Mike Blair believes Vern Cotter will be looking for ‘plenty of improvement’ against Canada this weekend, despite seeing Scotland mark his debut as head coach with a comfortable victory over the USA.
Cotter took charge of Scotland on Saturday for the first time since joining from French side Clermont Auvergne and was rewarded with a 24-6 win, courtesy of scores from Tim Visser and Stuart Hogg, and a penalty try.
With the Rugby World Cup in England where the Scots will face the USA in Pool B just 15 months away, Cotter does not have much time to put his own stamp on a squad that struggled badly in winning just one game in this year’s Six Nations.
And Blair, the nation’s most-capped scrum-half, reckons the Kiwi will demand much more from his players when they face the Canadians on Saturday in the second outing of a tour that will also take them to Argentina and South Africa.
Emphasising the problems of playing in the searing heat of Houston, Blair said: “Before assessing Scotland’s performance it’s worth looking at the contributing factors to a tough fixture.
“At kick-off, the temperature, according to the pitchside meteorologist, was 95 degrees.
“I can’t sunbathe in that heat, let alone run around in it. It’s not just the heat; the knock-on effect is sweat that, trust me, makes the ball wetter than a dolphin’s duvet. I’d rather play in rain.
“This, matched with the rustiness of no game for a minimum of three weeks for a lot of the players, adds to a really stressful playing environment.
“As a consequence of these factors, a 24-6 score-line, with three tries, probably reaches pass marks, but Cotter will be seeking plenty of improvement against Canada next week.
“Cotter placed huge emphasis on the basics and doing the simple things well.
“When Scotland put phases together they looked organised and had rhythm but on the whole the game was such a stop-start affair, mainly due to continual scrummaging issues not helped by the referee and handling errors on both sides, that cohesion was rare.
“Against lower-ranked teams the key is building pressure through possession, going through the phases, manipulating the defence and waiting for opportunities. They will come, and when they come you’ve got to be clinical.
“I’m sure this would have been the message pre-game but it didn’t go entirely to plan as too many opportunities were missed. However, at least the chances were there in the first half.”
Blair added to the BBC: “The positives the tries, the victory away from home, the first-half scrum performance, the pitch that looked like an Augusta National green and the American commentators who referred to space on the pitch as ‘prime real estate’.
“Canada will provide a sterner test next week but, with this game under the belt, a more complete performance should be expected, and indeed demanded, by Cotter.”