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The surprising way Scotland like to celebrate a win

Scotland picked up their first win of the World Cup against Samoa.

Jamie Ritchie says it is only right Scotland sing when they are winning after getting their World Cup campaign back on track.

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The Dark Blues players could be heard belting out a number of songs from inside their dressing room as they celebrated hitting all the right notes during Monday’s 34-0 triumph over Samoa.

It was a moment when the tension that has threatened to strangle the squad in the wake of their disastrous defeat to Ireland was released.

And flanker Ritchie believes those moments of team harmony are crucial if Scotland are to remain on song during the rest of the tournament.

He said: “Every time we get a win we sing a couple of songs just as a group to connect afterwards and to celebrate.

“I think it’s important we do that. We talk about being a really tight-knit group and that’s part of that.

“It was good to get the win and it was good to have that chance to enjoy it, especially in a tournament like this when you spend a lot of time together preparing for matches.

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“When these good times come around you have to make the most of them.

“I think that team spirit has been key to getting us through the last week. There’s been a lot of outside noise coming in but there has also been a few honest conversations inside the camp.

“For us to keep each other going has been great and the celebrations after games like Monday’s shows just how collected we are.”

Scotland faced a humiliating early exit after their shocking display against the Irish was compounded by Japan’s stunning upset win over Joe Schmidt’s men.

Gregor Townsend’s were faced with requiring three bonus point wins to rescue qualification for the last eight but their display against the Samoans at the Misaki Stadium has delivered the first of those extras.

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And Ritchie believes Scotland are profiting from their refusal to panic in the face of that daunting challenge.

“Before we went out to face Samoa, we spoke about winning the game first and then if the opportunity was there we’d go for the four tries,” said the back-rower, whose side face Russia a week on Wednesday and then Japan four days later.

“We went in at half-time 20-0 up and the bonus point got mentioned in the shed.

“We talked about not going for points so much and instead going for the tries. We looked like scoring more than we actually did so it bodes well going forward. We knew we needed to perform this week. We all had belief that we could so getting the job done feels good.

“We talked about the Ireland game in the first couple of days after the game and tried to put it behind us. Obviously it got brought up a couple of times as we needed to react in a few areas but I think we did that on Monday night.

“I think that’s a truer reflection of what the team is about than Yokohama. If we can back it up it will be. We can’t afford to flit in and out of form like we have done.

“We played reasonably well in the warm-up games but then didn’t perform at all against Ireland. We need to back this win over Samoa up with another good performance against Russia.

“To nil Samoa, the first time they haven’t scored a point in a World Cup match, is a huge stat for us to have. Defence is going to be a huge part of our game going forward, especially against Japan in the final game.

“You saw what they did to Ireland so if we can defend like we did on Monday then hopefully that will be a great game.”

Scotland react to Samoa win

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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