At this year’s Six Nations match between Scotland and England I will be there watching from the stands.

That’s not unusual in itself, I’ve been to Murrayfield dozens of times over the years, but for the first time ever I will be watching over a bunch of teenage school pupils at the same time.

That’s because I’ve volunteered to help my PE teacher wife take some of her more enthusiastic pupils to the biggest game in the Scottish rugby calendar.

When she asked me if I would do it I did initially think “No chance, that sounds like a good match spoiled.”

Then I thought back to when I was still at school and the kindly/mad adults that made the long trips from Ross-Shire down to the capital ever year to allow my friends & I the chance to see our heroes, and what that meant to me.

At that time it was for Five Nations games, before Italy made their colorful entry to the top level of European international rugby, and as a rugby daft youngster from the Highlands these annual jaunts were a thing of wonder – a genuine adventure.

Getting to go to one of the big cities south of Inverness was a treat in itself, but to go to Edinburgh when it was full of rugby fans was pretty mind-blowing for someone from a wee village in the middle of nowhere.

It was a good five hour trip in a coach with the rest of your mates by the time you factored in (probably all too regular) food and toilet breaks, and I can only imagine what an arduous time that was to endure for the coaches and parents that were daft enough to accompany us.

Stopping at Kinross to load up on Pic ‘n Mix was always a highlight, and meant that we were probably all riding the crest of a massive sugar high as the bus inched through the outskirts of Edinburgh towards the stadium.

You were always straining to be the first to spot it, and what a sight it was too. I still remember the first time I laid eyes on Murrayfield in the flesh at 12 years old – it gave me goosebumps.

I couldn’t believe the size of it, having had only visits to Ross County’s Victoria Park as a comparison, and I just stood gazing up at its towering stands in awe.

Once inside it was even more impressive, and the sound of the massed pipes and drums swirling around the cavernous bowl on the wind was electrifying for a wide eyed youngster.

To see guys like Gavin Hastings, Doddie Weir, Gary Armstrong and Kenny Milne run out and play there was a huge privilege, and getting to see those legends in action made the long trek worth every minute.

I went to a few Five Nations games at Murrayfield before getting to the big one against the Auld Enemy. Wins against France, Ireland & Wales were all savoured, and different in their own special way due to the atmosphere created by the various sets of fans.

However I remember the first time against England and how the noise just about blew the roof off the place. It was like someone had suddenly cranked the volume up to max, and it made all the games before seem tame in comparison.

Predictably Scotland got turned over by a very good England team that day, but the impact of the atmosphere left me buzzing all the way home to the Highlands afterwards.

It was trips like that which formed my early experiences of rugby, made me want to play the game and why I became a life long fan.

That’s why even if the short trip from a Falkirk school to Murrayfield with the school kids is more fraught than some of my more recent visits I won’t mind, as long as it inspires some to take up the game and become Scottish rugby fans for the rest of their days too.

A Scotland win would be a nice reward mind you…

The event is one which will commemorate the rich history and unique competition of the Calcutta Cup, celebrating one of the oldest rivalries in sport. Former Scotland back-rower, and competitor in Scotland’s memorable victory over England in 2000, Stuart Reid felt it important to help set up this event. Perhaps more significantly, though, he and those at Glengoyne Whisky felt it important to align this event with some prominent charities.

On the eve of Scotland and England’s opening match in the RBS Six Nations past and present players (including: Jim Telfer, Fin Calder, Scott Hastings, Gary Armstrong, Brian Moore, Matt Dawson and Mike Teague) will join under the banner of the Auld Enemies dinner, but also under those of Help for Heroes and the Bill McLaren Foundation.

As we were told at the launch the two charities, one aimed at rehabilitating wounded servicemen and women, the other aimed at gifting rugby opportunities to youngsters, were happy to be associated with such an illustrious new event. The panel were in agreement, though, that they were humbled even by association with such noble causes.

The event itself was a formal one, though. I found myself looking on in reverence at those there to represent Help for Heroes. I watched as Stuart Reid, Finlay Calder and Gregor Townsend floated around the room, getting pulled away for chats between stop-offs at the shortbread plate. Cameras tried to catch glimpses of natural conversation- which there was plenty of.

Inevitably talk turned to rugby matters.

Calder in particular did not hold back when talking about the Scotland team at the World Cup. He did attest that “If you went back to the 2003 tournament, when we got through after scrapping for a last-minute try from Tom Smith, and 2007, when it was really close against Italy, they weren’t exactly glorious, so it [failure to reach the quarter-finals] was maybe coming. We went away in eighth place and came back in ninth [in IRB rankings], so it wasn’t a hanging offence, and we had a tough group,” in front of several journalists before following up with ““I couldn’t understand them taking off key players, guys playing the best rugby of their lives. Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford and Euan Murray I’d have on for the full monty” with Townsend, in earshot, simply smiling.

He conceded to me that this was perhaps still the fashionable thing to do, but was senseless when players were “having the game of their life”.

Calder is a man who is still very passionate about rugby. I could tell this as he ambushed me just when I thought it was safe to take my first sip of coffee. We spoke about what he thought of the fantastic wins at the weekend and he was full of praise for the young stand-offs Weir and Leonard. He finds the young Glasgow 10 “impressive” and by the third time he cracked the joke “Harry Leonard: he’s about 12 isn’t he?!” before going on to praise Bradley for consistently selecting him and telling of his promise, you knew he was pleased with the 19-year-old’s work.

Townsend agreed. “Both [Weir and Leonard] have done very well. Obviously this is Duncan’s second season at pro level, but he has made really good progress this year controlling games. Both 10s are learners. They want to get out there, see what they need to work on and actually do the work during the week.

“It’s been great seeing Harry come through as well because he’s only 19-years-old and for his third game at professional level to be a Heineken Cup victory away from home, that is going to give him a lot of confidence. Both of them know they are at the beginning of their career so there is still a lot to work on but it is really great from a coach’s point of view that we’ve got good young Scottish players standing up.”

In fact everyone at the event was impressed with Leonard. He is one of those nice surprises: a young player that comes out of obscurity to perform, thankfully, without too much media pressure or the pressure of lauding peers. So is Townsend leaving Edinburgh be, to nurture this talent until the right time for him to get his hands on him?

“We work fairly closely. I’m in Edinburgh one day a week and then Glasgow one day a week talking with Harry about his game and then Duncan. I have gone through with Duncan every match he has played at a professional level. It is an integrated process. Obviously their coaches at Edinburgh and Glasgow work with them much more than us and if they believe that they should be selected then great, but it is fantastic to see we’ve got more options coming through in key positions.”

In Glasgow this is predominantly the case. So many new contracts have been handed out for that very reason. In the Glasgow versus Bath game in particular the youngsters were at the fore. Someone asked me via Twitter after that game if Simon Taylor, in his battles with that young Warrior back-row, looked good enough to pip those to a Scotland recall. I doubted it, particularly after Lineen chose to heavily praise Harley and Wilson after the game. Nonetheless, I put this to Townsend: was there scope for recalls?

“That is an interesting question, that. If players are coming back in to help the development of other young Scottish players –obviously if they are Scottish qualified -then we’ll look at that as well. With the question of bringing in players we’ve got to make sure the balance is right, and they’re not keeping someone out but helping them on, particularly in areas where we’ve got strength. Back-row is certainly a position we’ve got a lot of strength.

“[Bringing older, experienced guys in to work with youngsters] depends on who’s available. What has been shown over the last couple of months is that young players have stepped up. You’ve got Rob Harley who was in this situation a year ago when Glasgow had a couple of injuries and he took his chance and has now proven himself to be one of the best players in the Glasgow squad, captaining them and leading the tackle count in the Pro12.

“Opportunities are there for young players and they are there for experienced players as well, but it is hard to look at a global picture. It is case by case.”

And with that everyone left, looking to the past but wandering into a future which felt slightly more secure. There was just enough time to grab another word with Calder who now wanted to speak about club rugby and back-rowers in that field.

He certainly has views: he reckons that the Club split has shown that eight teams look stronger than all others and that the league should be shortened further to that number, rather than a ten-team Premiership next season. He would also agree that there should be expanded participation in the B&I Cup. After all, Melrose and Ayr did very well in that competition at the weekend.

When he found out I played for Heriot’s he also wanted to make sure I knew he was a fan of Scotland 7s star Struan Dewar and then asked how destructive break-away Michael Maltman was getting on at Moseley. Good, I thought. See you when we play Stew Mel? Ok, sure.

He is aware of young rugby players and he passionately believes in bringing Scottish rugby forward. It is a good sign, then, that both he and Scotland Attack Coach Townsend like what they have seen in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Hopefully both teams, and both young 10s, prove them right in Round 2 of the Heineken Cup.

For more information on the Glengoyne Auld Enemies dinner visit their site. Booking information is found therein. Please do also visit Help for Heroes and the Bill McLaren Foundation sites.

After seeing the performance of David Pocock against South Africa I got to wondering about what brought an individual to be the type of player capable of pulling off incredible individual feats. Then I heard Rob Moffat say that he would like Scotland to play an 18 or 19 year old back sooner, rather than later. I’ve been pondering over the question of skills.

At my second Under-19 World Cup I played against David Pocock (we recorded an historical loss in Dubai…). He was as dominant, quick and technically brilliant then as he is today. At the age of 18 he had a set of tools any international 7 would be proud to have. Yet because of this I am caught considering two things: how do Scotland specifically address the issue of skills and; are we bothered enough to change the status quo?

Now something else has happened, which makes me panic. We need to change things. Fast.

A group of renowned ex-props have put forward a paper hoping to amend some of the “unjust, illogical and inoperable” scrummaging laws. Some of them certainly do need changing, and they succinctly highlight this. However, some of the paper has drawn to my attention problems with individual skills.

“If one prop were 6ft 4in and the opposing prop were 5ft 10in then, if everything were equal, it would be likely that the hips of the taller player would be above the level of his shoulders. Surely therefore this law constitutes bias against taller men,” a section about the height of hips states.

Taller men. 6ft 4in. Our game is now played by monsters. If these guys have it their way (which, if there is further tweaking, they probably should) then the pack going forward will normally get the advantage. That is logical. Brutish sets of 8 will be at more of a premium. Sure some smaller men may survive, but their technique will have to be impeccable, and their bodies strong.

The future of our game is one where collisions and pressure situations ensure that the biggest with the most skill will be the best. The supremely gifted will still find a way, but it is the technique that counts. As it should be.

At the moment we are not producing any Pococks or international tyros. We struggle to name 6 prop forwards technically proficient enough to handle an international scrum and some of our most talented junior 10s aren’t good enough to kick as well as run, or vice versa.

According to an SRU spokesperson we have 77 Development Officers in Scotland. Spread throughout the country these DOs are tasked with offering expert coaching advice to youngsters whilst they are working with youth teams, clubs and schools already. On top of this there are 8 regional Development Managers (according to the SRU website) that cover all aspects of development in the regions of Glasgow North, Highland and Islands, Central,  a combination of Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside (Fife), Grampian and Edinburgh (mid and west Lothian). There are also four regional Academy Managers, overseen by a senior manager, and Stevie Gemmell. Finally we have Iain Monaghan as Elite Development coach with Glasgow Warriors, Bryan Easson as Elite Development coach with Edinburgh Rugby and Graham Shiel covering the Sevens and whatever else he can fit in with Elite academy players.

These are the men in charge of unearthing our most talented individuals and optimising and honing their skills. These are the men in charge of sifting through the SRUs given number of “43,400 registered players” in 2011, and picking out those good enough and young enough to develop into Scotland players.

Now for me it is ridiculous to hold the DOs, those out of the 77 that aren’t Managers, responsible for not unearthing or creating enough talent. It isn’t their fault. With their Level 3 UKCC qualification they can “coach techniques & tactical concepts of rugby union”, “demonstrate an understanding of the units & sub-units and their contribution to team play and the principles of rugby union” and “demonstrate an understanding of the principles of attack and defence”. I am assured they only have a certain remit, and therefore they cover a wide range of youngsters. They are not qualified to specialise. They cover ‘Rugby’. They will not create a Pocock.

As for the Managers, well, they have a huge responsibility.

I am again assured by the SRU that the DOs are not required to have any Strength and Conditioning qualifications. There is no way of keeping up with which ones have. For me such qualifications are a complete Must Have. Particularly with the Management caste and those running academies and overseeing those at the critical ages of 15-16.

Now I am not saying that I want these kids doing heavy weights and piling on muscle. I agree with Steve Bates that we focus too much on weightlifting, because we can still catch up later (I remember when Fraser McKenzie first turned up at Edinburgh Rugby, at 17, having never lifted weights before in his life. Now he is crashing into contact in the Aviva Premiership). What I want instead is a technical, lighter understanding of weightlifting and the techniques involved (as youngsters are still growing and changing physiologically) as part of skill specific training.

Specialisation from a younger age is key. With increasing regularity we should have props and hookers working on specific scrum technique with an expert coach so that they are able to scrummage properly, even though they are using U19 rules. They need new techniques and gym work, but at 16 they don’t need brutally heavy squats. We should have second-rows using training techniques that high-jumpers and long-jumpers use, as well as one-handed and two-handed skills when a ball is in the air and they are unstable. We should have 10s working on evading contact and kicking under pressure, perhaps whilst pulling a sled, but also whilst doing dynamic exercise. Some stuff involving heavy pressure, but with additional skills like kicking needed.  We need agility work for all of our flyers. We need flexible back-rowers that can wrest a ball free, having trained their body to do so, but without inflating them in to walking chests.

Of course before the age of 15 or 16 we also need persistent emphasis on handling skills, and also on kicking skills. If a child is comfortable hand-catching, passing and, if a back, kicking then it will be much easier to work on position specifics by the 15-16 year mark where rugby gets more competitive.

Truthfully the academy systems need a helping hand. We are not producing junior coaches able to coach a position specifically, because we look at ‘Rugby’ as a whole. The rest of the world is focussing on the coming changes, and analysing each position to death. Sure cover rugby, but schools and youth clubs have a responsibility to lay the skill foundation before it is time for specificity. Perhaps we do not have enough DOs, but we certainly need to raise standards across the boards.

For the big schools and top under age clubs there should definitely be a minimum UKCC level ‘suggested’ by the Union. Specific skills should be worked on more than once a week. Players should have a ball in their hands the rest of the time and the supporting managers sent from HQ should be well equipped to keep their training varied, interesting and skill driven. Specifically skill driven for each group of players in certain positions. Not all positions are the same, but training one player at a time isn’t going to get things done. At the moment the most qualified coaches, according to the SRU, work with an Elite group of few, all in different positions.

By the time it comes to playing our skills should be better than they have been. We need heavy investment in youth rugby. At the moment our Elite systems don’t have that Pocock or 18 year old full-back ready for a shot at the 6N. Change costs money, and access to facilities may be an issue, but at this stage we need to speculate for the future of our game.

The Australia and South Africa game messed with my head a little bit as the Antipodeans won, despite being in their own third for 75% of the game. However, I was not really that surprised that the breakdown reached disgraceful levels of competition: the southern hemisphere press at this World Cup have made a song and dance about how the SANZAR teams play free flowing, high scoring rugby. As this game was one car crash away from being a crime scene, referee Bryce Lawrence perhaps thought it was his duty to allow hands in at ruck time, so that more play could be strung together and turnover tries more likely?

The result of this was that David Pocock took it upon himself to try and pinch every ball that came near him. Sometimes it was magnificent and legal. Many times, though, it was a hand digging round the side or pouring over an additional man that had made it a ruck. Fair play to Pocock: he played the referee brilliantly and he must have the strongest torso in World rugby (as well as a face that can take a punch very well!).

As unlikely a victory as this was for Australia, however, it was not what surprised me. It was not even an instance or a statement in or about this game. No. It was something that happened, followed by something that was said, in the All Blacks versus Argentina game.

As that final Quarter Final played out us neutrals had to endure some snore inducing discussions about whether Colin Slade was good enough to replace his holiness Dan Carter. Indeed as Slade dropped a pass 5 minutes in that nearly led to a try for Argentina you could almost feel five million Kiwis willing an injury on him. With 35 minutes played, the shrunken Slade limped off, and someone else in Aaron Cruden, who still didn’t quite measure up to Dan, was tasked with stringing play together.

This was just preamble, though. It was still unremarkable. What surprised me in this game was actually the moment that Argentina scored. In fact it was the moment leading up to that score. Not because of the fact that New Zealand leaked a try, but because of the manner in which they leaked that try.

Before flanker Cabello pounced over the try line there was a break. No. 8 Leonardo Senatore picked from the base of a scrum and cruised past McCaw and Read into the dead zone between the back three and the stand-off. He made a B-line for the right-hand corner and as the commentator said something about being an “amateur” he was brought down, metres from the line.

I sat up.

Before I could process what I may have misheard the Argentines were whooping and cheering, delighted that they had broken the All Blacks and were in this game.

Was it true? Was Senatore a punter like me or you?

I did some quick research. Sure enough, the 6ft 2 no. 8 was listed as playing for hometown club Gimnasia y Esgrima (Rosario) on the official Pumas website. Although technically an amateur, with no big European team experience and a name few would know, he had streaked past men whose faces were probably on lunch boxes Down Under. In short, he fitted in.

This got my mind working. I checked the IRB website to see how many players were playing in Argentina, as well as how many kids. Nothing. No information courtesy of the IRB. I could not possibly guess at how far rugby was going, so I hit the blogs.

After about an hour and a half of reading several Argentinean blogs (some in broken English, some in my misGoogled, broken Spanish) I had gleaned that Argentina had about 100,000 players across all clubs, and 250 ‘elite’ players. There are currently no professional teams in Argentina.

Again this perplexed me. With the exception of the known stars in Europe Argentina had no pro rugby and 250 support players, of varying ability, to pick from and they still beat Scotland. A team that has had professionalism in some guise since 1997. Wow.

So I considered what lessons we in Scotland could learn from those in South America.

There club rugby is intricate, but it involves numerous steps up to siphon off the best players and ensure they play competitive rugby.

Each region of the vast country has their own Union. Some are stronger than others. With a population of roughly 40 million, huge poverty and an obsession with football it is obvious that there will be few rugby players as a result, in comparison to the population. Each of these Unions have their own club competition. Buenos Aires has the strongest of these competitions, but in order to keep up some of the other Unions combine to form better leagues, so, for example, the regions of Santa Fe, Rosario and Entre Rios all have one set of leagues, known as the Torneo Del Litoral. Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Tucumán all have their own regional competitions.

Moving on from this there is more competition for the better teams. From the Torneo Del Litoral the best four teams go on to play in the Torneo Del Interior alongside teams that qualify from the Noroeste, Centro, Noreste, Pampeana, Oeste and Patagónico leagues. Sixteen teams in total. Meanwhile, outside of this, in Buenos Aires their league runs alone as it is the most competitive. At the end of Bueonos Aires’ Torneo de la URBA and the Torneo Del Interior there is another step up.

The best two teams from both of these competitions go on to play each other in semi-finals, the winner of both competitions playing the runners-up of the other competition. The final match crowns the winner of Nacional de Clubs and the best team in Argentina. In November 2010 it was won by Hindú Club, perhaps Argentina’s most successful and well known team.

Now in Scotland we could say that with a smaller country we have less geographic issues to contend with and our best teams are already in our top league, playing each other regularly. “We don’t need to learn lessons from the Argentine set-up”. But the fact remains that a guy that has played in the Torneo Del Literal, moving from there to the Torneo Del Interior and perhaps onto the Nacional De Clubes has just run past Richie McCaw.

Do we have amateurs that could do this? Maybe, maybe not.

The truth is that our competitions are not nearly as gruelling as this. We also do not have the level of rep rugby that Argentinean amateurs can play. They have all the age grade teams, but they also have a competition for regional selects. Their Campeonato Argentino competition runs through March and April and eight regions play with their best players from the Interior and Nacional competitions. There is further promotion of the best players they have.

In the summer there was even greater exposure as the best players from that competition were selected to play for a Pampas XV that competed in the Vodacom Cup alongside Currie Cup teams. An ‘amateur’ team that won that entire competition. Many of that team ended up at the World Cup and in the Quarter Finals.

This we do not have. We have a British & Irish Cup for three teams, a half season Cup competition that is struggling to attract publicity and fans, and a two-game-programme for a Club International. The competition is differing and exclusive for three teams, and the amount of highest quality games is limited for the best players.

I will admit that after researching I was surprised at the system in Argentina. They did not throw themselves into professionalism like Scotland did. They have built things up. As a result they are producing international standard ‘amateurs’ and they are good enough to win against Currie Cup teams. Their national team is also entering the SANZAR competition, formerly the Tri-Nations, and they look like they have enough quality to support at least one Super Rugby franchise.

Things could be looking up for Argentine rugby, and there is a tiny gap between their best club players and their international stars. They have surprised me, but what can I learn from them?

Well until we at least try to emulate their District competition we will never have enough competition for our two Club International squads. We will also never have enough high-quality game-time for our promising kids. We also need more competition for those B&I Cup spots, so that the product we put into that competition is both competitive and a result of a gruelling process.

Argentina play very few international matches. Maybe, now we are 10th in the World, behind Tonga, and even less of a lucrative and attractive touring option to the top tier nations, we should become more insular with our rugby. At least that way we may have more hardened players for Edinburgh and Glasgow to choose from…

• Hey, we scored 4 tries against Romania, right?
• Ruaridh Jackson settled right in to the Scotland 10 jersey. Joe Ansbro showed enough sparks in attack (when he was allowed to play) to suggest that Max Evans has been finally sent back to the wing. Unless Joe can play 12?
• Ross Ford had a belter against England despite being tackled in all directions, often at the same time. Euan Murray (when he played) went to town on every scrum put in front of him.
• Giant portions of amazing food. Special mention to the Fergburger in Queenstown and the Fat Dog in Rotorua for the quality of burger and sheer epic size of the plates of food they put out respectively.
• The people of Invercargill and the whole of Southland for a truly warm welcome to Scotland players and fans. Dunedin? Where’s that? Who needs a roof anyway?
• The scenery on South Island. Anyone who says New Zealand looks just like Scotland is going to the wrong bits. Staggering views, around every bend.
• The atmosphere in the Cake Tin for the Argentina game. Flat out the most fun atmosphere pre-game, and the full 80 minute support and singing from the fans of both sides. The first time in ages I thought that we’d really done the team justice with our support.
• Peter Breiner’s jaunty arrangement of Flower of Scotland that made it almost pleasant to listen to.
• Banning people from bringing automobile parts into the stadium in Invercargill. It’s about time someone stamped out this despicable practice.
• Samoan centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu’s tweets, railing against IRB injustice and um, Nigel Owens. Shooting both barrels from the hip.
• Ireland’s performance against Australia. Things are all set for Ireland’s best ever World Cup, or at least one where they do not underperform. Wales look handy too.

The Bad:

• That ten minutes against Argentina.
• That led to that ten minutes against England.
• Nick De Luca, let’s face it, had a few howlers. Again. Lot of penalties given away and not much passing. He wasn’t helped by the speed refs are whistling up Holding On tournament wide. I don’t want to seem like I’m singling out Nick, who I think is a talented ball player, so I’ll also point out Parks was wildly inconsistent as usual. 2 restarts out on the full in the Romania match set the tone for an area of the game we didn’t really focus on, and paid for it. And he should have taken the contact, or passed out to 12, if he wasn’t ready for that drop. As A.D has already pointed out, big Richie and Barclay were also a little subdued, although the former wasn’t helped by heavy marking from opposition defences.
• Robinson not selecting Lawson for the final game, or Ansbro in the third.
• Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking.

The Ugly:

• The way the smaller teams in the tournament were scheduled. Namibia in particular were shunted around, reputedly at the broadcasters’ whim. They were practically on the plane home before some teams had played 3 games.
• We went out at the knockout stage for the first time, after 2 matches we should really have won. Still, as my mate Doug said after each of them, we didn’t score the tries, and they did.
• Almost all of the rugby in Pool B, including a lot of the stuff played under a roof in perfect conditions.
• Al’s tour moustache. In fact, mine was pretty ropey too.
• The state of my credit card. For us poor Brits, New Zealand is expensive. Unless you want to buy steak at the Pak ‘N’ Save, then you’re quids in. Still, it was worth it.
• Most of the official RWC merchandise. While there was a massive amount more choice than in France, a lot of it seemed aimed at the older fans, shall we say. Where were the cool t-shirts? Rugby World Cup belt anyone? And how come the England supporters shirt was navy blue (and there wasn’t a Scotland one)?
• Mike Tindall’s nose. How any sort of mystery blonde could be interested in that, is in itself a mystery.
• New Zealand’s lack of love for Colin Slade. Surely they can win the big one without Dan? Nonu could probably beat Argentina by himself. After all, they’ve already beaten France and everyone else is playing rubbish Northern Hemisphere rugby, eh.

We might not be involved in the knockout stages, but there are some fascinating match-ups to keep an eye on while dreaming about what might have been.

Still, there’s nothing like the RaboDirect Pro12 to bring you back down to earth.

It’s difficult to know what went wrong, and I’m sure A.D will pick over it having seen the game in detail on the TV, but it has left Al and I here in New Zealand with a cruelly deflated sense of what this Scotland team can achieve.

It now looks unlikely that we will progress to the knockout stages without knocking more tries past England than we have in several years, and without Argentina also failing to beat an underwhelming Georgia team who must play on Wednesday then again on Sunday. In short, mission failure looms large.

For quite some time we have been (or I have) steadfast in my position that if the current group of players clicked, we could do anyone some damage to anyone (except the All Blacks). So far, the performances we have seen have just asked the question: what if we really are not much better than Georgia? Should we accept our place in the rugby pecking order? Maybe De Luca never will capitalise on his promise. Maybe Mossy can’t tackle after all. Maybe Dan Parks really is rubbish at kicking with his left foot.

Anyway, enough negativity, I am sure you get your fill of that in the press. Over here the papers marvelled at the tenacity and passion of the occasion while acknowledging the rugby was not of the highest order. I think it was probably the best Scotland crowd I have seen though, who didn’t go flat once – as so often happens when greeted with a poor effort on the pitch – and matched the Argentinians (who may have outnumbered us) song for song and cheer for cheer till the bitter and tense ending.

There was also a heavy local contingent cheering on one side or the other and entering into the spirit of it with home-made kilts or pale blue and white face paint. “Never mind,” they say, “just beat the English. Please.” almost without exception. But really there is only one colour for them, lurking beneath the surface of any temporary affection for a foreign team.

After the big game on Saturday they are finally daring to believe this might be the All Black year after all. France were all over the place as usual but the All Blacks in places played what can only be described as the very best sort of rugby, and that which truly deserves trophies.

And really, that is what you come to a World Cup to see, even if it’s on a big screen on a windy pier in Wellington, the beers cost $7.50 for a 330ml can and you were cheering for France… wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Irish eyes bulged with delight and arms were raised skywards while stricken Wallabies lay prone on the floor after last week’s defining World Cup encounter between Declan Kidney’s side and Australia.

Paul O’Connell thumped the ground with aggressive exuberance; Brian O’Driscoll was moved to the verge of tears as he heard little Dublin, located in an imposing Eden Park stadium in Auckland, rock to the sound of unadulterated delight as the memory of four straight World Cup warm up defeats were banished into the night air after 80 minutes of pulsating action.

The moment Steven Ferris snatched the elusive Will Genia and marched him backwards over ten metres had the feel of a defining moment about it. This was the Will Genia that was so slippery the fabled All Blacks back row – led by the incessant Richie McCaw – couldn’t keep him within their grasp long enough to stop him doing irreparable damage to their Tri Nations hopes.

But the Irish got to him, none more so than Ferris, who harried and cornered him, haranguing him into submission and with it jamming the gears of the quick, slick Australian machine. From here, victory was built.

Ireland had arrived at this World Cup. Wales had already laid claim to the throne with a heroic performance against South Africa. Now it is the turn of England and Scotland -Now it is time for these two to perform a similar act of emergence.

Both remain unbeaten in this tournament, two of only six teams with an immaculate record. But both also have shrouds of doubt which envelop them and will only clear when one team is left standing while the other picks up the pieces.

For the men wearing a Scotland Jersey ,this entails a sudden change of pace that will carry them through two tough games. Their progress so far is surrounded in a shroud of doubt, assured as it has been. Neither Romania or Georgia had the dynamism to test them fully -they have been dealing with straight-forward, honest power and endeavour so far.  Argentina will up the ante somewhat, as will England.

Elements of their game are waking up to the challenge, the scrum in particular rose to the muscular threat of Romania and Georgia, smothering any pockets of uprising. The backs and their seeming unwillingness to fling it around won’t be solved in the space of a tournament, but green shoots of promise have sprung and the shackles appear to be loosening, but whether they will have the confidence to elaborate upon this when the going gets tough remains to be seen.

By comparison England are awash with issues, in danger of being subsumed by the baggage and furore that surrounds them – but that cannot distract from the singular truth that lurks menacingly behind them; they were not prepared for this tournament.

Perhaps not in terms of scientific and psychological evaluation; ever since the days of Clive Woodward the England team have been followed around by an entourage of chefs, sports scientists and data analysts. No, unfortunately for them, the problem runs much deeper – they are a team without an identity, and are suffering because of it.

Are they the team which overwhelmed Australia with their free spirit little more than twelve months ago? Are they the side that helped Chris Ashton claim a 6 Nations try scoring record after just two games of the competition?

Or are they nervous wretches, scared of breaking free of the structure which suffocates them for fear of losing in a manner similar to the games in which they unravelled against South Africa (a side that Scotland had beaten weeks before) and Ireland – a gun with plenty of bullets but a faulty firing mechanism?

They have men who leave vapour trails over rugby pitches in the backs and pneumatic forwards who can wrestle with the best, but there is no linkage between these two aspects. They are conjoined twins, bound together but one sucking the life and soul out of the other.

Of course their ill-discipline is like a disease that rots to the very core, but is something that is relatively easily dealt with. They must be smarter at the breakdown and know when to bide their time before going for the kill. A meeting can deal with this, but harsher more brutally honest questions must be asked of both the men on the pitch and the men in charge.

Both Martin Johnson and Andy Robinson are cut from a very similar cloth; both have a tendency to display extreme displeasure with a swift thump of a desk from behind a glass cage if a game goes against them, while both have a wry smile that suggests they are very much aware of their portrayal as ogres, and at times play up to it.

Both are perceptive men who will be aware of the importance of their showdown in little more than two weeks’ time. For England at least, there can be little gained in the game against Romania, it is a lose/lose situation. Momentum, confidence or salvation cannot be garnered against the Oaks. That can only come from a true test of their resolve: the Scotland game. 

Scotland meanwhile will know that victory over Argentina, as tough as it will be, could count for nothing should they dissolve against England – it will be the game that defines Pool B.

It just so happens that it is also the game in which more than just World Cup points will be won and lost. It is a game for two sides still waiting outside the party while others make merry from the warm comfort within. One will continue to wait outside, wracked by doubt, while the other can join in the fun.

The 2011 Rugby World Cup is well underway and it has been an entirely mixed experience for the Scotland squad here. We have finished the week two wins better off and in a great position looking forward to our next two against Argentina and England where it will be decided who the two teams are that are going to progress to the quarter finals. The Romania game was very poor in patches but the squad have bounced back well with a controlled performance against a powerful Georgian team to leave us with 9 points from our first 2 group games.

The build up the Romania game last week was excellent. After getting settled in Invercargill our team run was as sharp as it’s been this year and the mood was very positive with all excited at the prospect of our first game. On game-day, there was some rain earlier in the day but the weather had cleared up to leave a great day for rugby.

We started the game fantastically well, as we settled into our patterns early on. As a team, we looked dangerous but after scoring two early tries we let our foot off the gas somewhat and all credit to Romania, who came back at us well, controlling the ball and set piece. At 24-21 down, it was an eerie feeling behind the posts and I don’t think many of us could believe what was going on. To come back from that position was a real positive as we strung together two great attacks for tries but there was no escaping the ‘gotten out of jail’ feeling after the game and it felt to a few of us like a loss.

We had a very quick turnaround to the Georgia game and we used it to have a long, hard look at ourselves.

Sunday we went to the pool for recovery and had a chance to go over our own games but the day after we were back to the training ground preparing for Georgia. The changes in the team brought some real freshness and energy and the prep work went well with the team run the day after following on smoothly. As a team we were clear on what the game-plan was and the key factors that would win us the contest.

The night before the match, the boys got a welcome surprise as the Invercargill Mayor, Tim Shadbolt came to, would you believe it, give us a 30 minute comedy routine. The Mayor has been arrested numerous times for protesting and has had an eventful life to say the least. Earlier that day he’d given his Autobiography entitled ‘Bullshit and Jelly beans’ as birthday present to Max Evans which was well received and his performance even more so. The Mayor had typified the great experience we had had in Invercargill and it was a fitting reminder of what we’d miss when we’d leave the day after the game for Wellington.

The weather however, we would not miss and it was another typically wet day at the bottom of the South Island on the game day. The pack as a whole had been questioned and the guys were determined to front up in the area that was Georgia’s strength. The pack performed superbly for the 80 minutes which gave us the impetus to get a solid win. At times we forced the offload when in their half which would have made it more comfortable but all in all a much improved performance from Romania and a good win. I was disappointed not to have got on but with the tightness of the game it was understandable.

 The next day, spirits were high as there was real mission accomplished feel in camp. After saying thank you to hotel staff and the mayor we headed for Wellington where we knew the real crunch stage of the World Cup begins. We’ve had the travel day and today to relax before we look forward to the next challenge of a spirited Argentina team. Tomorrow we’re back to training and the hard work starts again, as boys will be determined to impress in training and be selected. Training I’m sure will be ferocious but we wouldn’t have it any other way. By the time we reach the game on Sunday, I’m sure it will have been a long time coming!

Everyone is interested in you, where you are from, and offering up tips on things to see and perhaps how your rugby team could perform better. Even the local bogans of Invercargill doing their “mainies” up and down the central drags of this southern city stop and chat and ask where all the Scottish girls are. Some of the conversations on Saturday night would never even have been attempted in Glasgow for fear of a stabbing!

There must be a lot of Scots living here though, as the locals spot the accent a mile off but don’t always assume you have come all the way round the world to watch rugby. Who else would be dressed like this on a Saturday night?

In this part of the world everyone has a friendly word for Scotland, but the hype for the All Blacks is beyond belief. You can’t go 5 metres without seeing a flag, a message of welcome to rugby fans or a home made “Go All Blacks” sign. Right now, this is rugby central even more than you would think credible. Local news is pretty much just rugby news. Everything that is newsworthy seems to relate to rugby anyway.

There is a great Scottish travelling support, and in a place this small it is easy to bump into folk you have seen in other places and get chatting.

And yes, it does look like Lord of The Rings.

In terms of the rugby so far Wales v South Africa was probably the pick of the games, Wales were very unlucky and played better than they have in a long time. Any Pacific Island No. 8s out there with grannies from Govan?

Referees seem to be going harder on the speed of breakdown work, trying to free up quick ball, which is to be applauded. So far, so good. Now for Georgia, and back to the terraces of Invercargill’s Rugby Ground.

After the All Blacks humped a stoic Tongan side by 6 tries to 1 with clinical counter attacking rugby but failed to score quite so much in the second half, pretty much everyone I’ve spoken to reckons they were truly, truly awful, or words to that effect. Usually ones rhyming with “hit” or “height”. Graham “Ted” Henry only gave them 5/10. So how then to view Scotland’s decidedly mixed performance on Saturday against a fired-up Romanian team?

Invercargill looked like it was going to deliver as promised when awaking to a rainy sky and grey cloud. But the rain held off for the match and Scotland played to begin with as if a wet or muddy pitch had never even been considered.

When he took the field I thought Mike Blair looked a bit tense but as Lamont blasted through holes in the Romanian midfield and Jackson spread it wide with abandon, Mike responded with a try, followed by Ansbro in short order.

So far so good. The refs in the World Cup so far have been very strict in terms of the time allowed for releasing the tackler or the ball – they are obviously looking for quick ball and fast exciting games, and for a while Scotland provided it. These new restrictions didn’t allow John Barclay to get much into the game, with a couple of turnovers early on but he and Kelly Brown reduced mostly to tackling (a lot) in the later stages of the game.

Richie Gray too was subdued, the pre-tournament hype has clearly made him a marked man but if Big Richie can’t play, Medium Richie (plus headband of doom) found some luck out wide including a crucial break round the outside late on to send Danielli over.

The set piece looked okay without being spectacular – the Romanians were not much of a lineout threat but put up a fight in the scrum - and in the second half, pretty much everywhere. The comeback made for a better game for the neutrals of Invercargill and the handful of Romanian fans present, but probably left some fairly messy kilts around Rugby Park. Most neutrals supported the underdog, with one wag commenting that he had been forced to switch to Scotland once the Romanians took the lead…

Robinson will be concerned with the dropped off tackles in the face of a physical Romanian back division as well as less security on their own ball as the game wore on. Al texted from back home with an expletive ridden view on Scotland’s performance but at the end of the day they scored 5 tries, secured the bonus point and top the table. That would be the expected result, and that was what we got, no?

England and Argentina looked no great shakes later on in the evening – although the papers here still pick them as the two pool qualifiers – but that level of consistency won’t get us out out of the group. The Romania game might prove a good warm up for Georgia and Argentina – and maybe even an uninspired England – but Robinson will need to turn up the heat a bit more.