THE SCOTSMAN REPORTS
Evans brothers bid to restore pride in Paris



Published Date: 13 February 2009
By BILL LOTHIAN
THEY'RE the shaft of sunshine in a winter of Scottish international rugby discontent.
And, tomorrow, most hopes of replacing those Welsh woes with French frolics when the tricolours are confronted in Paris appear to be resting with introductees Max and Thom Evans, who will become the 20th pair of brothers to play side by side in the dark blue jersey and the first since Sean and Rory Lamont in the 2007 World Cup.

More than that they are said to represent a flair and cutting edge conspicuously lacking so far and, in looking to vouchsafe that reputation, who better to ask than a front row forward?

After all, they're the ones who spend their day hacking out possession before entrusting it to the back-line and, in the case of new Scotland substitute prop Moray Low, he has seen the Evans strut their stuff at Glasgow for some time.

Can they translate the type of form that ran Toulouse ragged when the European giants were toppled in their own backyard by Glasgow earlier this year?

Acknowledging the sense of satisfaction that comes with sticking his head out of the scrum and seeing hard-earned possession being put to good use by the likes of the Evans', Low said: "Both are talented players who will encourage Scotland to set a solid forward platform so as to feed them quality possession with Max the older and wiser one.

"If we do set the platform and get Thom and Max on the front foot then watch out. Both have great feet and great speed; they're capable of finishing things off once the forwards have got the ball."

Traditionally, such attributes such as élan and free spiritedness are the preserve of tomorrow's hosts but Low, who will face a late fitness test before sitting on the bench for the first time after contracting gastroenteritis in the build-up to the match, said: "In many ways, Thom and Max will look more French than the French themselves if they can cut loose. They're exceptional athletes and, when Max scored for Scotland A recently, he threw in a celebratory somersault.

"Like all backs, they're up for the glory but us forwards won't mind because somebody's got to get the plaudits if we can be relied upon to do the hard work!"

At the other end of the cap scale from rookie Low, is Scots skipper Mike Blair and he, too, believes centre Max and winger Tom can give a lead.

"One of the issues to emerge from the Welsh game is that we were possibly trying TOO hard," said Blair. "Everyone is so desperate for a win that situation might be putting more pressure on us.

"What we have to do is concentrate on performance in the knowledge that results would then take care of themselves. We need to let things flow and the Evans brothers are good examples of players who are relaxed and chilled so that this rubs off on guys who just need to trust in their own abilities."

If the message from Blair is not to get over-anxious, he nevertheless hopes to draw on European experiences at Edinburgh – notably when they won home and away against Castres this season although his scrum half opposite number tomorrow, Sebastian Tillous-Borde, only figured in that double-header for approximately five minutes.

"Despite the fact Tillous-Borde was mostly kept on the bench, we'd done our homework. So far as tomorrow's meeting is concerned, Tillous-Borde is a big unit who likes to attack around the fringes of rucks," recalls Blair. That is worrying given the edge Wales were able to establish in this contact area but Blair insisted: "I'm confident of improvement on what we did last week so as to put more pressure on the opposition; getting into the game early so as not to be playing catch-up is also vital."

According to full back Hugo Southwell, everything will come down to the speed of that ruck possession Scotland aim to generate. "You can have the best back attackers in world rugby but if they don't get the ball in space then they are going to struggle," he explained. "What we have to do is emulate what (centre] Jamie Roberts did for Wales against us because when he got over the gain-line in the middle of the pitch channels opened up out wide.

"Quick ball is everything in order to generate the impetus we'll need, perhaps through Graeme Morrison doing what Roberts was able to do. If that happens, then maybe we can do what we did a couple of years ago and send France off to the dressing room at half-time 9-6 down and with the boos of the crowd ringing in their ears. That sound gave us a big lift and it was just unfortunate we couldn't hold on that day." The need to try to turn the home crowd against their heroes is emphasised by prop Allan Jacobsen in advocating a back-to-basics approach.

"We lost last week in the first half when Wales had ascendency in the scrums," he said.

"It is something we have addressed and the mood now is to get out there and prove we can do better. It all starts at the scrums and line-outs and carries on from there to the breakdowns.

"It's a simple game plan with no grey areas which is back to basics, really."

Bookmakers have France 1-9 with Scotland offered at 17-2 on a day when besides the creativity expected from the Evans' they will need to expect to withstand a home onslaught, according to promoted prop Ally Dickinson.

"France are going to come straight at us up front," he said. "There are lots of buys hurting massively. I was massively disappointed with the way I played. I'm not naive about the size of the challenge ahead but it's a chance to step up and prove what I can do."

Dickinson desperately hopes tomorrow will be atonement day for Scottish rugby in a city where they haven't won for a decade.

This article was posted on 14-Feb-2009, 08:40 by Hugh Barrow.