Cotter takes the positives

Editor

Scotland head coach Vern Cotter took some positives from their 25-13 defeat to England, which was their fourth loss of 2015's Championship.

Coming in on the back of a shock home loss to Italy, the Scots were poor defensively but managed to stay in touch with England at Twickenham.

And the former Clermont boss believes they can take heart from their effort as they prepare to face Ireland at Murrayfield in their final Six Nations game.

"It was a much better performance," he told BBC Scotland after the defeat.

"The guys played with a lot of spirit and a lot of courage, so we'll take those positive things from the game."

He added:  "The boys played for each other. It was a tough, tough game. We played a very good English side.

"I thought we attacked well, defended well and scrambled well.

"If we can keep developing on those good things and tidy up on a few things to become competitive for 80 minutes, that is something we'll be looking at.

"We got a try scored against us early and I think everybody thought it was going to be a walkover. Once the players got their hands on the ball we started making ground.

"In and around rucks Greig (Laidlaw) was darting, we had forwards running off with pace, the ball going forward, so it was nice to see, it should give the guys confidence."