THE HERALD REPORTS

KEVIN FERRIE, Chief Rugby Writer February 05 2008

INJURY BLOW: Rory Lamont has damaged his left shoulder and left ankle and is unavailable for selection for Cardiff. Picture: Colin Mearns
With Rory Lamont ruled out of next weekend's meeting with Wales the Scotland management have postponed naming the team that will make that trip to Cardiff until tomorrow.

The official explanation was they need extra time to assess options as a number of players picked up injuries during Sunday's defeat by France. However, a bigger consideration is the on-going doubt over Andy Henderson's availability as the centre waits to find out whether he will be cited for head-butting opposite number Damian Traille following the first French try.

The citing commissioner has 50 hours after the game finishes during which to decide whether or not to refer the matter to a disciplinary hearing. That period will only end this evening.

Frank Hadden, the national coach, had been due to name his side this morning but since Henderson, who was winning his 50th cap on Sunday, is a near automatic choice it would have had to be a provisional starting XV that was named.


All that is clear-cut at this stage is that Lamont has joined brother Sean - who is out for the season - on the sidelines. "Rory has damaged his left shoulder and left ankle. He will require further assessment but will be unavailable for selection for this week's game in Cardiff," said James Robson, Scotland's team doctor.

He also reported a number of Scotland players had "sustained the usual bumps and bruises associated with a Test match" and would require further monitoring and treatment over the next 24-36 hours.

That period should also see the management indulging in some pretty hard thinking following what was the biggest setback since Hadden and his assistants George Graham and Alan Tait, came together.

While poor decisions by match officials helped France gain momentum, a squad that prides itself on its togetherness cannot consider that sufficient reason for fundamental failings in almost every department.

Forwards coach Graham would have felt the setpiece went particularly well in the first half. However, particularly after France made adjustments to their front-row the scrummaging performance fell off drastically while the lineout play also deteriorated.

Ahead of the game there were worries that the lack of game time Euan Murray has had at Northampton Saints, along with playing at an inferior level in the English first division, could have been a factor and that has to be looked at.

While it is hard for coaches to deal with individual errors made by players whose skills should be up to Test level, the quantity was simply unacceptable and in Tait's specialist area of defence there were also issues with his head coach acknowledging after the match that there had been times when French attackers got too much room to build up momentum.

Hadden also paid tribute to the quality of the French defence, but considering that they had only days to put together a structure there the Scots lack of punch was disturbing. While there was a willingness to get the ball wide, the way it was mechanically slung from man to man was in stark contrast with the individual dynamism of their opponents.

As noted last week, Hadden and his team are now under a very different kind of pressure for the very reason they were more optimistic about this campaign.

Additional competition for places means more chances to get things wrong as well as right. Coaching and selection are a very different proposition when resources improve and while that is more exciting it also means there is more reason to expect improved performances.

Few will call for wholesale changes immediately but there are areas where changes can be made, not least to improve the on-field leadership support to captain Jason White.

Simon Taylor, the player Hadden considers the team's toughest warrior, could be available but including him after several weeks out would be a risk while in any case he is another, like White, who tends to offer inspiration though example.

Ally Hogg is another who could come into the back-row mix, but to include both would be to do without John Barclay and particularly when his rival openside specialist Martyn Williams is among Wales' most influential players, that would seem unwise.

In the second-row, extra aerial ability may be required and while Scott MacLeod would seem the obvious choice in that case, if communication was an issue as has been suggested, then some thought should perhaps go to recalling Scott Murray who ran Scotland's lineout for years.

In the backs the management will be hoping that Henderson will be available, while the choice of Hugo Southwell or Chris Paterson at full-back may give a clear indication of how ambitious they intend to be in their playing style.

This article was posted on 5-Feb-2008, 08:30 by Hugh Barrow.