Cusiter staying positive

Skipper insists Scotland have not gone backwards

By Rachel Griffiths   Last updated: 8th February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Cusiter staying positive

Cusiter: Positive despite loss

Ultimately, the game hinged on those two tries. We never made two defensive errors in one game which were as serious as that in the autumn.

Chris Cusiter
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Chris Cusiter is adamant Scotland's discouraging loss to France in their RBS Six Nations opener does not indicate a step back for his side.

Mathieu Bastareaud posted two tries for France to complete a fairytale return to rugby and help the visitors to seal an 18-9 victory at Murrayfield.

But Scotland captain Cusiter is adamant his side have not regressed since their autumn international campaign and blamed the result on poor defending during both Bastareaud scores.

Errors

"It's not a step back," said Cusiter.

"Ultimately, the game hinged on those two tries. We never made two defensive errors in one game which were as serious as that in the autumn."

Scrum-half Cusiter is looking for Scotland to build on the performance in their next Six Nations clash against Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.

"If you take away those two lapses, we were in the game, we were playing some good rugby, we were getting some good width on the ball and making a couple of line breaks," said Cusiter.

"There's obviously a bit of work to do on our finishing; we didn't react well to a couple of situations when we got deep into their 22.

"We've got a lot to work on but we've certainly got a lot to build on."

Scotland came close to touching down on numerous occasions, but France controlled territory and possession and only valiant defending from Thom Evans and Sean Lamont denied them further trips across the tryline.

Pressure

"You have to say, on the day, the better team won," added Cusiter.

"We were under a lot of pressure in that first half, we were defending a lot."

Scotland's recurring problem of panicking with the ball in hand also surfaced during the clash.

"We need to keep believing in what we're doing," said Cusiter.

"We have to just finish these opportunities off a lot better, be a bit more composed when we get into their 22."