Press-ganged: The fallout from Scotland's Yokohama nightmare continues

Anyone who’s paid attention to Scottish rugby over the last 12 months will have noticed a propensity for big talk before games, usually followed by a backward retreat after the inevitable let down. Fighting words followed by soul-searching; that pattern has been the only thing that has been truly predictable about Scotland under Gregor Townsend.

Sunday's World Cup opening defeat to Ireland followed the pattern. Gregor Townsend assured us that Scotland were the fittest team in the world and playing the highest tempo rugby in the tournament while his forward coach, Matty Taylor, spoke about “smashing Johnny Sexton” with the quivering reverence of a guy who thought he’d just invented the concept of targeting the opposition’s fly-half.