Scotland's permanent coach

Scott Johnson has produced an interesting set of results and has the player's backing and I reckon that if Scotland win on Saturday the SRU will sign him up forever but is this the right decision?
I personally think that wins over a very poor Italy side and an injury ravaged Ireland team have papered over a few cracks, in fact I believe this team should be beating a second class Ireland team by more than four points on the other hand the same Italy side only lost by seven to England and the Ireland team drew with France. I do not doubt that it has been an improvement and we have clearly missed a true open side, despite this I think Johnson should be kept as backs coach and if possible Ryan as forwards coach but I'd like somebody new to oversee things.

However finding somebody to coach the team may be difficult, there are very few candidates, Robbie Deans may be available if the Lions win in the summer, Gregor Townsend will be mentioned if Glasgow win but I think he should be allowed to keep control of Glasgow for five years and try to push towards Heineken cup progress before he can be linked with Scotland aside from that there are very few candidates.

I'd like to see someone with a deeper understanding of the Scotland game to be honest. Judging from the latest selections we're in for a torrid few years if Johnson is in charge. Another case of, good assistant, poor head.

Perhaps someone like George Graham. Or Sean Lineen would be nice!

Id be tempted to go for Wallace Arnold

Who TF is Wallace Arnold ? Yes Nelly and looks like a urine poor selector too.

I wouldn't want Robbie Deans anywhere near Scotland! As excellent a track record as he has from Canterbury and getting the Wallabies their first TriNations in a decade, his selection policy has been erratic enough for him to be in charge of the French team. He has a bigger player base to work with in Australia so if he struggles there, he'll be all over the shop here.

On the basis of statistically the best Six Nations we've had in seven seasons - as grim as that sounds given our last two performances - Johnson has done a lot to warrant his place. I believe Dean Ryan is returning to Sky after the Six Nations so we may be in the market for another forwards coach anyway. I would rather see Scotland trying to make progress under Johnson than just bring in some other coach who will scrap everything the players have been drilled to do and start from scratch again.

What I have liked about Scotland in this Six Nations is that the team has been settled and there haven't been the reactionary changes from game to game or moving players around. Whilst I would have Brown at six and Sean on the bench, I respect that Johnson has his team and has only really made one form-based change to it. Scotland are not a good side by any means but I think if Johnson continues in this way whilst bringing in some of the uncapped Glasgow guys and making Scotland more competitive at the breakdown, we'll be on to a decent team.

I would also leave Toonie to develop at Glasgow. He's pretty much silenced all of the sceptics (myself included) who scoffed at Lineen's deposing and has a brilliant squad to work with. But, yes, the lack of any plausible Scottish candidates to take over is just depressing.

I'm still with Wallace

If only our rugby coaches were as good as our football managers, Bryan Redpath doesn't really compare to sir Alex,

Plenty of candidates out there - We need a young ambitious coach wanting to make his mark - in 3 years time after the next WC some of the top jobs will be available. what Scotland do not need is a second rate coach or a has been.

Todd Blackadder, right TJ?

He would be my preferred choice but unfortunately has fairly well ruled himself out. ( or wsa that a bluff)

I have heard other ambitious antipodeans mentioned - and there are other candidates as well.

I remain convinced that as the scotland coachs job is not a top job we will never get the top coaches unless they are patriotic scots - McGeechan for example. ( and no scots are ready now) I do not think we need the has beens, the second raters or the failures - the likes of Johnson . Matt Williams Hadon etc.

The only way we can have a top coach is someone ambitious on their way up using the scotland job as a stepping stone to the top post. In 3 years time after the WC some of the top obs may well become free. Scotland have plenty of scope to improve and the players to do it. Its a great opportunity for the ambitious to make a mark.

The good thing is that for the first time in a while, it isn't simply a case of promoting the coach of Edinburgh or Glasgow, they'll need to look further afield.

I'm sure SJ is in contention, as will be Dean Ryan, but I'd like to think the SRU will at least pick up the phone to the likes of Steve Meehan, Nick Mallett, Wayne Smith, EOS, Rob Baxter, Dean Richards, Todd Blackadder and Jim Mallinder. If you don't ask you don't get, and this search needs to be far more comprehensive than the last two searches that determined Andy Robinson and Frank Hadden, who happened to be on the SRU payroll already, the best men for the job.

This is really tricky and I'm glad I don't have to make the decision.

I have gone from being pretty upset by the appointment of SJ as interim coach to impressed at the way that he and the squad have handled the media, and the growth in confidence that we have seen. The players obviously rate him, OK his selection has been iffy at times, but he is privy to information from the training ground that we do not have. He also knows whatever it is that John Barclay did to his cornflakes/wife/daughter/dog that has offended him so much that he cannot make the team.

SJ has had a short amount of time to get the team running how he wants and has obviously chosen one gameplan that he believes suits our players. OK so it is not what we, as fans, would ideally like to see but this is a relatively young team (with a good few experienced heads) with a new coach so keeping it simple stupid is a good place to start.

Should SJ be offered the gig full time? This depends on the result and how we play at the weekend. I would however say that even if we put 100 points on France in the best exhibition of champagne ruby the world has ever seen (not going to happen) the SRU MUST carry out, and be seen to carry out, due diligence by interviewing as many people for the job as possible. Yes SJ will have an advantage and you could argue that it would be bad for his morale and that of the team hut honestly they are big boys and should realise that it is not a personal decision, but one of pragmatism.

SJ's last team choice has effectively ruled him out of my books. He had a real chance to preach what he promised (form players looking to the future) but has still picked more or less the same team as before.

Nothing to lose so why not bring midfield changes in?

Not sure what the answer is although I'd stay away from SH coaches. Their approach and tactical style is the complete opposite of what Scotland's strengths are and far too complicated - different moves for different situations in different areas of the pitch etc.

Someone from within Scotland that knows the history, psyche, strengths and more importantly players available who is not afraid to take risks would be the best option.

Safest option would be Lineen with perhaps Chalmers and a proper forwards man like Dean Ryan if nothing available from home.

Still Wallace Arnold for me

Tatties scones - is any of the scots really ready for the job?

Lineen it would appear had significant man management issues at glasgow
Chalmers has no professional rugby experience

How about Ritchie Dixon?

I don't want a safe option - I want the attacking option

TJ wrote:Tatties scones - is any of the scots really ready for the job?

Lineen it would appear had significant man management issues at glasgow
Chalmers has no professional rugby experience

How about Ritchie Dixon?

I don't want a safe option - I want the attacking option

Who knows TJ - is anyone ready for the job? It's a tough role right enough but so far, the SRU have taken on guys who have absolutely no proven success in previous head coaching roles. It's clear that money saving is their main priority so if that's the case, give it to Scottish coaches who have no proven success and will be considerably cheaper than most.

I tell you what though and I said this at the time. We missed a real trick with Dean Richards not being involved back when AR was appointed.

funnyExiledScot wrote:The good thing is that for the first time in a while, it isn't simply a case of promoting the coach of Edinburgh or Glasgow, they'll need to look further afield.

I'm sure SJ is in contention, as will be Dean Ryan, but I'd like to think the SRU will at least pick up the phone to the likes of Steve Meehan, Nick Mallett, Wayne Smith, EOS, Rob Baxter, Dean Richards, Todd Blackadder and Jim Mallinder. If you don't ask you don't get, and this search needs to be far more comprehensive than the last two searches that determined Andy Robinson and Frank Hadden, who happened to be on the SRU payroll already, the best men for the job.

I think the rest of the rugby world should club together to raise whatever it takes to have Deano as Scotland head coach. That would be priceless. And then we could begin a campaign to have Brian Moore installed as backs coach for France...

I notice you've not mentioned Conor O'Shea. Good. You can't have him. He's ours.

This question is just begging to be side-stepped... so watch this drive.

Scott Johnson's future, for me, will all depend on how we perform against France. I don't demand a win. I do demand that Scotland play well (in terms of basic skills and the set piece), but also that we adopt tactics that will beat the opposition and play to our strengths.

Scotland played well against Wales. There, I said it. Had it not been for Joubert's ludicrous interpretations of the fundamental laws of the game, I'm sure that the result would have been closer. However, we took a tactic which barely worked against Ireland (kicking long, occasionally challenging for the high ball, and hoping for turnovers) and employed it again, albeit better, against Wales. Hand in hand with this, we failed utterly to use our greatest asset, our back three.

So while I'm happy that we competed with the grand slam champions, I can't help thinking that the result was inevitable because of the tactics that SJ employed.

With this in mind, if SJ continues to try to grind out a result by playing like we did against Ireland and Wales, I'll call for his head. If we throw it wide, playing without fear, then I'll support SJ's permanent appointment, even if we lose.

I'm with you there Bru!

I actually really liked andy Robinsons tactics which earned us a wooden spoon last year. Through the hands rugby with lots of phases. The team were not half bad at it either. Unfortunately the defence was dire! But that was mainlY due to some brain farts from NDL, Rlamont and the non existant defence of lee jones and at the time Laidlaw. Now we have a much better defence and a deadlier backline.

However, if Johnson decides to change tactics a bit this weekend that would be really good. For his cause and ours. He must surely recognise that no one wants to see a Scotland team with 29-46% possession stats every game, no try's and no use of the back 3 apart from defence and kicking. Unless of course scotland win every game. So far it's 50-50 on that front. Therefore I think he has to try some more aggressive tactics this weekend. Show Scotland fans that he is not a one trick pony and that as head coach he can and will provide the gameplan and tactics to win games for Scotland. If he does that and Scotland win, then I think he'll be a shoe in for the job.

But in my opinion, he s not the right guy for the job and I don't expect any changes in tactics this weekend. We are going to kick the stuffing out of the ball and Maitland, visser and Hogg will only be seen in defence.

Johnson is great with the media

Johnson is great at motivating the team

Johnson is also great at picking players out of position

Johnson is also great at going back on his word about picking on form

Johnson is also great at failing to come up with any form of tactic other than hoof it down the park and hope the other team drop the ball.

Dean Ryan has also turned our effective pack into a bunch of work shy breakdown avoiders.

The italy win had everyone thinking the second coming was near. This was just paper over the cracks. Ireland lost their game against us, we did not win it!

Something needs to be fixed. I've seen folk call for Johnson to be the backs coach instead of head coach. Maybe he can do something with the backline once our forwards start playing rugby again. I dunno. Currently though I see no place for either Johnson or Ryan in any future Scotland set up.

The bbc seem to think Johnson has already secured the job and that a win over France would just be the cherry on the cake.

I think Dean Richards would be a great call

If SJ is the new perm coach and if Dean Ryan stays on, I'm gonna convert to rugby league!

tigertattie wrote:
Johnson is also great at picking players out of position

Johnson is also great at going back on his word about picking on form

Johnson is also great at failing to come up with any form of tactic other than hoof it down the park and hope the other team drop the ball.

Think thats a little unfair tiger,

The backrow selections had to deal with the fact that every 7 in Scotland was injured. The rest of the pack have been picked correctly. The half-backs have been picked correctly (unless you think Laidlaw is a 10), the back 3 have been picked correctly. Sean lamont is the only one I think shouldn't be there in the midfield. So there is not much reason to say players are out of position.

Almost all the players are form selections. The two exceptions that prove the rule would be 1)Slamont starting in place of Dunbar/Horne, and 2) Barclay not being selected as the only available 7. Everyone else can be argued to be included on merit - Gilchrist, Wilson, even Strockosch (Harley needs to improve his ball carrying). There is also the balance between selecting on form and creating stability going forward. Frequent wholesale changes are usually detrimental.

As for tactics, "hoofing the ball and hoping the opposition drop it" is not a tactic, its a symptom of being munched at the breakdown. SJ and all of us will be looking for the team to respond to this problem area in Paris.

Am I the only one who doesn't think SJ has done all that bad a job?

I have read numerous times that he has been a poor selector despite the teams he has posted being pretty much the ones we have all selected on here (backrow aside). We have been crying out for a blindside Flanker and a proper outside centre but apart from that he has been ok selection wise, and I suppose Max Evans has been lucky but he has barely been on the pitch.

What pleases me most about Scotland is apart from the rampaging English our defence has been pretty solid, Ireland ran 3 tries past us last year, Wales ran 4 past us and Italy ran 2 past us. Giving them only 3 tries between them, I reckon is an improvement.

The English game I leave aside since they were electric in that game. I feel SJ has done a decent job and our set piece has improved massively under Ryan : Scrums for instance we had Parity with England, Dominated Italy and Ireland, only to be neutered by Joubert against Wales.

Our lineout has been a potent Weapon too winning the bulk of our own ball and destroying the Ireland Lineout.

We are also a credible attacking threat WHEN WE HAVE THE BALL!

The only area we have regressed is the breakdown and contact area. Possibly due to not having an out and out 7 and the current conditioning levels of Hamilton and Murray who aren't as mobile as I would like.

It's hard to say we haven't improved though.

ruggerradge I disagree. I think you have regressed. Certainly in positive play. If it's any consolation I think the same of my side.

Ok you got beaten quite badly by England but at least you scored two tries - you are the only side to score more than one. On the counter attack you looked pretty good. Created very little though but clinical.

Scotland-Italy - things looked to be rosy - again you score some good tries.

Scotland-Ireland - you offered virtually nothing in my opinion - no pressure, if it wasn't for Ireland's mentally fragile mindset you would have lost. P.Jackson also missed 4 kicks didn't he? Clinical but very few opportunities.

Scotland-Wales - Scotland were never in the game. You didn't really worry Wales at all.

Your defence has been pretty good but you need to build up more pressure.

I think the decision making could be better. I think the breakdown work needs to be improved.

Scotland simply don't create many opportunities - that's how I would sum up Scott Johnson's Scotland.

Andy Robinson's Scotland at least created quite a few opportunities it's just not being clinical.

beshocked wrote:
Scotland-Wales - Scotland were never in the game. You didn't really worry Wales at all.

Harsh IMO. One of our greatest weapons was nulified by a horrendous referee who commited in excess of 30 minutes of play to taking penalties.

30 MINUTES! on penalties.

When we did have the ball for long enough periods we looked like a threat. The problem with that game was that it was fragmented by Joubert who looked like he had whistle tourrettes.

As I said Beshocked we have missed an out and out 7 all tournament so the fact we are kicking away possesion is symptomatic of that fact rather than the cause of the possesion statistics.

Wales were certainly not all that good either, they scored a rumble over forwards try but didn't exactly threaten Scotland any more than we threatened them.

Declan Kidney will be looking for a new job any Scots want to take him?

ruggerradge the ref obviously didn't help matters but Scotland were also architects of their own downfall -Hamilton's stupid penalty for example.

Kicking away is fine if you make the most of it with good kick chase. Pressure etc. Scotland don't seem to be particularly effective at putting sustained pressure on the opposition.

Scott Johnson has to take the criticism for not picking a proper 7 for the game vs Wales.

I agree Wales weren't particularly good either but they were the more threatening side. They put you under more pressure.

Perhaps I am being harsh but I want to see some more fight and higher intensity from Scotland. More pressure.

You defend well but you need to attack. Attacking doesn't mean throwing the ball around recklessly. It means mix up your game more, build up pressure. Be more effective at the basics. Kick chase etc.

Scotland have given the opposition far too many opportunities in the England,Ireland and Wales games. Only England truly made the most of it but you need to work on your flaws.

SJ seems to not be working on the flaws. Sorting out the backrow IMO would really help but SJ seems to be oblivious to this.

SJ I feel has done well though, but I reckon he needs more time to find out what he want's Scotland to be.

If he want's us mobile and competative at the breakdown he needs to ditch Hamilton and Murry for Cross and Swinson, he may do this in the summer tournament we are taking part in in South Africa.

That tournament will also be an Ideal arena to test out Dunbar or Horne at 13 instead of Lamont who's distribution is lacking.

Finally in that tournament we will hopefully have Barclay and or Rennie at full fitness so we can get the balence back into our backrow.

I reckon SJ (and if Ryan want's to continue on a part time basis) need more time to get their idea's and vision for Scottish rugby across because the conditions and nature of the oppositon in the 6N make it a hard arena to experiment without mistakes being punished very harshly by settled teams.

Put it another way, we have won more matches in this years tournament than we have since 2006, a marked improvement in my eyes.

That game against Ireland, we would have lost that last year.

Scotland held on and gave penalties away in key attacking moments for us and there should have been a yellow twice in the red zone - The ref was heavily biased towards Wales in the scrum but Scotland infringed and stopped us having some great ball - Scotland hung in there but as that game went on there was only going to be 1 winner

Johnson is not your man and if he is given the post he will be there for 18 months Max.

I felt Wales had won around the 65 minute mark, until then it was in the balance for sure. But once you go more than a try behind its always going to be nigh on impossible to win. Ref didn't help anyone really and Scotland made some stupid penalties that ultimately gave Wales that 10 point lead. Had Scotland not done that, it might well have been Scotland pounding Wales defence with only 4 points the difference between the teams. So Scotland can only blame themselves for not being smart.

Ruggerradge I think SJ and Scotland could do so much better.

Barclay is at full fitness yet not being picked.

Can you explain Strokosch being picked?

Yes you beat Italy and Ireland but I think it papers over the cracks - you have been dominated in possession and territory bar the Italy game.

Why do people love to put the boot into Murray and Hamilton? Their work-rate has been greatly improved over the last 12 months and they are comfortably our best set-piece technicians.

Beshocked that's utter nonsense, you looked far more threatening......but only had one line break during the entire match despite dominating possession. Joubert made two decisions which opened the gap (Welsh scrum penalty despite early engage and Beattie sealing off), without that buffer you could have very easily lost the game.

Papering over the cracks? Pish.

I tend to agree with a lot of what beshocked is saying - except the conclusion that we have regressed. The performances against Ireland and Wales weren't great but I think despite the current failings, we look in better shape than this time last year.

reallybored you think I am Welsh?

Hamilton deserves criticism simply for his stupid penalty vs Wales.

Wales built up the pressure and missed a lot of shots at goal.

As I said I don't think Wales were that good but they looked a lot more likely to score than Scotland.

We have seen what damage selection howlers can do - just look at France. Scotland are in the same boat with the shocking selections in the backrow. Even England are suffering by not getting it right in the back three.

Scotland don't build up pressure enough. I think Scotland would be far more effective with the Killer Bs.

also in the wales / scotland game was the penalty that never was with scotland having a 5 m attacking scrum - Scotland could and should have scored there. Wales conned the ref into giving a penalty.

the game was in the balance up until 3/4 mark or beyond

TJ you are just making excuses to be honest instead of looking at what SJ needs to improve.

The ref isn't to blame for the opposition of Scotland having high possession and territory stats.

Scotland's defence has been good but it was under Andy Robinson too.

I just think Scotland needs a coach in charge who makes sensible selections and decisions.

RubyGuby wrote:Scotland held on a gave penalties away in key attacking moments for us and there should have been a yellow twice in the red zone - The ref was heavily biased towards Wales in the scrum but Scotland infringed and stopped us having some great ball - Scotland hung in there but as that game went on there was only going to be 1 winner
Johnson is not your man and if he is given the post he will be there for 18 months Max.

So were you at the bar for the last ten minutes when we almost parked ourselves on your tryline?

Why isn't Johnson our man?

beshocked wrote:Ruggerradge I think SJ and Scotland could do so much better.

Barclay is at full fitness yet not being picked.

Can you explain Strokosch being picked?

Yes you beat Italy and Ireland but I think it papers over the cracks - you have been dominated in possession and territory bar the Italy game.

Of course we can do better when you compare player v player against any of the 6Ns teams.

I would say Barclay is not 100% match fit, but more importantly the question should be is Stroko fit after his injury.

The weather is going to play a big part in the selection as its been snowing cold, and on the weekend its going to be mild, wet and heavy hence the selection of a Stroko type flanker

I am not making excuses at all - just correcting the erroneous statements. that scrum decision was crucial as it denying ( wrongly) Scotland a scoring opportunity.

What SJ needs to improve is an altogether different thing but the game was not as one sided as some folk suggest on this thread and that one moment swung the game massively.

I do not think SJ is the man for the job and there should be no coronation. He has however done reasonably well with the short time he has and has not copied Robinson's idiocies. We are talking about one or two selections in doubt - not a half a side that is clearly wrong.

He has the summer tour as well does he not? I hope the SRU cast the net wide and SJ is merely one of a number of strong candidates for the job. Also whoever comes in must be allowed to choose his assistants

bsando wrote:I actually really liked andy Robinsons tactics which earned us a wooden spoon last year. Through the hands rugby with lots of phases. The team were not half bad at it either. Unfortunately the defence was dire! But that was mainlY due to some brain farts from NDL, Rlamont and the non existant defence of lee jones and at the time Laidlaw. Now we have a much better defence and a deadlier backline.

This is selective memory in the extreme. "Through the hands rugby"?? Are you being serious? What Robinson's pioneered was the "static phase", i.e. 10 minutes of pick and drives until we either (a) won a penalty, (b) conceded a penalty, or (c) kicked the ball away. That's why the possession statistics were so favourable under Robinson. Problem is, sides didn't care whether we had the ball or not, we never had good ball and rarely threatened.

We lost every game last season. Your explanation is NDL, Rory Lamont (how many games did he even play??), Lee Jones and Laidlaw.

Good lord!

flyhalffactory how many matches does Barclay need to play before he's declared match fit? According to Glasgow fans I thought he's played in their last 4 matches.

Of course Strokosch was picked because of the weather, not because of Dean Dyan.

Do you genuinely think Strokosch is Scotland's best 6?

Do you think Kelly Brown is Scotland's best 7?

TJ Wales won by 10 points but if they had taken the numerous opportunities on hand they would have won by far more.

You can peddle out the story that it's the ref's fault but let's be honest - Wales were the better side and didn't even get out of first gear.

Actually he has copied one of Robinson's idiocies - picking Strokosch at 6 and Brown at 7.

Scotland with Andy Robinson in charge at least managed quite a few line breaks and try scoring opportunities. Scotland's attacking game is basically heavily reliant on the back three and that's it.

funnyExiledScot wrote:

bsando wrote:I actually really liked andy Robinsons tactics which earned us a wooden spoon last year. Through the hands rugby with lots of phases. The team were not half bad at it either. Unfortunately the defence was dire! But that was mainlY due to some brain farts from NDL, Rlamont and the non existant defence of lee jones and at the time Laidlaw. Now we have a much better defence and a deadlier backline.

This is selective memory in the extreme. "Through the hands rugby"?? Are you being serious? What Robinson's pioneered was the "static phase", i.e. 10 minutes of pick and drives until we either (a) won a penalty, (b) conceded a penalty, or (c) kicked the ball away. That's why the possession statistics were so favourable under Robinson. Problem is, sides didn't care whether we had the ball or not, we never had good ball and rarely threatened.

We lost every game last season. Your explanation is NDL, Rory Lamont (how many games did he even play??), Lee Jones and Laidlaw.

Good lord!

Jeez you're just as bad as asbo, write a post about something else and all I get is criticised or "corrected".

Sorry I forgot we're not allowed to say anything positive about AR on here. what I meant to say was, andy Robinson was an awful coach and should forever be known as the worst coach Scotland ever had. And those times when lee jones and Laidlaw got smashed by north and cuthbert resulting in try's didn't ever happen, I was high and thought lee jones was the best defender ever to grace a Scotland jersey. And those yellow cards lamont and NDL got were in fact lolly pops and the ref was a big happy hippo who farted rainbows all over the pitch and everyone was ever so happy.

Ignoring the andy Robinson bit of my post do you have any real opinions on my opinion regarding Johnson? the topic of this thread?

Andy Robinson's tactics weren't so bad, we just lacked the execution or the players with the ability to pull off thet execution when it mattered.

He didn't help matters by NEVER selecting a team based on form or when he did he would play people out of position as a habbit. Hines at 6, Scott on the Wing, Parks anywhere after 2010, Barclay at 8, the list goes on.

As for SJ's selections Lamont at 13 has been done and IMO is a failure. Mind you it is likely that this could be Lamont's final 6N, and we have done the Brown at 7 to death already.

We would all rather Barclay at 7 and Brown at 6 but we can't exactly say Brown has played poorly. Despite not being a 7 he has been comfortably Scotland's best player.

bsando wrote:Jeez you're just as bad as asbo

I demand you take that back!!


Seriously though, there are plenty positive things to say about Robinson, but describing Scotland under him as enjoying "multi-phase through the hands rugby" is just nonsense.

I've said many positive things about him though. He did add steel to our pack, and improved a number of our forwards. He was a very technical coach and Scotland's rucking under him improved hugely. His side were also responsible for some great wins against the SH sides, and his record against those sides (Australia x2, South Africa, Argentina series away, Fiji away and Samoa home and away) really do him credit. Those are achievements that Telfer and McGeechan seldom if ever managed, and with far better players.

His weaknesses are also well (if not better) documented. As his WC and 6 Nations records went from bad to worse, there was a suggestion of discontent between Robinson and his senior players, and his team selections were frequently illogical at best. He also never really gave the impression of strategy, or showing that he had a plan to take Scotland forward long term. He often harked on about not looking past the next game, and this being a results business. Admirable sentiments in my view. Problems were (a) he didn't actually pick on form or the best XV to actually win the next game, and (b) the results ultimately weren't good enough (or rather a reflection of Scotland's abilities).

As for Johnson, I've posted my views on him numerous times. We should wait until the end of his contract before passing judgement (half term report is mixed), and should nevertheless, regardless of what happens, make sure that he is only one of a number of candidates when the SRU comes to make its decision. The net should be spread wide. Johnson has shown some nice touches, particularly in dealing with the media and his man management and team selections seem on the whole sensible, however clearly the forwards in a number of respects have taken a step backwards, and we aren't competing for enough ball. Still, he has an interim contract, and we shoudl judge him utlimately once it's done.

FHF - you were banging on our line for the last few minutes when effectively the game was over. I've seen my own team do it a 1000 times, it's more from desperation than anything - Look at the 80 minutes, of course you were in the game and the ref was against you but across the board you offered very little and it wasn't the greatest welsh perrformance was it yet it was comfortable in the end. Maybe Robinson as head coach and Johnson as backs would have been a decent option although I think a heavyweight like Dean Richards would do a great job

The optimal solution is Robinson as forwards coach, Scott Johnson in charge of the backs and myself in charge of team selection and giving interviews to Gabby Logan.

Beshocked - I did not say it was the refs fault - why this need to put words in peoples mouth. Merely pointing it it was not a one sided game.

Stop trolling - its childish.