Scotland head coach Andy Robinson gives a vote of confidence to his try-shy team and, with Kelly Brown judged fit, names an unchanged starting XV for the final RBS Six Nations Championship meeting with Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday.
Brown makes the team with only a day to spare. If the head knock he suffered against England on Saturday had happened 24 hours later, or had he still been suffering from headaches and dizziness on Monday, he could not have been considered.
The Glasgow Warriors blindside, one of Scotland’s outstanding back-row trio, will only do contact tests for the first time today but is expected to come through unscathed.
“The treatment from the medical team right throughout the championship has been first class and they’ve been really tested,” Robinson pointed out, referring to the raft of injuries suffered by the Scots these last six weeks.
“Kelly will have contact work tomorrow but so far he’s passed everything. If it had been a six-day turnaround he wouldn’t be available, that’s what happened with Mike Blair and Alasdair Dickinson last week.
“There’s no doubt about him, he’s not suffered any reaction to the knock and he was available to exercise as early as Monday.
“There are set procedures that kick in when a player is symptom-free-in this case, no headaches and no dizziness.
“Kelly was okay Monday morning, and it would only be if he was still suffering symptoms today that he couldn’t be picked.”
Robinson was keen to reward others who he feels performed against England in the 15-15 draw on Saturday after being under pressure for their places.
“We looked at every position, a number of players were under pressure for their places, but they came through with flying colours, and we want to see that consistency of performance,” he continued.
“I was particularly pleased with Graeme Morrison. I’ve made no secret that I’m a fan. I believe having a centre of his quality, with his pace and physicality, is important for us if we want to win matches, so that’s why he was given another opportunity last week — and I felt he took it.
“Graeme has real potential to grow into an outstanding 12. You look at (Wales and British Lions centre) Jamie Roberts, and I think the two are comparable. It’s just the delivery of that kind of performance every time.”
Blair and Dickinson have been recalled to the bench after missing last week while young Richie Gray has also come back with Nathan Hines’ knee problem flaring up again after his replacement appearance on Saturday.
“As far as the forwards go, we’re disappointed about where the scrum is, but it’s down to us to solve and fix that,” Robinson added. “We have to manage the scrum better, especially against a very streetwise Irish pack.
“Our lineout has done well, particularly inside our own third where it has gone exceptionally well, but playing Ireland — and particularly Paul O’Connell who is so astute — we have to be spot on this weekend.
“If we want to continue to achieve what we’ve done in this area, we’re going to have to be good technically, in calling and our timing, and those have come together well so far.”
What Robinson really wants Scotland to do is be like Ireland and have the “game understanding and the nous” to grab chances to win when they arise.
“The confidence is there, an understanding of how we want to play, a desire to improve, which is all great,” he said. “But there are a number of the areas still to work on.
“In the last four minutes on Saturday we gave England two chances to win the game but didn’t make one ourselves, and that spell had started with us having the ball between their 10-metre line and 22, a position where you should be looking to go and win the game.
“That’s when you look at a side like Ireland and how many close games they’ve been in, but they know how to win those games.
“There’s a lot of ambition, some real quality in our play, but the crux is to understand how to nail down games, and the matches against Argentina, Wales, Italy and England are all testament that this is an area where we have to work.
“When we fully understand that, this team will really move forward.”
Scotland (v Ireland, Croke Park, Dublin, Saturday, 5pm) — Hugo Southwell (Stade Francais); Sean Lamont (Scarlets), Nick De Luca (Edinburgh), Graeme Morrison (Glasgow Warriors), Max Evans (Glasgow Warriors); Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors), Chris Cusiter (Glasgow Warriors, capt); Allan Jacobsen (Edinburgh), Ross Ford (Edinburgh), Euan Murray (Northampton Saints); Jim Hamilton (Edinburgh), Alastair Kellock (Glasgow Warriors); Kelly Brown (Glasgow Warriors), John Barclay (Glasgow Warriors), Johnnie Beattie (Glasgow Warriors).
Replacements — Scott Lawson (Gloucester), Alasdair Dickinson (Gloucester), Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors), Alan MacDonald (Edinburgh), Mike Blair (Edinburgh), Phil Godman (Edinburgh), Simon Danielli (Ulster).