Scotland’s two least experienced players came through the cauldron of their first game in Paris with flying colours and much acclaim, but Richie Gray and Joe Ansbro will willingly swap the plaudits for more wins rather than Saturday’s Stade de France disappointment.
Despite having just a handful of caps between them the pair were probably Scotland’s outstanding performers in the 34-21 loss, in which Andy Robinson’s side scored three tries as many as they managed in all of last year’s championship.
However, the French returned to form with four tries, completely dominated the scrummage and feasted on Scottish mistakes as the visitors tried to play a more expansive game but simply lost the ball too often.
“As a team we are ultimately disappointed,” said the 21-year-old Gray, who clearly became a favourite of the partisan Stade crowd with a series of rampaging runs and thumping tackles.
“The guys played really well but we made mistakes that cost us and we have to be fully focused on making sure these same errors do not happen against Wales next week.
“We gave away too many simple turnovers and the French are probably the best counter-attacking team in the world, so you just cannot do that against a team like them.
“They can counter-attack at pace, from any turnover, any long kick. They have so many men supporting the counter-attack it is very difficult to pick up on.”DevelopingHe added, “Wales do enjoy throwing the ball about as well we saw that against England. I am sure when they come up to Scotland they will be a bit more direct but there are similarities there with the French.”
Gray was prominent in the lineout, in defence making two try-saving cover tackles on backs and in attack, his storming run starting the move that brought skipper Al Kellock’s try, and he agreed that Scotland’s attacking game was still developing.
“As a team we put a lot of effort into attack but obviously the nature of the game today was that the ball was getting thrown around a lot. For a team to score three tries in France is pretty exceptional and we want to get a few more against Wales.”
Ansbro, making only his third start for Scotland at his preferred position in the centre, also received high praise from the French for his performance but felt only frustration.
“I found it very difficult to get into the game in the first 40 but as the game went on I felt more comfortable and happier with my performance,” he said. “A few more offloads going our way, or even a few more phases, and if we did not allow them to turn the ball over so much it could have been a completely different result.
“We can take a lot of positives from this performance, but overall we lost and we have to be honest with ourselves. We have to look at the game and how they punished us.”FrustrationHead coach Robinson said he felt similar emotions on Saturday to a year ago in Cardiff, when a collapse in the last 10 minutes cost the Scots a deserved victory.
“There is so much good about what we’ve done, but the feeling inside me is full of frustration and that little bit of passion that comes out of knowing that we have to have composure in the way that we play.
“I feel sorry for the boys because they put a lot of work in there but they were being punished for some key errors and we can’t afford to make those errors. I am encouraged by the way the guys played and the attitude that was shown, but we’re here to win and we’re not going to accept being unlucky losers.”
There is one injury doubt from the game, with Rory Lawson having been replaced at half-time due to a back problem which is still being assessed.
Photo by Flickr user smemon87.