Scotland has lost big personalities, big talents and big leaders among their 6 Nations casualties, but Sean Maitland expects those remaining to fill the gap in all three ways against France in Paris.
Maitland himself missed the first game of the championship with a hamstring problem before returning against Ireland, and he knows injuries are part and parcel of the two-month treadmill that is the 6 Nations.
But he agreed the loss of Stuart Hogg, Ryan Wilson and most recently stand-off Finn Russell had cut deep into the squad’s leadership group.
“We’ve lost a few big personalities and big talents in the team,” said the wing. “It’s definitely going to test us, but when you play international rugby you get used to guys getting injured and other guys having to step up.
“It’s crazy when you look to see how many of our leaders are missing. But we have a strong group who meet twice a week to talk about things on and off the field, and we still have Greig (Laidlaw) who plays a big role.
“Everyone’s been injured through their rugby careers and the Six Nations doesn’t really have a long turnaround time so it’s always going to be tough, but it’s just part of the game.”
With Russell at least the decision was made quickly in the week, allowing for greater clarity for whoever is coming in.
“He’s only going to have one brain so that’s a pretty good decision there,” said Maitland. “There is a short turnaround and the call’s been made pretty early.
“But with Horney (Pete Horne) coming in, or Duncy (Weir) or Hasto (Adam Hastings) or whoever, we have three talented guys who can come in and execute the gameplan that we want to play.
“The last two days we’ve been playing well and at least it’s better than that Australia game a couple of years back where Hoggy went down in the warm-up and I ended up at fullback. At least this is better because we’ve got cover.”
The squad has full confidence in anyone who comes into fill the missing men’s shoes, he continued.
“You’ve got to have depth, that’s one thing that people say Scotland is lacking, that depth in certain positions, but it’s important that in World Cup year these guys step up and take responsibility.
“Look at Blair (Kinghorn). He had a great start to the tournament against Italy and then he came on against Ireland at fullback and definitely had a massive impact on the game. So that’s great. Hoggy’s obviously one of the best fullbacks in the world, but for Blair to come in is great for us.”
What needs to change from the Ireland game – as much as the missing personnel – is taking advantage of opportunities, Maitland believes.
“The Ireland game is gone and we did well for 95% of the game with just 5% not there,” he added. “Ireland are a world class team and that will expose you if you slip off
“The big thing for me is now finishing the opportunities well. There are three or four times in the first half where we just needed to convert. Where we need to improve is on finishing our chances, that’s the big one.”
And it may not be as obvious as expected to target France’s problems defending the kicking game, so badly exposed in the second half against Wales and all day against England.
“There are a lot of teams who’ve been using their kicking game as an attacking weapon, and France have named their team which is obviously good for us.
“They have named a new full-back and I’m sure they’ve been preparing over the last two weeks and looking at what they need to improve on. But we’re not going to start kicking everything at the Stade de France.
“France are under the pump from their media so they have a lot to prove, and the first 15 minutes is huge for us. They will fly at us from the start.”
