By STEVEN DONN
THERE is a German term that accurately reflects how Scotland supporters are feeling at present. Weltschmerz. Roughly translated, it is the depression caused by comparing the real world with a hypothetical, idealised reality.
In the eyes of many of a Tartan persuasion, this should have been a successful Six Nations for Vern Cotter’s men.
They had started the Championship playing with a flair rarely seen around these parts in the last decade or so, and victories could have been secured over France, Wales and Italy.
With three wins on the bounce, a trip to Twickenham might not have seemed so daunting… and then Ireland awaited at Murrayfield for a chance to secure their first title since 1999, the last Five Nations before Italy joined the fray.
In a World Cup year, who knows what would then have followed…
Alas, it was not to be.
On Saturday, in Edinburgh, reality once again struck. A whitewash. A wooden spoon. An abundance of an all-too-familiar woe.
Having lost four straight matches, confidence was understandably at a low ebb in the Scotland camp. And, in Ireland, the Scots faced a side determined not to surrender their title without a fight.
The hosts’ play had lost most of its vigour, their defence was disjointed. The result was never really in any doubt.
But this didn’t feel like a match that was lost on the day. In fact, it seemed that this game was decided in the dying moments of that fateful clash with Italy. When Scotland could find neither the kick to touch nor the fortitude required to hold off an inspired and rampaging Italian pack. The pain that followed has lingered.
And so the heavy defeat to Ireland was to be depressingly expected. Pride nor a passionate crowd could lift a side now unsure of itself.
With England being denied the Championship, partly owing to the result at Murrayfield, there was another word of German origin that may have been flitting through the minds of Scotland supporters on Saturday evening.
Schadenfreude, however, won’t help Cotter come the forthcoming World Cup campaign and the demands that it will bring.
But what will?
In conversation with Jason White, that most formidable of tacklers for Scotland and the Lions, in the immediate aftermath, he stressed the need for ‘maturity’. Other teams had it. We were’t there yet.
But there was promise. And talent. Jim Telfer also said as much as he delivered his measured critique. It’s probably what makes the inability of Scotland to close out a victory over the past two months so hard to bear.
In Stuart Hogg, Alex Dunbar, Mark Bennett, Finn Russell, Jonny and Richie Gray, Scotland have ability – and the spine of what could be a successful team. But they must bounce back quickly from this latest run of depressing results.
Before the Scotland football team’s latest friendly against Northern Ireland, manager Gordon Strachan highlighted the need to win. They did so and while it was achieved not with a great deal of panache, it was a deserved victory.
And it’s that winning mentality that Cotter needs now.
Looking back, it seems that Scotland simply wrote off a year of rugby waiting for the Kiwi to arrive from Clermont. Whatever interim head coach Scott Johnson was doing during that period, we have yet to see any tangible benefits.
Experimentation seemed to be the gameplan. What we’ve discovered is that Scotland do not have a deep talent pool. So there would appear to be little need to keep dipping the toe back in…
That shouldn’t mean we raise the white flag and retreat behind the whitewash, however.
A well-organised defence certainly isn’t beyond the Scots. And there’s enough individual flair in the backs to cause other sides problems. But the mindset must be right.
To that end, a strong captain – or captaincy group – is needed. When Greig Laidlaw has gone off in recent matches, there has been a vacuum that has left Scotland in a fragile and frightened state.
Cotter will know the personality of his squad by now so must ensure that leadership is a constant on the field.
Is Jonny Gray ready for captaincy? What about Richie? There’s a balancing act when it comes to young players and responsibility – and Cotter must ensure he gets it right.
The captaincy did not sit well on the shoulders of Ross Ford, for example, when Andy Robinson appointed him a few years ago.
Aside from that, Scotland’s players need to see the evidence of their own talent – and that comes through winning games.
If Cotter can get his side believing, then the country can start doing again what it loves best: giving some of the bigger nations a bloody nose.
Progress through the World Cup group is certainly achievable. But, after the failure of 2011 in New Zealand, nothing should be taken for granted. And that is the reality of where Scotland stand now.
ThisIsAboutSport 