Six Nations: Scotland vice-captain identifies game-plan issue but insists players are behind Gregor Townsend

Hurting Grant Gilchrist out to banish ‘dark days’ as he insists players to blame

Scotland's Grant Gilchrist cuts a despondent figure after the loss to Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The Rugby World Cup defeat by Ireland haunted Grant Gilchrist for weeks afterwards and the Scotland vice-captain was probably just getting over it when he was plunged into another slough of despair by Saturday’s loss in Rome.

Gilchrist is not one to hide when things go awry and when he fronted up at Oriam this week to speak about the second-half collapse against Italy he offered a full and frank mea culpa. It was, he said, the fault of the players who veered away from the game-plan and allowed Gonzalo Quesada’s side to come back from 10-22 down and score 21 unanswered points to eventually win 31-29. Scotland needed to be stronger mentally, insisted Gilchrist.

The 33-year-old described the immediate aftermath of the Italy loss as “dark days” but he now wants the squad to use that feeling to motivate them this weekend when they face Ireland in Dublin in the final round of the Six Nations. Incredible as it may seem, the result in Rome has not ended Scotland’s title chance but it would take an extraordinary sequence of events for Gregor Townsend’s side to be crowned champions. They would have to beat Ireland by a margin of 39 points, and pick up a bonus point while denying the Irish one. They would also need the France-England game to go in their favour.

A more realistic target is the Triple Crown which would come Scotland’s way with any sort of win this Saturday. It sounds simple but it’s 14 years since they beat Ireland in Dublin and seven since they defeated them at home. The 36-14 reverse at the World Cup in Paris was the latest setback, their ninth defeat in a row against the Irish under Townsend.

Scotland didn’t start well in the Stade de France in October and Gilchrist holds himself partly responsible.

“I was involved in the first try and every time I shut my eyes or switched my brain off, that’s what I thought about, for weeks afterwards, because that’s how much we care, that’s how much I care,” he said. “When I was busy it was fine, but I’m sure all the boys felt the same: whenever we had any kind of spare time, when you’re in your own head, I was just thinking about that game, because we didn’t show how we can play individually, collectively.

“We have to start well. We know we have to start well against every team, but against this team we have to start well. And we knew that in Paris, but we didn’t start well, and that puts you in a really, really tough position against a team that know how to control the game and keep you at arm’s length pretty easily.

“We know where we need to be better, and there couldn’t be any more motivation now. We’ve got to go and give it absolutely everything – based on what happened last time, based on what happened last weekend, and because we’ve got a Triple Crown to play for, we’ve got a Championship position to play for. This is still a chance to make a success of this tournament, and that’s what we’re desperate to do.”

Steve Tandy, Scotland’s defence coach, said it was wrong to question the players’ mental toughness but Gilchrist is of the belief that it is an area that requires work.

“It’s something that we identified from the World Cup, that we need to be stronger mentally, we need to manage momentum in games better, and clearly it’s still a work in progress,” said the Edinburgh lock.

“There’s no quick-fixing these things. We’re trying to learn how we can get better. It was clear at the weekend the blueprint of how we can play and we did go away from that. Without intentionally doing it we got way too loose. All our good play came from direct physical carries, great breakdown work, quick ball that then created opportunities. We maybe got a little bit lost in the offload or the pass that unlocked them and didn’t really respect the fact that it was the hard work and the breakdown work that Italy couldn’t handle in that first 20 minutes.

“We need to be loads better when we’re under pressure and when the ref’s turned against us. We’ve shown some growth. We went 10-0 down against England but we stuck to our plan, we can do it, but the weekend was an example that there’s still a lot of work to be done in that area.”

Having beaten Wales and England and been denied a victory over France by a contentious decision, Scotland seemed to be on track for their highest ever finish in the Six Nations but the result in Rome has derailed the campaign and Gilchrist is adamant the blame lies with the players, not the coaches, and they are hurting.

“In the immediacy it was a dark couple of days,” he said. “No one cares more than the guys in that changing room. We’re devastated with how the game went and the opportunity we let slip by.

“We felt like we prepared well and the game plan was right but that it didn’t marry up with how we played in that period from around the 33rd to the 70th minute,” he said. “It’s not how we trained, it’s not the plans the coaches have put in place, so who needs to take responsibility? The guys on the pitch. The fact that the performance level dropped has to be to do with the players.”

Gilchrist was unequivocal when asked if the players were fully behind Townsend’s game-plans.

“One hundred per cent, 100 per cent,” he said. “There’s no question about that. It’s just our ability to stick to a plan and make good decisions under extreme pressure. We’re not talking about simple two v ones here, we’re talking about a complex game with loads going on and quality opposition.”