SCOTLAND hope a faster-paced game will produce a better result against Japan today after being second best physically in last week’s 17-3 loss to Wales.
They were certainly a lot more competitive after the break in that match when they upped the tempo, and while the damage was done by then, assistant coach Bryan Easson believes they can take heart from that improvement.
“Japan will be a completely different proposition,” he said of today’s opponents, who are ranked four places below Scotland at 15th in the world. “I watched them draw 17-17 with Italy last Saturday, they played Australia in the summer there as well, and they’re a different kind of side – probably a side that will suit us more. Wales are a physical side, where the Japanese play like the men. They really shift the ball around a lot, and it will be a quick, open game.
“When the Wales game got quicker we actually improved. What we can take out of it is that as the game speeds up, we’re better. And the more we move the ball and move the target, that’s a real plus for us.”
The Welsh defeat was a first reverse for the new management team of head coach Philip Doyle and Easson, who began their tenure with two impressive wins in South Africa at the start of the season. Easson is confident the problems exposed in a lacklustre first half against Wales are not chronic.
“The first half against Wales was a blip,” he said. “We had a good second half, and two good performances out in South Africa, so we’ll park that first half. We’ll obviously work on it, but we’re in a good place and we all believe that we’re getting bigger and stronger.”
With Hannah Smith back from injury today, Scotland have what looks like their strongest midfield: Smith and Lisa Thomson at centre and Helen Nelson at stand-off. But the pack has had to be reshuffled because of other injuries, and, while captain Rachel Malcolm is accustomed to playing at hooker, her position this afternoon, what she brings to the front row may be offset by the loss of her to the back row.
Scotland v Japan: Scotstoun Stadium, today 1pm, streamed live at www.scottishrugby.org
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here