RuckReporter
Frank Nicholson (4)
The short summary:
Both sides looked strong - I would almost venture to say that Shore was the stronger team, particularly in the engine room and on offense. Scots ball carriers didn't appear to be running particularly hard (Obviously this is from an outside perspective so take this with a grain of salt, but I noticed that when tackles connected some of the Scots boys seemed to slow a little), but a lack of commitment in contact and some lazy defense failed to capitalise on this. Scots defense seemed patchy - Some players performed some remarkable tackles, others seemed a little softer - but Shore's frequent errors (including a knock on count I would venture to say was in excess of 20) meant that any progress made quickly stalled, once again failing to capitalise on this weakness.
In set piece, Shore began as the dominant side, with both Belli (c), Perkins and Morrow (3, 2, 1 respectively) seeming to overpower the ostensibly larger Scots front row in the scrums. Lineouts were slightly weaker to begin with, and if I had to summarise it I would say that Shore was rigid in their calls, not responding to obvious defense setups, but overall the Shore lineout seemed strong. However, once the (many) subs began coming on, Shore's strength rapidly declining, with a seemingly weaker push in the scrums and messier lineouts. Scots' stayed fairly consistent in terms of substitutions and as a result were able to leverage Shore's weaknesses with consistently powerful scrums and effective lineouts. I have to pass on my admiration for Scots number 3 - he was about as circular as they come, built like a tandoori oven, but managed to stay on his toes and in the fight for the majority of the game, with some catastrophic runs hurtling into Shore's defense. Bravo.
The Shore backs were a bit more coherent this week, and appeared more courageous in defense than those of Scots, but the consistensy of Scots in various areas was what set them apart. Shore showed promise off the edges with good hands, but some poor decision making in decisive moments really affected their performance. Scots had fast hands which helped them work around Shore's defense, and a particularly shifty winger proved very difficult for Shore to defend against.
Ultimately, Shore's one unconverted try wasn't enough to balance out the countless unforced errors and lack of response to weaknesses in Scots' attack and defense. I've mentioned it several times, but I think one word that defines Scots' win is consistency. As I said, I don't think you could call one team definitively the stronger team, but Scots clearly wanted the win more and that's what got them the game. Very excited to see them matchup once more later in the season, it will be a very different game.
