Scotland caretaker coach Scott Johnson believes he knows what to expect from Wales when the two sides clash at Murrayfield on Saturday.
The former Ospreys boss anticipates the Grand Slam champions to stick to their usual game-plan, especially their bliz defence.
"They haven't done anything different for five years and I like that," he told Walesonline.
"Sides are confident enough to know what they are. It's about understanding what you are.
"It's as much about people and what they want to be and not deluding yourself.
"I'd like to be Brad Pitt, but the reality is different.
"I'm trying to avoid this up and down ride. Some days you won't be as good as the opposition.
"Sometimes you do that but I don't want us to have an identity crisis.
"Know what we are, know what we're good at and keep doing it."
Scotland lost their opener to England but then claimed vital victories over Italy and Ireland - their first first back-to-back Six Nations since 2001.
Johnson has identified Wales openside flanker Justin Tipuric - whom he coached at the Ospreys - as Wales' biggest threat.
Scotland captain Kelly Brown - who usually plays on the blindside for Saracens - is filling in on the openside for the injured Ross Rennie and it will be interesting to see how he fares at the breakdown against Tipuric.
"Kelly, by his own admission, is not a seven but he's done a great job," said Johnson.
"It's about trying to get the balance right, but we haven't had a seven available for selection."
Comments
Coshie78 says...
porridge_time...
It is difficult to criticise the tactic as Scotland won the game, however, would you adopt the same tactics if the sides were playing again tomorrow? Noone could have predicted that Ireland would squander so many chances. For me Ireland win that game 90 times out of 100, the fact the result was in the 10% defines what is great about sport... but you would not coach a team looking to give them a 10% chance in every game...
The reason Ireland didn't kick much was because the majority of Scotland's kicks landed in their own half or barely into Irish territiory. Combined with Scotland's lack of turnovers, ball in hand was relatively low risk for them.
The aim of the tactic Scotland attempted is to pin the opposition back and pressure them into poor clearance kicks and bad options resulting in turnovers. Scotland managed neither...
As a neutral the more the game went on the more I found myself wanting Scotland to win and there is certainly no questioning their resolve...
Posted 18:25 05th March 2013
GoWalesGo says...
jamesliveinhope
New Zealand had players around Lomu who could play rugby though.
The current Welsh backline is just filled with crash ball merchants; Roberts, Davies, Cuthbert, North and Halfpenny who doesn't know how to attack from fullback.
If we won't to cross that line and really become a world class team, we need more creativity and penetration.
Posted 14:38 05th March 2013
jamesliveinhope says...
Jonah Lomu was fairly predictable too - trouble is there is a difference between knowing what's going to happen and actually being able to do anything about it.
Wales will select big men in the backs who will punch big holes, the Scottish defence will constantly have to go 2 or 3 on 1 which will create space for the equally big wingers to create the illusion that they are incisive runners.
Stopping Roberts is the key, if they can stop him at source then the ball stays on the floor which will tighten the whole game and make it a close match.
Posted 13:11 05th March 2013
makemehappy says...
The issue is whether Wales are playing well or not. Just look at their game with Ireland to understand that.
Posted 13:07 05th March 2013
GoWalesGo says...
pontysurrey
The problem is you can't beat Souther Hemisphere teams that way
Posted 11:55 05th March 2013
pentwynfarm says...
I think (and hope) Scotland might just edge it too. They are playing with a lot of confidence right now, whereas Wales are telling us they're confident and telling us that they're finding form, but really they must know, like we do that they haven't been playing well (their two wins have been against two teams that were self imploding) and they haven't really been tested since Ireland and they lost that one much worse than the scoreline would suggest.
Wales are a second half come-back team of late and if Scotland can kick their penalties and build an early lead, then in front of their home crowd I think they'll defend that slight lead to the death. So come on Scotland!!
Still think Wales will win though :(
Posted 10:11 05th March 2013
porridge_time says...
Coshie...
I actually think there is a bit of merit to what Mike Blair had to say regarding Scotland's tactics against Ireland. I'm sure that they would have like to have played with a little bit more ball, but Ireland did not kick too much. There is no denying that Scotland did miss a bullet or two, but there cover defence was very good. The Scots also showed a bit more metal and although it did go right to the wire, I felt that around the 60th minute they could sniff an upset.
Wales are predictable that's for sure, but when they do the basics right - just like the ABs - its hard to stop. But they are nowhere near the quality of the All Blacks... and have not been playing that particularly well. Scotland will be aware that they can not ride their luck like they did against Ireland, but Wales have to realise that they will not get away with kicking the ball to the Scots back three in the same manner they did against Italy.
I'm going for a home victory, just because I think Wales might be a little complacent and will come unstuck because of it.
Posted 08:32 05th March 2013
pontysurrey says...
Predictable? Three Grand Slams in 8 years. So not many NH teams can deal with predictable!
Posted 22:12 04th March 2013
ABlack says...
both scotland and wales are predictable... thats why they lose so often against the 3 SH sides. They know what they are going to do and know how to counter their game plan and tactics. The rest as they say is "history"
Posted 21:23 04th March 2013
atg77 says...
If Scotland could refrain from kicking every bit of possesion away and pick an outside centre that can pass- I think they'll have a good chance of winning this one.
Posted 18:46 04th March 2013
Coshie78 says...
melkdave...
Agreed, Ireland's preferred technique of tackling higher keeping numbers on their feet prevented that sort of game plan from Wales and was one of the reasons they struggled for much of the game. Only until they changed tactics fought to ground early did they generate any kind of ball to play off...
Scotland prefer to tackle low as they are not a physical side from 9-12 and will need huge performances from their back row and Sean Lamont if the conditions are good...
You never know, the conditions could be terrible and it could be a dog fight. Interesting game then, but Wales still just shade it for me...
Good or bad neither team have a kicking option outside 10 to clear lines so pressurising 10 will be key. Wales with Tipuric have the advantage there as well...
Posted 18:40 04th March 2013
rugby_rockstar says...
You don;t have to be mystic meg to predict the welsh game plan
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a deferent result. In that case those welsh blokes are a right bunch of raving loonies.
Posted 16:44 04th March 2013
melkdave says...
I think just about everyone knows what Wales will want to do.Run hard at the 9-10 and 12 channals ,so it pulls defenders in ,before going wide to the wingers..On paper its a very good gameplan against Scotland .Laidlaw isnt the biggest 9 or a renowned tackler ,same for Jackson /Weir,though M.Scott shows promise he can be .So against the likes of M.Phillips ,J.Roberts and J.Davies it looks good from a welsh perpective.Run through and behind these players then pass /offload to supporting player,and out wide to North and Cuthbert to finish off.Question is can Scotland cope with it,against Ireland the main threat was from the irish backrow supported by the rest of the pack. .Against Wales it will be from the centers,supported by the backrow.A subtle differance but very differant in exacution,and in how to counter.Scotlands 1st up tackling has to be spot on and their disapline,It was worrying how L.Marshall got behind them ,and nearly set up 2 try scoring chances.Wales wont waste them as Ireland did.Scotland have to gain the edge at the breakdown,and dominate the lineout,so they can starve Wales of the ball by going through the phases,and making them tackle ,so they can release their own potent back 3 .Its going to be a hard close game imo,but i feel Halfpennys boot will make the differance in the end.His present kicking form and range,will see Wales home by 3-6 points ,unless Scotland can be really disaplined and not give away penalties anywhere in their own half.??
Posted 16:14 04th March 2013
Coshie78 says...
Mike Blair has intimated in his blog on another site that Scotland's win over Ireland was a tactical win rather than a lucky escape...
I'm not convinced by that, he doesn't directly refer to the England vs Ireland game but suggests that Scotland's tactics were similar and obviously also resulted in a victory...
If the coaches agree with him they could be in for a long day versus Wales, if only for the fact Halfpenny rarely has a bad day with the boot... I can't see the Welsh backline squandering opportunites like the Irish did either. Even if they're not firing on all cylinders at the moment...
I want Scotland to win the game but they will need to find a way of securing possession in opposition territory. Ireland managed to push Scotland back with their kicking game. Choosing when to counter and when to kick well and playing all the rugby in Scotland's half... Only poor decision making and missed kicks allowed Scotland's scramble defense to keep them in the game...
Scotland may need to bring in Weir as he has a bigger, more accurate boot than Jackson. In my opinion they will need to play a few more phases around their 10 metre line and half way before kicking. Pull in some defenders so the wingers are involved in the rush defense they prefer. This should open up more space at the back for them if done well...
As a neutral England supporter I hope Scotland do it. Win or lose not sure it makes a difference for Cardiff the week after, but would be another great twist in this year's championship...
Posted 14:02 04th March 2013