Hamish Watson was the king of the breakdown for Scotland against Italy and picked up the man-of-the-match award for his role in facilitating a vital win.
“It was something we looked at before the game, that we targeted the breakdown a bit,” he said. “We know how good their back row is as well, it was something we talked about needing to match.
“You saw jackals across the park today – I think even big Grant Gilchrist got one! – so it was just a great day for us at the breakdown but there’s still a lot for us to work on.”
It wasn’t just in the close-quarters combat that Watson impressed, he also had a couple of powerful carries, including one in the first half in a move which culminated in scrum-half Ali Price scooting round under the posts – although that score was chalked off for a forward pass.
“I’ve always liked to carry the ball, I’ve always been a decent carrier, but I’m just looking for other options like trying to off-load,” said the flanker. “That one was obviously forward which was disappointing, I should have pulled it behind a bit more, but we’re creating those opportunities and that’s something we really need to work on, just being a bit more clinical in those finish zones.
“There were a few other opportunities that we let slip which is something we need to work on if we want to beat France. Our defence is right up there with the best in the tournament at the moment so if we can get that finish zone sorted and be a bit more clinical, we can be tough to beat.
“It was ugly at times, but we scored another two times and that looks a pretty decent victory. It’s 17-0 away from home and we’ll take that any day of the week, and we’ve only conceded two tries in the last three games so we’re pretty happy with that.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here