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McGeechan looking for special finish Posted: Saturday February 15, 2003 7:50 AM
Scotland's Ian McGeechan hopes his last Six Nations will be a special one, says Rugby World's Alan Pearey. IT may be asking a lot to expect Scotland to bloody the nose of both England and France on their own patches. But there is cause for optimism that Ian McGeechan can bring the curtain down on his illustrious Five/Six Nations coaching career by leading the Scots to a different version of the Triple Crown -- wins over Ireland, Wales and Italy. Third place, as achieved two years ago, would probably satisfy Geech as he tries to build on Scotland's three-out-of-three return -- including victory over South Africa -- in the autumn. "The players have been training well, the attitude is excellent and nearly everyone is available," says McGeechan, who will be the SRU's director of rugby by this time next year. "Hopefully we can get a few wins. Playing well and getting consistency is the important thing. "It should be a good Six Nations. Everyone showed in the autumn that they have something to offer, with big wins under their belt. It's not an easy start for us. Ireland is a big challenge first off. Sometimes it's better to start away from home because there is less pressure on you. And we've got to be top-notch in everything we do to have a chance against France." The Scots have lost their opening fixture for the past three years and the need to break that sequence and gain a winning momentum is intensified this year by the newly condensed seven-week schedule. "The new format will be tough on everybody, but it favours England and France because of their bigger numbers. Playing the championship over seven weeks is as tight as we should ever look to make it. Those who suggest condensing it into five weeks are people with no interest in player welfare at all. Only one team consistently plays three big Tests back-to-back, and that is the Lions. The attrition rate is huge. "The two [fortnight-long] breaks in this championship will be essential elements, and how you manage the players in that time will be critical." McGeechan has no plans to use a squad system to combat possible player fatigue and injury, but he is striving towards 30 players of equal standing. Tactical changes have always been one of his strong points and in this regard the appearance of players like Allister Hogg and the controversially dropped Nikki Walker, who both start the championship in the under-21s, could yet feature. "Nikki gained good experience in the autumn but we felt the best way for him to consolidate and improve his game was by playing for the under-21s. You can argue that it would be better to put him on the bench but I prefer to give him games," explains Geech. "Allister Hogg is the same. He has come on in leaps and bounds but needs games; that's all that's missing for him at the moment." Last year saw Scotland finish fourth. "We had two away wins and if we'd won one of our home games it would have been a very good season. Apart from the first ten minutes, we were very competitive against England, while Bernard Laporte said we matched his [France] team tactically. We lost only because we couldn't nail opportunities. "Ireland was a big disappointment because we made so many errors. We worked hard against Wales and played very well in Italy. We weren't outplayed in the championship, but if you make mistakes you will pay." Scotland have 11 matches in which to finalise their team for the World Cup. After the Six Nations comes a run-out against the Barbarians in May, two June Tests in South Africa, and World Cup warm-ups against Italy, Wales and Ireland at the start of next season. But Geech doesn't regard the Ireland game on February 15 as the first step towards the World Cup. "It's match one of one, not match one of 11. Test rugby is about the here and now." McGeechan thought he had coached Scotland for the last time when he took a job at Northampton in 1993. This time it really is goodbye. "It will be business as usual," he insists - but how he would like to bow out in style.
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