Naming a team in which one Six Nations Championship newcomer was given his Test chance while another was discarded as Grant Gilchrist was called up for his debut and Rob Harley was dropped, he refused to accept that Scottish naivete had been at fault as Wales gained the upper hand in that key battleground, however.

"We were frustrated by the fact we got conned," he said, apparently referring to the way Wales were reckoned to have held back at scrums to give the impression Scotland were trying to engage too early.