The Friday night phonecall between Adam Hastings and exiled star Finn Russell
Scotland’s Adam Hastings hopes his Dublin display has earned him the trust to take on England.
The Glasgow playmaker was handed the Dark Blues reins in the absence of disciplined talisman Finn Russell.
The Racing 92 maverick left big boots to be filled after he was dropped for his side’s Guinness Six Nations opener amid allegations he had breached team rules with a late-night drinking session.
But Hastings can be satisfied with his display on his first start in the championships.
He came close a couple of times to unpicking the hosts’ stern defence at the Aviva Stadium only to see his team-mates’ mistakes let Ireland off the hook.
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WATCH: Head Coach Gregor Townsend and Captain Stuart Hogg hold a press conference at Aviva Stadium in Dublin following a loss against Ireland in the Six Nations Championship.
But he did kick all his side’s points in a narrow 19-12 defeat that will be best remembered for skipper Stuart Hogg’s horror fumble on the tryline.
The opening could have swung the balance back in the favour of Gregor Townsend’s team but for now Hastings is just praying he has done enough to convince his head coach he can be relied upon as Scotland look to retain the Calcutta Cup when the Auld Enemy arrive in Edinburgh next Saturday.
“I just wanted to go out there and put in a half-decent performance and gain a bit of trust,” said Hastings.
“People have questioned my ability and performances in the past so it was nice to put in a steady performance yesterday.
“There was a bit of nerves there first of all. My consistency has been questioned at times but I just went out and played my usual game and didn’t think too much about it all.
“Everyone who plays wants to start and I would love the opportunity (to take on England). We’ll see what happens. Finn is a quality player so it’s hard to leave him out of the squad.
A game Scotland could have and maybe should have won. Ball security will be high on the do list this week.
Here's how we rated the Scottish players #IREvSCO #SixNations ???????https://t.co/kRfi4QxeSw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 1, 2020
“England present a huge challenge. They got to a World Cup final not so long ago. They are a team in form. Would I love the opportunity to run out against them next week? Yeah of course.
“Facing Ireland has been huge for me. I went to the World Cup and only played one game against Russia. I thought I played well but at the end of the day it’s not a Tier One nation. So it was nice last night and it has definitely given me a bit of confidence.”
The Russell controversy overshadowed Scotland’s build-up but Hastings insists the fallout will not stop the 26-year-old being welcomed back into the camp.
Not an easy start #SixNations #IRLvsSCO #sixnations2020 pic.twitter.com/OyT49yqaMs
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 1, 2020
And he even thanked his former Glasgow team-mate for the warm wishes he sent on the eve of the Dublin Test.
He said: “I spoke to Finn on Friday night. He gave me a FaceTime and wished me all the best and he also sent me a text just before the game. So yeah, we’re fine.
“It was massive that he could take the time to show his support. At the end of the day we’re still mates and we look out for each other. For someone in his position to do that meant the world. It was really nice.
“We felt it was blown out of all proportion by the media. Us guys are all mates. We’re not p****d off at him. It was just a case is saying, ‘Right this has happened. Let’s move on now’.
“That was that but it was dragged out a bit, as it does, on Twitter. We weren’t to bothered by it though.”
Saturday’s defeat was another painful blow for Townsend’s men, especially given the number of clear-cut openings they failed to capitalise on.
However, they can sooth those wounds by ensuring the Calcutta Cup stays north of the border for the third year running next weekend.
“I think the last two years we’ve played really well against England so I think we can feed off that,” said Hastings. “I think that will bode well for us next week.”
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The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments