22nd minute and Hadden admitted his “immature” side’s lack of cutting edge had told.

After Rob Kearney’s quick second, Scotland mounted a comeback before the break, but they were repelled on the line on several occasions, before Nathan Hines reversed a penalty decision by swinging his arms at an opponent.

All Scotland had to show for plenty of possession was Simon Webster’s try — the only one Scotland have scored in three Six Nations games — while the Irish ran in five.

And a grim day took a turn for the worse in the closing stages when lock Jim Hamilton was carried off.

Hadden said: “Looking at the scoreboard at the end of the game was hard to bear, we put a lot of work into that game. We got ourselves some excellent territory, our fair share of possession, and still we have crossed for one try. It is extremely disappointing considering we conceded one or two soft ones.

“Two lineouts in the opposition 22 came back to haunt us, giving away a stupid penalty on the opposition’s line.

“I believe it’s a sign of lack of composure of this maturing but still relatively immature side.”

Hadden insisted he had seen signs of progress, despite their third comfortable defeat in the championship — and he believes Scotland have nothing to fear from England in two weeks’ time.

“In some ways it was a wee bit better than last time,” he said. “We played with a little bit more rhythm, but not enough to break through the Irish side.

“The difference between the teams was the cutting edge — they have taken their opportunities extremely well and we have lacked that cutting edge.

“It sounds ridiculous to say it’s a step forward because the scoreboard doesn’t lie, but we felt progress was made. We felt preparations had gone better, there was a bit more understanding in the players about what we are trying to do.”

Meanwhile Jim Hamilton is set to miss the remainder of Scotland’s RBS 6 Nations campaign with a serious ankle sprain – but the lock did not break his leg.

The Leicester Tigers forward was carried off in the closing stages and it was feared he had sustained a fracture.

An X-ray at the Mater Hospital in Dublin showed only a sprain, but the injury is serious enough to make the 25-year-old almost certain to miss the matches against England and Italy.

Scotland’s medical staff will today also assess the rib injuries sustained by Kelly Brown and Euan Murray, and Scott MacLeod’s damaged shoulder.