VERN Cotter, the Scotland coach, has warned there is no guarantee that more victories will follow in the wake of his team’s 36-20 win over Italy on Saturday.
Several players suggested before the game in Rome that they would go on to beat France and Ireland in their remaining Six Nations Championship matches provided they ended their nine-game losing streak against the Italians, but, while not ruling out that possibility, Cotter insisted that a lot of hard work would still be required over the coming weeks.
“There are no guarantees in the game,” Cotter said. “We’re not going to get thrown into this as some sort of great release and Scotland’s going to win every game for the next 20 years. It’s not going to happen.
“I think we can play better than we did against Italy. There are things we can improve on. The players can see that too.
“What we saw was a team that wasn’t frightened to lose. Even though there was a lot of pressure on them externally, the players did a good job on not letting that take over, then applying pressure on the opposition. I’m pleased they got the win, as they worked hard to construct the win.
“It was important that we didn’t go out there facing backwards and the players went into their shell. They didn’t. They scored two tries quickly. They wanted to apply and impose our game.
“We knew we would be tested in the ebbs and flow of the game and that was important. The next thing is France, who brings us other things we have to adapt to.”
After losing his first seven Six Nations games in charge of the squad, it was perhaps natural that Cotter did not share the certainty of his captain, Greig Laidlaw, who said he had known by looking into his team-mates’ eyes before the game that Scotland would win. “No, I’m not that confident, but I felt the team prepared well and it was a good two weeks,” the coach added.
“We got this and we’re happy to take it and we will enjoy the victory. It’s important to celebrate it, because it has been a long time coming.
“The challenge is now against France, and that will be tough. We have a few days before then and after a few days’ recovery we will try to put in a plan to help us win. There will be a different atmosphere at training. It won’t be complacency - it will be just a real desire to keep going forward.”
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