Scots in need of a laugh after Welsh howler

Normally I get a smidgin of pleasure from saying “I told you so” and even though mine - and a whole cast of folks’ - fears were eventually vindicated, making such a statement has such a hollow ring to it. Hadden may have his doubts but some of us were begging for his master plan to come off and have him saying, “I told you so”.

By selecting a team more notable by its omissions (no Thom Evans, brother Max left on the bench, as was Chris Paterson and no cover on the bench for both fly-half and lock) Hadden had further afflicted a team already rocked by the injuries to Euan Murray and Nathan Hines. To use a boxing analogy, if Wales were Joe Calzaghe, Scotland were Richard Dunn.

And so it proved. Straight from the first whistle the hordes of Red scented timid Scottish blood. Hadden’s caution first approach had been taken too literally by his team as they stood, almost frozen merely waiting to be defrosted. When one or two eventually sprung into life, both Simon Webster and Geoff Cross had to depart to receive medical attention after two badly-timed challenges.

Many coaches talk about showing the opposition a degree of respect but there is a fine line between that and rolling out the red carpet.

Wales were not about to ask any questions and duly set about the Scots pulling them this way and that and even barging through them with ease. They showed invention, pace and skill and were rewarded with four fine tries.

By the time Scotland did something similar of note, there was little time left to launch a comeback. More damningly for Hadden’s orginal choice, it came from Max Evans who, like brother Thom, should have started.

As ex-Scotland and Glasgow scrum-half Andy Nicol said on both TV and radio yesterday: “The Evans brothers should have started. Both have pace and skill which is required in order to beat teams like Wales.”

For Max it was a bittersweet moment. His first try for Scotland in his second appearance and what a score. By stepping on the gas the minute he received the ball, he danced around the Welsh defence for a brilliant score. Had Wales Shane Williams done something similar, forests the world over would be decimated to satisfy the demand of printed media needed to pay tribute to such a glorious piece of skill.

Just imagine what Max could have done had he started. Also imagine what Thom could have done too. In fact let’s stretch this even further and imagine what blindside flankers Kelly Brown or Al Strokosch could have done had one of them started in the number six shirt instead of Ally Hogg who looked a fish out of water in a position he was playing in for the first time since 19-oatcake.

To be fair, the Edinburgh man should never have been put on a hiding to nothing in the first place by Hadden. Still, he is not the first player to have been stitched up like a kipper thanks to a wacky selection deployment. Ask Dan Parks who must shudder when he hears of the place called Rome.

Speaking of which, after an average performance by fly-half Phil Godman, could the mad mullahs of the East Stand please tell all of us why they see Parks as a worse player and an infidel to be hung, drawn and booed off? Godman’s performance showed that the number 10 jersey is still up for grabs.

In fact, Scotland could have done with an on-form Dan if only to ping Wales back in their own 22 with his kicking game. Given that he ran Toulouse ragged on their own patch in Glasgow’s recent victory there last month, Parks must surely be a strong contender to start against France in Paris. Less chance of him being booed there as well.

France will be a tough enough proposition on their own turf - more so after after their shock defeat in dublin - and it is imperative that Scotland go there fielding the strongest side that is available to Hadden. Defeat can be handled by fans and media alike. Shoddy displays like the one against Wales are unacceptable.

As for the rest of the tournament, Italy coach Nick Mallet must have been watching cartoons if he thought he could convert Mauro Bergamasco - an open side flanker - into a scrum half.

It was painful to watch. Bergamasco is a fantastic player - one which many of Europe’s top clubs would love to have in their squad - but he deserved better than to be publicly humiliated by his own coach.

Granted Mallet’s recognised scrum-halves were all injured but surely someone else from the Italian league could have got on the next flight to London? Italy might have made a game of it against what was a poor England side who did the bare minimum to win.

With regard to the former World Cup holders, I suppose a win’s a win given the Autumn debacle, but they will have to play much better to stand a chance against Wales, who showed against Scotland that you limp-a-long against them at your own peril.

Undoubtedly, the major highlight of the weekend was the cracker served up by Ireland and France causing me to indulge on soda bread and Guinness for the rest of the week as penance for writing the Irish off in my predictions last week.

I hinted that Brian O’Driscoll might be past it - to be fair, I wasn’t the only one. O’Driscoll rolled back the years to put in a world-class display of both attacking and defensive rugby. If age is creeping up on him then one thing was clearly illustrated by his sublime display in the victory over the French. They always say a boxer’s punch is the last to go.

Heaven help those who stand in O’Driscoll’s path for the rest of the tournament.

MY TEAM OF WEEK ONE

15 Lee Byrne (Wales)
14 Leigh Halfpenny (Wales)
13 Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland - captain)
12 Jamie Roberts (Wales)
11 Shane Williams (Wales)
10 Ronan O’Gara (Ireland)
9 Harry Ellis (England)

1 Gethin Jenkins (Wales)
2 Jerry Flannery (Ireland)
3 John Hayes (Ireland)
4 Sebastian Cheval (France)
5 Paul O’Connell (Ireland)
6 Thierry Dusetoir (France)
7 David Wallace (Ireland)
8 Jamie Heaslip (Ireland)