Six Nations: Redpath: we will bounce back

Scotland will rake over the coals of their mammoth Calcutta Cup defeat at Twickenham on Saturday for any sign of life in the dying embers of their Six Nations campaign.

The Scots are scheduled to regroup in Edinburgh next week ahead of their Murrayfield meeting with Italy on March 17 but the memories of the mauling by England will be fresh in the mind.

If anything, the visitors deserve credit for keeping the final margin of defeat down to 43-3, even if it was the biggest victory ever recorded in 118 meetings between the game’s oldest international rivals.

The Scots managed just a single penalty converted in the opening quarter by fly-half Duncan Hodge a paltry return for such wholehearted endeavour.

And replacement scrum-half Bryan Redpath accepts that when the videos are re-run and investigations launched into the scale of defeat, there may be few answers, other than the obvious.

‘‘We have to look at the video, see what we did wrong and try to fix those things we are able to,’’ said the Sale man, who replaced skipper Andy Nicol for the final 20 minutes by which time Scotland were already 26 points adrift.

‘‘But if you are playing against a side who score tries through good play, there is little you can do to change it.

‘‘Maybe we could have stopped two or three tries with better decision making but England took advantage of any situation they created.

‘‘We will bounce back and we can take some positives from what happened. We tried so hard but the final outcome was very disappointing.’’

In general agreement with the rest of the Scottish squad, Redpath acknowledges the current strength of the English side.

They play at a level Scotland can only dream of at present and, with an acute lack of playing resource, bridging the gap may be beyond them permanently.

‘‘That is as good an international side as I have ever played against,’’ said Redpath, a veteran of 38 internationals and two World Cup campaigns.

‘‘When they had the ball they played with confidence.

‘‘We were unable to hit any targets because they put us under so much pressure.

‘‘After 10 minutes, I was blowing hard and thinking ’my fitness can’t be this bad’.’’

The Scots couldn’t even take solace from the possibility that they had been the victims of a one-off raid, a good day for England and a bad one for themselves.

‘‘They threw the ball around a little in the opening stages but generally, England played in an open and sensible manner,’’ added Redpath.

‘‘They made sure all our possession was rushed and moved their own around very quickly. It was a very professional performance.’’

Rubbing salt into Redpath’s wound was the late damage inflicted by his Heywood Road team-mate Jason Robinson.

Less than six months since his switch from rugby league, Robinson is playing the 15-man game like an old hand.

His broken field running in the latter stages left Scotland in a ragged mess, the only surprise was that a converted Will Greenwood try was the only tangible reward.

‘‘Jason has talent and when he gets into spaces, he is a very elusive guy,’’ said Redpath.

‘‘Having said that, he will probably get the ball more playing for England than he would for anyone else.’’

Desperately needing a win to salvage their season, Scotland may turn to Redpath’s cleaner distribution skills against Italy, although the odds are that he will once again have to be content with a place on the replacements’ bench.

After years spent battling with Gary Armstrong for an international jersey, Redpath’s route into the side is now blocked by the continued fitness of Nicol.

But, enjoying a new lease of life with Sale following a turbulent season with Narbonne, Redpath is happy to commit himself to the Scottish cause, even if he has to suffer the constant frustration of being a substitute.

‘‘I am enjoying my rugby now and that includes Scotland,’’ he said.

‘‘It would be nice to start but you have to make the most of what chances you are offered.

‘‘Saturday would have been difficult for anyone. It is never easy to come into a game like that when things are going against you in that way.’’