SCOTLAND Under-20s coach John Dalziel has blamed missed opportunities for his team’s 35-19 defeat by Australia in the world age-group championships on Monday night. The Scots now play Wales in Salford on Saturday knowing a win will give them a best-ever finishing place of seventh, but Dalziel is convinced his squad might well have gone through instead to the fifth-place decider against New Zealand had they built on their 19-14 lead early in the second half against the Australians.
“We had defended well and then kicked a penalty to touch in the corner,” the coach said. “If we had scored from there the game might well have been out of sight. Instead we turned the ball over and they ran the length of the field for a converted try. So they went ahead with a cheap score.” stated Dalziel.
Scotland also missed vital chances in the first half when Adam Hastings missed two penalties and Hugh Fraser one. “Our kicking was poor against Australia, both from the tee and from hand,” Dalziel added. Full-back Blair Kinghorn is a doubt for the Wales game after suffering a dead leg, while Murray McCallum is out with an elbow injury.
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