“We can beat the All Blacks” A massive statement from a man
whose team collected the wooden spoon in this years 6 Nations. Maybe it’s the
whiskey fumes, or Edinburgh’s lofty success in the Heineken Cup last year, but
Ross Ford has certainly put his neck out on the line.
A statement of this magnitude is backed up by the imposing
figure of Ross Ford, however it’s going to need much more than one man’s words
to beat the All Blacks. Scotland played
well in patches at last year’s 6 Nations and the emergence of David Denton
alongside strong performances from Richie Gray and Sean Lamont will provide
some comfort for the stats at the end which read played 5, lost 5. The last
time Scotland weren’t in the bottom two was back in 2005-2006 when they
achieved a 3rd place finish on 6 points. A 13-6 loss to Italy in the
last game of the 2012 Six Nations condemned them to one of their poorest six
nations to date and makes Ross Ford’s recent statement laughable. How can a
team languishing at the bottom of the six nations have any chance of beating
the world champions?
I appreciate the element of positivity in Ford’s comments
and belief is a key factor in any sport you play in. A 9-6 victory against
Australia cemented a successful summer tour and provided the Scottish team with
some hope for the November tests. Their counterparts New Zealand secured the
Rugby Championship a round early and finished off a very successful competition
comprehensively beating South Africa 32-16.
Steve Hansen has claimed there’s still room for improvement in his All
Black side and this will surely strike fear into all the rugby nations facing
the All Blacks this autumn.
The All Blacks thumped the Scots 49-3 the last time the
teams played and they will be looking for a repeat performance this time round.
Looking at both sides Scotland will have to target the All Black forwards if
they are going to stand any chance of an upset. I really rate the Scottish pack
and feel for many years they have been let down by a poor backline. Players
including Euan Murray, Ross Ford, Richie Gray, David Denton, Kelly Brown, John
Barclay and Alistair Kellock have the potential to be world beaters but are
they going to do enough to stop the power and pace of the All Blacks?
The main problem for the Scots is their fly half. They have
lacked dynamism from the 10 spot for many years and players like Laidlaw and
Weir are just not good enough to make an impact on the world stage. Cusiter and
Blair combined with the Lamont brothers and Visser are all good players but if
they’re not getting the service then their impact on a game is minimal. The
Scots must ensure they get parity in the forwards if they stand any chance of
scoring points against a well drilled All Blacks side.
On top of this their defence will have to be as strong as
it’s ever been to deal with the direct running of players like Nonu and the
skill and invention of Conrad Smith. The All Blacks harness the power to score
tries from all over the park and with people like the Whitelock brothers
epitomising the modern day athlete they will have to shut them down at the
earliest opportunity. I really can’t see anything less than an All Black
victory in every game they play in the November Test series. I don’t feel any
of the home nations offer enough at the moment to trouble the All Black regime.
Ross Ford: I admire your commitment and dedication to your
country but I’m going for a victory for the All Blacks by 40 points or more!
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