1
Scotland must move on quickly from South Africa loss - Stuart McInally
Scotland hooker Stuart McInally will get the taste of defeat out of his mouth by “sinking his teeth” into Japan.
ADVERTISEMENT
Gregor Townsend’s men suffered their first loss of the Autumn Nations Series when they went down 30-15 to South Africa on Saturday.
But McInally stressed the reaction to the setback would be the same as the way they got down to business after their impressive win over Australia the previous weekend.
The Edinburgh player said: “You get over a defeat just by sinking your teeth into the next opponents.
“I remember someone asking me last week, maybe on the Monday or Tuesday, ‘you must still be buzzing from the Australia victory?’ But, win or lose, you quickly get over it and learn your lessons and you have to just focus on the next game.
“We enjoyed the Australia win that night but the next day we were straight into prepping for South Africa. And it will be the same for this. We will do our reviews and learn the lessons we need to but then our focus will turn very quickly to Japan.
“There will be lots of positives we can take from the game but lots of lessons as well.”
MATCH REPORT: Stuart Hogg became a Scotland record holder after a double against South Africa, but the world champions kicked their way to victory. #SCOvRSA https://t.co/PIOsXXADpt
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 13, 2021
McInally felt Scotland’s game plan of moving the ball quickly and trying to stretch the world champions worked well at times, notably for Stuart Hogg’s two tries.
ADVERTISEMENT
And he rejected suggestions that the best way to deal with their physicality was to play them at their own game.
“I don’t think that’s the way to play them,” he said. “You have to match their physicality and we believe we are a physical team and we showed that in large parts of our defence. A lot of their points came from penalty kicks not from barreling us and gaining momentum that way. I was really proud of our defensive effort.
“But if you look at the way we scored our tries, it was through moving the ball.
“That was part of our plan and it was good to see us pick off a few tries. We just needed to take a few more of those opportunities as well.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“You could say the Springboks were dominant, I would probably disagree."#SCOvRSA https://t.co/WKlc1cSIHB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 13, 2021
The Springboks notched two tries as well and it was the penalty count that cost Scotland with the tourists kicking themselves out of sight in the final quarter.
McInally admitted there were some lessons to learn from the set-piece.
“They have got an excellent lineout defence so you have got to give credit to them,” he said. “In that second half they really squeezed us and picked off a few lineouts.
“We came up against a really good scrum. They were powerful and well-coached. There were a few times we creaked a little but there were a few times I felt we got into good shape and rhythm and potentially didn’t get the rewards.
“You have got to give credit to them at set-piece. They are a set-piece team and they came and delivered on what they tried to deliver on.
“On the whole we could have done better at scrum time and solved a few issues but credit to them for the way they played.”
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments