'Have I done enough to keep the jersey? I hope so'
Adam Hastings has pleaded with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend to give him one more chance to show he can fill Finn Russell’s boots.
The Dark Blues saw the Calcutta Cup blown out of their grasp by a combination of Eddie Jones’ England and Storm Ciara as the Red Rose claimed a 13-6 victory.
Heavy rain and swirling gusts turned the Murrayfield clash into a farce, with both sides unable to tame the conditions.
In the end, it was the visitors who did just enough to win back the cup and keep their Guinness Six Nations hopes alive with the win.
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WATCH: Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and captain Johnny Sexton press conference following their victory over Wales in the Six Nations at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
However, Hastings admits he felt it was a missed opportunity for him to show he can spearhead Scotland’s attack against top opposition as he was forced into a futile kicking battle in a forlorn quest for territory as the winds bit.
It remains to be seen if Russell will ever be seen again in a Townsend team after he revealed the extent of his breakdown in relationship with the head coach in an interview with the Sunday Times.
But Hastings does not want his bid to be named Russell’s successor judged solely on Saturday’s shambolic squall.
“Just now, there’s no relationship, we don’t work at all together."
Hard not to read this as an ultimatum. https://t.co/AAMoK9m5Ww
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 9, 2020
“Pressure brings the best out of me I feel,” said the Glasgow stand-off, who also started the Scots’ championship opener against Ireland.
“In that first game it was a drier ball and I had a chance to express myself.
“But Saturday wasn’t the type of game I wanted. We all wanted a dry ball, that suits Scotland much better.
“We did what we could with it.
Did the Scots play with 14 as one player got a 1️⃣ from 🔟? https://t.co/0MduXFnJX9
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 8, 2020
“Have I done enough to keep the jersey? I hope so. I feel like I’ve only had one go at it after Saturday. Every time I got the ball I was kicking it. That must be one of the only games in my career in which I’ve kicked more than I’ve passed.
“Everybody wants to start, so we’ll see. I think everyone just wants another go to how what they can do after that game on Saturday.
“You want another go as soon as the whistle sounds. We felt if we’d had 10 more minutes we might have been able to conjure up a victory.”
Moore spitting home truths! #SCOvENG #SixNationshttps://t.co/2Hn7LJiWlC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 8, 2020
Scotland had opportunities to put scoreboard pressure on England but were spooked out of going for the posts on a number of occasions after seeing England’s Owen Farrell miss three penalties as the wind kicked up.
Ellis Genge’s try ultimately proved the difference to heap further frustration on a Scotland side which also fought bravely in Dublin only to lose out narrowly.
Hastings – whose team are tryless after two games – said: “It’s a tough one because it was one of those games where you almost don’t want the ball. You’re almost better off without it.
“Frustrated is the best way to sum it up. It was a pretty even contest. We got into their 22 a number of times and just couldn’t get over the line. Our penalties were a bit wider so we probably couldn’t kick them.
“I had a few conversations with Stuart Hogg and some of them were just a bit too wide to go for that three with the wind. You saw Farrell missed a few too so we’re all just disappointed.
“We’ve got to look at the positives. Obviously the Ireland game was disappointing. Against England, it just felt fairly even. We’ve got to look at ways we can win those types of games, we just can’t be relying on penalties.
“It’s a little bit tougher to take when you lose by the margins we are. If you’re getting smashed then you’re getting smashed but in these tighter games it’s so frustrating because you’re so close.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe 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?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 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
4 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 comments