Q: How do you explain the slow start?
WG: “I don’t know. I think the slow start was brought on ourselves by the fact that we conceded some penalties which gave them the momentum to get into our 22. We didn’t have a good enough exit to start the game and we were 14 points down and under the pump. The penalty count in that first period was seven to one. That gave them the momentum to get the start they wanted and put us under quite a bit of pressure.”
Q: Did you get the reaction you wanted in the second-half?
WG: “I thought the second half was a huge improvement. We spoke about putting them under pressure with line speed. I thought that definitely improved. The discipline and soft penalties cost us. We created a number of chances but we weren’t clinical enough to finish them. The number of entries for both teams into the 22 were the same. That’s a big work-on for us but there’s a lot of positives out of that performance apart from the scoreboard.
“I felt in that first-half there were a couple of times we could have got over the line and we’ve had an intercept of seven points against us. Potentially it could have been a lot closer.
“I felt in the second-half when we were putting Ireland under pressure at 27-10 if we’d scored then and got it to 27-17 it could have been an interesting couple of minutes. They are a very good side, the number one side in the world, and they showed that this afternoon.”
Q: Were the problem areas ones you can work on before Scotland?
WG: “I think so. We’ll continue to work on that and ask the players to have a look at themselves and be pretty hard. There were definitely some good moments. We made some nice breaks and I thought we had some really good momentum in the 22 but just didn’t come away with those points. That’ll be ‘work ons’ for us to do. We probably forced one or two passes. We also had an overthrow and a not straight which we’re normally pretty good at.
“If you look at them I thought their game management was excellent. They played two or three phases in that middle area of the park. If they were able to force a penalty from that they took advantage and if they didn’t they went to the air. I thought we were much better in the second-half.”
Q: In terms of selection for Scotland are you more inclined to make changes than you were at the start of the afternoon?
WG: “I think we’ve always said we wanted to look at some players in the squad. There was an opportunity for those players to go out there and perform this afternoon.
“Alun Wyn failed a HIA so he won’t be available for the next game so that’s one that we did. Tomas Francis came off with a tight calf so he’s going to get scanned on Monday. We will look at what players might potentially get an opportunity next week.”
Q: It must have been a difficult afternoon to enjoy?
KO: “It was tough. We didn’t deliver on what we spoke about. They didn’t do anything that really surprised us. They got on top of us and with our discipline we gave them entries. I’m proud of the boys. We stuck at it and the boys left everything out on the field. There was plenty of experience out there. I thought we took some good decisions, some brave decisions and just lacked a bit of accuracy, myself included, at lineout time.
“At first phase we turned the ball over and put ourselves under pressure. That’s the ball game, that’s probably the difference between us at the moment and a team like Ireland who are number one in the world.
“They are just accurate, clinical and got the job done. I thought we created enough but lacked that accuracy. From the effort we asked from the players for 80 minutes we delivered that. I can’t question that at all. It’s that small detail, that little bit of accuracy, and that detail which let us down.”
Q: Was Joe Hawkins one of the positives?
WG: “Yeah I think so. There are a lot of good things about him, some good footwork. He wasn’t the only one who made a good break then passes inside and we’ve turned it over straight away. He will learn from those moments but he showed some nice touches, footwork and timing. I thought Rio Dyer showed a lot of stuff as well and Liam Williams, apart from the yellow card, showed some nice touches too.
“At the end of the game I said in my head that I actually wasn’t that disappointed with our performance. I just think there’s a huge amount of upside in us. In the past we’ve been able to work hard and fix things and I said that’s them at their best today and we just need to be a little more clinical, start better and focus on our discipline.
“I think there were about 16 penalties, which just isn’t good enough. You need to get that down to under 10 in international rugby. When you come in at half-time and there’s 9-2 on penalties you’re under the pump. We will work on that and some decision making going forward. We will keep working hard. In test rugby you realise it’s a massive step up from club rugby.
“A lot of our players have been in the same position as Ireland are now, when you’re in an arm-wrestle you don’t make many mistakes, you’re clinical, you’re disciplined, you back everything. It’s going to take a few steps to keep improving in that area.”
Q: What are your thoughts on Liam Williams’ yellow card and some of the penalties against Ireland?
WG: “I’m not sure there was a need for Andrew Porter to do that, as clearly he was going to score. Thought the tackle off the ball on George North could have been yellow card because you’re in a good attacking position and you don’t have him to clear out. But they weren’t massive incidents. I’m comfortable with the referee and TMO making those decisions because I think there have been times when we’ve been too conservative and given away yellow cards too freely. Iain’s (Henderson) gone up there and you could argue he could have got his body out of the way.
“With Porter, if I was his coach I would be giving him a huge kick up the backside because even though he’s made a great tackle on the line to hold up Jac Morgan, he probably needs a reminder that in a big game, those things are potentially a yellow card. We got the same with Liam Williams which put us under pressure for 10 minutes. But yeah, I’m comfortable with the decisions the referee made.”
Q: Were you frustrated by the referee’s decisions at the breakdown?
WG: “Yeah, there were a few times. Adam Beard and Justin Tipuric were counter rucking but the referee said their hand was on the ground. They were tough calls but we just need clarity in the review.”
Q: How impressed were you with Tommy Reffell?
WG: “It suited for him to compete hard at the breakdown with the way they were playing with left and right pods and trying to keep the ball, so we needed to put pressure the ball. Ireland are good at the breakdown, get quick ball and momentum, so we needed to win the collisions and stop that.”
