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Frustrated Hogg says Scotland 'chucked it away'

By Peter Thompson
Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg

Stuart Hogg felt Scotland “chucked it away” in a 22-16 Six Nations defeat against France in Paris on Sunday.

Vern Cotter’s men were unable to end their 18-year wait for a victory in the French capital despite another try for in-form full-back Hogg, who marked his 50th cap by going over in the first half.

Tim Swinson also crossed for his first international try to put Scotland 16-13 up just after the break, but 17 points from the boot of the impressive Camille Lopez and a Gael Fickou try in the second half gave Les Bleus their first win of the tournament.

Scotland beat Ireland in their first Six Nations game, but could only claim a bonus point eight days later after they were overpowered by Guy Noves’ powerful side and came away with captain Greig Laidlaw on crutches and wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

John Hardie, John Barclay and Fraser Brown also sustained injuries and Hogg – who has now scored in four consecutive Six Nations games – said Scotland only had themselves to blame for their loss at Stade de France.

“It was tough going out there, France have a massive physical pack but we chucked it away in the end I think.” he told BBC Sport.

“Our errors cost us throughout the whole game we got ourselves in good positions as you saw for the first try. We showed patience in attack and got a try from it.

“But, we didn’t look after the ball, we didn’t respect it enough and ultimately that has cost us.”

Scotland head coach Cotter was left frustrated that his side were unable to be at their fluent best.

He said: “We’re not happy to lose the game. We’ll have a good look at some of the reasons we didn’t have control from start to finish.

“The game was a bit of a stop-start affair. We couldn’t get rhythm into our attack. We seemed to lose shape. But credit to France they put pressure on us. Coming away with one point is better than no points.

“We showed some real character. The guys dug in hard even losing a couple of players. We perhaps needed one more possession and field position but we didn’t get it, so credit to them.”

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Trevor 58 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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