GREGOR TOWNSEND RUED failing to build on the momentous victory over England after Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations title hopes were extinguished by Ireland.
The Scots’ campaign began with so much promise following the joy of a first Calcutta Cup success at Twickenham since 1983.
But their faint aspirations of Championship glory were snuffed out by today’s agonising 27-24 loss to the Irish, which followed last month’s single-point home defeat to Wales.
A brave second-half fightback at Murrayfield proved to be for nothing as Johnny Sexton’s late penalty condemned the Scots to a sixth successive loss to their rivals.
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Townsend’s agony was compounded by losing Finn Russell and Scott Cummings to injuries which are expected to rule them out of next week’s encounter with Italy, while Jonny Gray also picked up a problem.
“That’s the frustrating thing – that we’ve not been able to build on that excellent performance against England and back that up with one, if not two, victories,” said the head coach.
Townsend speaks after the game. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
“Twickenham set the bar and for 32, 33 minutes against Wales the following week we played as well as Twickenham, in some aspects we played better.
“But since then we’ve not been consistent over the 80-minute period, against Wales and today.
“Every game is different, you’ve got a different opposition, a referee who has a different interpretation, so you’ve got to adapt.
“As much as I am so down about the loss today – and I know our players and our supporters are too – there is still a lot to be proud of this team.
“It’s two games in a row now that they have come back and created an opportunity to at least draw the game with a few minutes remaining and this team has had to be adaptable.”
Speaking about the injury concerns, Townsend said: “It is quite early to tell but Finn was removed from play with a concussion, so it’s unlikely he will feature in six days’ time.
“And Scott Cummings, we fear he may have a fracture in his hand, so if that’s the case he won’t be involved next week. Jonny Gray had a shoulder issue, so we will wait and see how he is.
“That’s three players – I imagine there will be a few more that turn up at training on Tuesday sore and we’ll just have to see where we are then.”
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Gregor Townsend laments lost momentum after Ireland beat them again
GREGOR TOWNSEND RUED failing to build on the momentous victory over England after Scotland’s Guinness Six Nations title hopes were extinguished by Ireland.
The Scots’ campaign began with so much promise following the joy of a first Calcutta Cup success at Twickenham since 1983.
But their faint aspirations of Championship glory were snuffed out by today’s agonising 27-24 loss to the Irish, which followed last month’s single-point home defeat to Wales.
A brave second-half fightback at Murrayfield proved to be for nothing as Johnny Sexton’s late penalty condemned the Scots to a sixth successive loss to their rivals.
Townsend’s agony was compounded by losing Finn Russell and Scott Cummings to injuries which are expected to rule them out of next week’s encounter with Italy, while Jonny Gray also picked up a problem.
“That’s the frustrating thing – that we’ve not been able to build on that excellent performance against England and back that up with one, if not two, victories,” said the head coach.
“Twickenham set the bar and for 32, 33 minutes against Wales the following week we played as well as Twickenham, in some aspects we played better.
“But since then we’ve not been consistent over the 80-minute period, against Wales and today.
“Every game is different, you’ve got a different opposition, a referee who has a different interpretation, so you’ve got to adapt.
“As much as I am so down about the loss today – and I know our players and our supporters are too – there is still a lot to be proud of this team.
“It’s two games in a row now that they have come back and created an opportunity to at least draw the game with a few minutes remaining and this team has had to be adaptable.”
Speaking about the injury concerns, Townsend said: “It is quite early to tell but Finn was removed from play with a concussion, so it’s unlikely he will feature in six days’ time.
“And Scott Cummings, we fear he may have a fracture in his hand, so if that’s the case he won’t be involved next week. Jonny Gray had a shoulder issue, so we will wait and see how he is.
“That’s three players – I imagine there will be a few more that turn up at training on Tuesday sore and we’ll just have to see where we are then.”
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Ireland Regrets Scotland Six Nations Championship