Scotland stews over premature Ireland-All Blacks quarter-final chatter

MAN AND BALL: Scotland's Kyle Steyn battles for possession in Nice with Tonga's Afusia Taumoepau and Sam Lousi. 

Rugby World Cup: Scotland 45 Tonga 17.

Gregor Townsend saw Saturday night’s game between Ireland and South Africa in Paris. And he heard the chatter around it too. Scotland, sequestered away down south and inactive since the opening weekend, seemed all but forgotten.

So, while this seven-try, bonus-point win over the Pacific Islanders put paid to one source of frustration, there was a clear sense of another rising in its place as the head coach shared his thoughts on that epic encounter less than 24 hours earlier.

“Reading a few comments after the game it looked like Ireland were already in the quarter-finals and [there are] even people chatting today saying that Ireland are playing New Zealand, so for us maybe that’s already been decided.

“We know we have to win our next two games. It’s likely now that we’ll have to win with a bonus point or deny Ireland a bonus point but we’ve got a game next week to focus on and we have to get maximum points from that one first.” 

Romania in Lille next week won’t be any manner of speed bump. All eyes are already turning towards that last round of pool fixtures seven days later and, as always with these things, there are layers to the maths.

Scotland would qualify if they beat Ireland and deny their opponents a losing or try-scoring bonus point thanks to the primacy of the head-to-heads in the rules. There is also the chance that those two and South Africa, after they face Tonga, all finish on 15 points.

Should all three teams finish equal – unlikely but not impossible – then the criteria used to separate them starts with which side has the best points difference and on down through tries difference, total points scored and total tries scored if required.

Once the top side is identified then the other two are separated by a head-to-head. Things are clearly far from done in Pool B, even if it’s hard to big up the Scots on the back of a match that was very different to the heavyweight tussle in Saint-Denis.

“I don’t think it changes too much for us,” said out-half Finn Russell. “Since we lost to South Africa we were always going to have to go to Paris and beat Ireland so we knew this was the situation potentially.” 

Tonga have now conceded 104 points, including 15 tries, to Ireland and Scotland in their opening pair of games and head coach Toutai Kefu’s take on Scotland’s chances in Paris next month, were interesting to note.

“Look, both teams were awesome against us and they both totally deserved to beat us. I don’t think there’s probably much in it. They are two very even teams. Looking at Ireland now, a huge amount of confidence from the last couple of games. And also being the number one team in the world, Six Nations champions. Huge belief and that confidence is enormous. Players go into training week and into games with a high level of belief and confidence so that’s bloody hard to beat sometimes.” 

Kefu, it should be noted, knows what it is to surf momentum’s wave at this tournament. He was part of a Wallaby side that lifted the Webb Ellis in 1999, but his Tongan’s sides ambitions won’t spill beyond the pool stages.

They scored two good tries of their own here and took the lead twice in the opening half but there were two high tackles, from Afusipa Taumoepeau and Vaea Fifita on Jamie Ritchie and Russell respectively, and only the second of them was upgraded to red when it should have been both.

Here again was the same poor light being shone on this tournament and on the sport at large with referee Karl Dickson sending both decisions to a bunker which, for all the angles and technology in the world, still couldn’t get everything right.

Ritchie failed a HIA, did not return and faces a 12-day layoff now as a result of previous concussion issues. He should be available for that Ireland tie but Townsend was not impressed with the officials.

"I think we're trying to look at ways not to give a red card rather than what is an illegal tackle and should be a red card,” he said.” 

SCOTLAND: B Kinghorn; K Steyn, C Harris, S Tuipulotu, D van der Merwe; F Russell, B White; R Sutherland, G Turner, Z Fagerson; R Gray, S Cummings; J Ritchie, R Darge, J Dempsey.

Replacements: M Fagerson for Ritchie (34); D Graham for Steyn, H Jones for Harris, P Schoeman for Sutherland and G Horne for White (all 48); WP Nel for Z Fagerson and E Ashman for Turner (both 59); S Skinner for Gray (65).

TONGA: S Piutau; S Kata, M Fekitoa, P Ahki, A Taumopeau; W Havili, A Pulu; S Fisi’hoi, P Ngauamo, B Tameifuna; H Fifita, S Lousi; T Halaifonua, S Talitiui, V Fafita.

Replacements: S Moli for Ngauamo (51); A Coleman for Lousi, S Vailanu for Halafonua and S Takalua for Pulu (all 56); S Apikotoa for Tameifuna (67); T Koloamatangi for Fisi’hoi and S Paea for Talitui (both 70); P Pellegrini for Havili (78).

Referee: K Dickson (England).