Scotland won’t get to the last eight of the Rugby World Cup without some risks being taken, but Vern Cotter is seeking to minimise them as much as possible as they face the USA in Leeds.
There are ten changes from the starting XV that defeated Japan 45-10 in the opening match at Gloucester on Wednesday, the sizeable number expected with just a three-day turnaround but still with five men all of them probably crucial to some degree in the overall campaign suiting up again.
Many of those rested are only given the temporary sanctuary of the bench. It’s perhaps a nod of respect to the Eagles, who Scotland meet at 2.30 pm at Elland Road tomorrow, that the entire first choice front row and squad skipper Grieg Laidlaw are among those in reserve for any emergencies.
Henry Pyrgos will skipper the team in his World Cup debut, and the only other player not to see some action at Gloucester starting at Leeds is Alasdair Strokosch, a veteran of New Zealand 2011.
For all that they were perceived to have benefitted from it on Wednesday, the schedule of this Rugby World Cup is challenging for Scotland. Their four pool games are covered by only 17 days the equal shortest of any team in the tournament – and their first three by just 10.
That had many believing that raising eyebrows when Cotter picked John Hardie as his sole openside in the squad surely the New Zealand-born flanker, the outstanding performer against Japan with a try and a team-leading 21 tackles, would have to sit for one pool game? Apparently not.
Hardie is one of the five retained from Kingsholm, along with Stuart Hogg, Mark Bennett, Finn Russell and Grant Gilchrist. Gilchrist is reasonably well-covered by the Gray brothers but losing any of the other four would be a serious blow.
Still, Cotter seemed to suggest yesterday that he wasn’t entirely sure the team he was naming would be able to run out, and certainly the public part of the training session at Leeds United’s famous ground was conducted mostly at walking pace.
“If you have a look at it, this game four days after the first, then six days between this game and playing South Africa, it’s all pretty tight as a schedule,” he said. “So we’re adapting, that’s one of our key principles.
“There are still bumps and bruises and guys who haven’t trained 100-per-cent yet so if we have to change the team then we will change the team.
“We had the majority of the players involved today which is good, about all we could ask for given the short time available.
“To try to develop new plays and things like that would be a bit much to ask for, so it’s just really about doing simple things and talking about doing them well.”
In the case of Hardie, the player “knew he would have to back-up these games”, and has prepared accordingly, said Cotter.
“Let John get through this game and we will assess things,” he said. “He’s conditioned himself physically and mentally for this. We first need to get through this game and then have a really close look at the South African game, then we will compete against them in the best way possible.”
The Eagles have been improving since Scotland beat them comfortably in Houston a year ago, Cotter continued.
“I expect them to be very physical, very direct,” he said. “They have speed and they have size and power.
“They’ve had some very good performances, beating Canada by 40 points and they had a week to prepare, they’ve watched us play two days ago, so they will be on the money, I think.
“We’ve had a quick look at what the States will perhaps offer. We can’t be sure because they’ve had a week to prepare, so there may be some surprises.”
Was the US, with their resources in manpower and their formidable college system, a future world power in rugby?
“Gee, I hope they wait a while longer for that,” said Cotter.
Pyrgos is charged with continued the momentum of Gloucester, and is confident he can pick up the baton.
“it’s a huge honour to captain Scotland at a World Cup,” he said. “I know how much it means to the country and I’m really excited.
“We’ve had a look at what went well for us and what we need to improve on against Japan, but the goal of this whole camp in the two months we’ve been together is just to keep on improving every day, maybe a little detail around the contact area, ball carrying, or tactically, and we’ll try to take one step forward against the USA.”
Scotland team: Stuart Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); Sean Maitland (London Irish), Mark Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors), Tim Visser (Harlequins); Finn Russell (Glasgow Warriors), Henry Pyrgos (Glasgow Warriors, capt); Ryan Grant (Glasgow Warriors), Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors), Jon Welsh (Newcastle Falcons); Richie Gray (Castres), Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh Rugby), Alasdair Strokosch (Perpignan), John Hardie (unattached), Josh Strauss (Glasgow Warriors).
Replacements: Ross Ford (Edinburgh Rugby), Alasdair Dickinson (Edinburgh Rugby), Willem Nel (Edinburgh Rugby), Tim Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), Ryan Wilson (Glasgow Warriors), Greig Laidlaw (Gloucester), Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors), Matt Scott (Edinburgh Rugby)