Some harsh words from coach Vern Cotter and an early second-half try that settled Scotland’s nerves helped to subdue a robust US in Leeds, England, on Sunday
Captain Henry Pyrgos said Scotland made too many early errors, which left them trailing the Eagles 13-6 at halftime, but a score from winger Tim Visser straight after the break set them on course for the 39-16 bonus-point win.
“It was a tough team talk at halftime. Obviously, the USA played really well in that first half, but we weren’t clinical enough, we made a lot of mistakes and put ourselves under pressure,” Pyrgos said.
Photo: AFP
“But credit to the boys, we came out in that second half and got a try straight away, which settled the nerves and allowed us to kick on and ultimately we got the five points,” he said. We just relaxed. We got into our structures, played rugby and looked after the ball.”
Coach Vern Cotter admitted he had been worried at the break, but said a tactical change to exploit the blindside, having been dominated through the middle by a physical US team, was the catalyst for the second-half surge.
“It is fair to say I was pretty concerned. We had chances and bombed them, so it was just a matter of having a calm, controlled mind,” Cotter said. “We just had to employ a couple of little things. We managed to make ground on the short side and that got us going forward, because they were coming up very hard and taking players in the backs. We changed tactically and the boys were very receptive as always.”
Scotland have secured two try-scoring bonus points in wins over Japan and the US, sending them top of Pool B, but their toughest tests are still to come against South Africa on Saturday and then Samoa the following week.
“We have got off to a good start... just what we wanted,” Pyrgos said. “[South Africa] are obviously a quality side, so we’ll have to recover well, look after ourselves, make sure we understand our game plan and go at that big.”
South Africa were stunned by Japan in their opening match, but bounced back with a six-try victory over Samoa on Saturday.
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