Defence coach Graham Steadman insists Scotland will only have themselves to blame if they land the RBS Six Nations wooden spoon.
Defence coach pulls no punches as Scotland face wooden spoon
Defence coach Graham Steadman insists Scotland will only have themselves to blame if they land the RBS Six Nations wooden spoon.
Despite dominating three out of the four games they have played in the tournament, Andy Robinson's men have failed to secure a win, leaving them rock bottom of the table going into their final match against Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday.
Former Great Britain rugby league international Steadman has been outspoken of Scotland's performance in the competition, and is not surprised to see the team in their current predicament.
Opportunities
"The bottom line is we're in the position we're in because they've not taken the opportunities they've created, so there'll be no excuses coming from me," said Steadman.
"What has cost us at crucial stages of the games is discipline. When the pressure has been on, I would question our ability to handle it in the latter stages, certainly in the game against Italy and certainly in the game against Wales.
"We've got to learn a harsh lesson and that lesson is, with the quality of goal-kickers that all international teams have at their disposal now, you can't give them soft points.
"And, on the back of that, you can't give them soft, quick field position because these teams will punish you."
Scotland have earned much acclaim for their displays in the tournament, regardless of their failure to pin down the points.
Their Calcutta Cup draw on Saturday saw them prevent the opposition from scoring a try for the first time in the competition, but Steadman insists that was down to luck rather than skill.
"I thought it was one of our worst defensive displays of the Six Nations to date," he added. "Players weren't scanning and mirroring what the opposition were doing."
Steadman, however, does believe Scotland have the potential to derail Triple Crown hopefuls Ireland this weekend and is confident after failing to score a try in five of their last seven Tests they will be able to cross the line in Dublin.
Potential
"We've been in touching distance of the white line, the tryline, on - I've counted - seven occasions throughout this championship and just come up short," he said.
"Do we question the actual power we have in our ranks? Are we fit enough? Are we fast enough? I'd say we are.
"In terms of actually crossing it and posting points on the board, we've go to now work even harder because what we're doing at present is obviously not getting us the final result."
