Weir lambasts Scots' error count
Scotland fly-half Duncan Weir rued his side's errors as they slumped to a 28-0 defeat to South Africa at Murrayfield on Sunday.
Scotland fly-half Duncan Weir rued his side's errors as they slumped to a 28-0 defeat to South Africa at Murrayfield on Sunday.
The Glasgow Warriors number 10 injected some much-needed verve and urgency into a stalling Scottish attack when he replaced counterpart and club-mate Ruaridh Jackson in the second-half.
Indeed, it was Weir's intelligent cross-field grubber kick that almost saw Max Evans touch down in the corner.
Though it would have restored little more than a shade of respect to the scoreline, Evans' effort was ruled out by the TMO, consigning the Scots to their first pointless defeat since a 40-0 loss to New Zealand in the 2007 World Cup.
And while crediting the physical Springboks' defence, the 22-year-old stressed the importance of stamping out the mistakes that so hampered the hosts' go-forward.
“We're all good enough rugby players not to make silly mistakes like that,” Weir told Planet Rugby's Jamie Lyall.
“But that comes down to South Africa's pressure as well. It's something we can look and learn from.
“Under that amount of pressure, there are going to be mistakes from the attacking side, and that was certainly the case today.”
With poor weather conditions and a playing surface afflicted by parasitic worms, Weir praised the way the Boks rearguard suffocated their hosts' attack.
“In the first half, they played the conditions really well, the pressure mounted, and we couldn't get anything going,” said Weir.
“When I came on, although we had the majority of the territory, their defence was just outstanding.
“Everybody was getting lined up pretty well; they're hugely physical in the tackle area.”
Weir came on with the Scots already staring at a 28-point deficit, and while he was largely satisfied with his own performance, admitted the team struggled through a lack of cohesion and ruthlessness.
“Personally, there were mistakes in there, but a few nice touches off the boot,” acknowledged Weir.
“As an overall team performance, we couldn't execute anything – on that front, it was disappointing.”
On the battle for the number ten jersey with Jackson and Bath pivot Tom Heathcote, Weir placed importance on seizing the opportunities coach Scott Johnson's squad rotation provides.
“Johno's pretty certain on what he wants from his ten,” added Weir.
“It's just a matter of who can take their chance in the jersey, and put what he wants into practice.
“It's all about taking the opportunities he gives.”
By Jamie Lyall at Murrayfield
@JLyall93