IRELAND HEAD COACH Greg McWilliams is adamant there is plenty to build on despite a 36-10 defeat to Scotland brining the curtain down on their disappointing Six Nations campaign.
The teams were level after 55 minutes and Ireland had been the better team for long periods. What they don’t have is experience, only three of the squad with more than 20 caps, and that proved crucial in the final quarter.
The defeat confirmed Ireland will go into the third tier of the new WXV global tournament World Rugby will be launching later this year.
While nobody wanted that for this side, it may not be a bad thing in the long run as it will provide game time and, you would expect, a chance to gain confidence heading into next year’s Six Nations with a few wins.
“I said at the start of the Six Nations where we finished would be where we belong,” McWilliams said. “Unfortunately, we finished in that last spot.
“We’re in Tier Three but we’ve just got to get better every time we get together as a squad. We’re looking to improve our performances and we have to own where we are.
“They’re working hard, and we just got to keep grafting as a group. We’ve got to keep getting better.”
The match itself was a perfect illustration of how his side have progressed and also where they still need to improve. At 10-10 approaching the middle of the second half, Ireland could easily have been in front if they had had the composure to take more of their chances.
“Confidence in sport is huge, no matter what sport you play,” McWilliams noted. “If we if we had got another try in the first half, and we got a bit of confidence from that, it might have been a different second half.
“In the first half, they put in a great effort and got no return. That’s hard for any team. In the second half, Scotland took some opportunities and got a bit of a roll going so they had momentum the last 20. They put us away but after 50 to 60 minutes, it felt a really good fight.”
As McWilliams pointed out, the game could be summed up in a two minutes spell just before half time. Ireland had a line out maul on the Scotland line but knocked on going for the line; the home side worked their way to the opposite corner and promptly showed them how it is done.
“It kind of sums up the Six Nations for us. We’re really close to getting it right. But those small moments are difficult. We get on the wrong side of them,” McWilliams added
“I’m disappointed for the players, they put in a great effort over the Six Nations. Sport can be kind but sport can also be cruel. I thought there were moments in the first half where we showed glimpses of what we can do. It’s a disappointing way for the players to finish because of the effort they have put in over tournament.”