RICHIE GRAY turned off the television after 55 minutes of Tonga’s 59-16 defeat to Ireland on Saturday night, but saw enough during the time he was paying attention to be reminded of the threat the Pacific Islanders can pose – not that it was needed given that he is one of only two survivors in the current squad from that infamous defeat in Aberdeen back in 2012 (alongside fellow second-row Grant Gilchrist who was an unused replacement in that horrifying – from a Scottish perspective – 15-21 loss to the ʻIkale Tahi).
Back to the present, and with both teams having lost their opening matches of this World Cup campaign, next Sunday’s clash in Nice is do-or-die regardless of where your loyalties lie, and it would be reckless of Scotland to focus too much on the last time they played Tonga, when they ran out comfortable 60-14 winger in late October 2021.
That game was played outside World Rugby’s international window so both sides were shorn of several frontline players, which was bound to impact Tonga more severely given their much smaller resources – both human and financial. Tonga were so hard up that day that they even had Walter Fifita (the giant but hugely unimpressive winger who was at the start his year and a half spell with Glasgow Warriors before leaving the club under a cloud in April) playing.
Since then, Tonga have taken advantage of World Rugby’s relatively new three-year stand-down rule since that match – which allows a capped player to switch allegiance to a country to which they have “a close and credible link via birthright” so long as they complete a three-year cooling off period – to bring in the likes of full-back Salesi Piutau [formerly Charles], outside-centre Malakai Fekitoa and scrum-half Augustine Pulu all making the switch having previously played for the All Blacks.
“I watched it but had to turn the TV off after 55 minutes as it was past my bed-time,” said Gray yesterday, when asked for his thoughts on Tonga’s performance the previous night. “They started really well, very physical, caused a lot of problems until Ireland started to get into their shape, and some of their set-piece stuff was good.
“They looked dangerous, with Piatau causing a lot of issues in the backfield, and we saw the physicality you expect from Tonga with some huge hits going in, which is what happens if you let them line you up in defence. So, we are under no illusions about how tough they are going to be.”
“It is going to be chaotic – you are going to have big boys coming out of the line trying to hit you hard,” he added. “They made a real mess of the Irish breakdown early in the match, putting a lot of pressure on the scrum-half and spooked him a bit.
“They had Ireland rattled before Ireland eventually got into their shape and then you saw how much that structure caused Tonga difficulties. So, the plan for us will be to stay in our shape as much as possible no matter what they throw at us, because when we do that, it will make life hard for them.
One area where Scotland must make big improvements from the France game is at the line-out, which is Gray’s particular area of responsibility.
“There wasn’t a massive amount of aerial pressure from South Africa, so that’s frustrating and we have come up with a few things to get right this week so that we are ready for Tonga,” said the veteran second-row. “It has had to be a real focus for us this week because you can’t afford to come second best at set-piece against any team at this level.
“It’s a great way to launch your attack and it gets you into shape, so we know how important it is and we have to get it right.”
After taking a couple of days off following the South Africa defeat, the Scotland team have had three big training days leading into this match week, including a gruelling session yesterday morning.
“It was really tough, especially for a Sunday morning – almost like being back at pre-season, but physical,” said Gray. “We knew the task in hand coming into this Tonga game, and it wasn’t a case of saying ‘let’s start thinking about it on Tuesday’ – we want to make the extra days we have to prepare for this game count.”
“We know what we’ve got to do. We have to win the rest of our games in the group – against Tonga, the Romania then Ireland – to stand a chance of getting through. That’s the focus and we will do everything we can to achieve that, so this is a huge game for us – and also for them because they are in the same boat after losing their opening match.”
One Tongan danger man the Scots know all about even before doing their analysis is back-rower Sione Vailanu, who is one of Gray’s team-mates at Glasgow Warriors. At 6ft 1ins and just a touch under 20 stone, Vailanu was one of the most destructive ball carriers in European club rugby last season.
“He is a top boy and I get on well with him, but there’s not going to be any gentleman’s agreement at the weekend,” said Gray. “He is a big unit and we know how tough he is and how good he is around the breakdown. When he gets a chance to carry, he’ an absolute wrecking ball, so we really can’t give him a sniff.
“I don’t really train against him too much. I try to avoid him as much as I can.”
David has worked as a freelance rugby journalist since 2004 covering every level of the game in Scotland for publications including he Herald/Sunday Herald, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Scotsman/Scotland on Sunday/Evening News, The Daily Record, The Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday and The Sun.
7 Comments
2012 in the snow in Aberdeen was a horrible game that ended a coaches international career. If we lose this then we are coming home before we get to Ireland and I expect the debrief to be just as painful. This is a game to build confidence in our set piece and rediscover our attacking mojo after a sobering outing against the Boks.
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Don’t know why the SRU keeps putting up players to spout inane banalities. A complete turnoff. I don’t recall the 1984 or 1990 teams spouting off. Actions on the field were sufficient.
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Then again in 1984 and 1990 there weren’t all various mainstream and social media channels that there are now all needing to be filled with (largely) nonsense.
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‘After 55mins it was past my bedtime’…..inline with Scotland performances against top sides.
No doubt the same against Ireland when it matters.
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Alternately it’s good to see the players aren’t taking the game lightly.
It’s all meaningless words anyway.
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The culture within Scottish Rugby when referring to the opposition for at least the last 20 years has at times for me been concerning. The use of language when interviewed hasn’t shown confidence, determination or belief. I am all for respecting the opposition or being wary of them but when you read or listen to interviews self-defeatist terms are too often referred to. However, recently this attitude has begun to turn. Players talking of controlling, powering, being accurate, or inflicting their game is expressed with grit. Something we have lacked on many occasions arguably since the game went professional. I would guess Aaron Walsh has had his influence on this…
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‘Scotland winger Kyle Steyn wary of Tongan backlash’, ‘Richie Gray determined to avoid 2012 repeat’. ‘Turned off the television’. Really stirring stuff. The Reds are ranked 16th in thee world, finished bottom of the Pacific championship, have just lost to Ireland by 43 points and put up the worst line-out performance that I have ever seen in test rugby, Fraser Brown included. If we’re not going in with a full confidence and determination then what on Earth are we doing in this tournament? Next it’ll be ‘Townsend fears Romanian resurgence’. I back the boys to keep the head, retain their shape, go through the phases and get an emphatic result – and they must believe the same to avoid ridiculous self-fulfilling prophesies. If they can do that, then everything else will fall into place. Surely that isn’t too much to ask of the greatest Scotland team ever?
2012 in the snow in Aberdeen was a horrible game that ended a coaches international career. If we lose this then we are coming home before we get to Ireland and I expect the debrief to be just as painful. This is a game to build confidence in our set piece and rediscover our attacking mojo after a sobering outing against the Boks.
Don’t know why the SRU keeps putting up players to spout inane banalities. A complete turnoff. I don’t recall the 1984 or 1990 teams spouting off. Actions on the field were sufficient.
Then again in 1984 and 1990 there weren’t all various mainstream and social media channels that there are now all needing to be filled with (largely) nonsense.
‘After 55mins it was past my bedtime’…..inline with Scotland performances against top sides.
No doubt the same against Ireland when it matters.
Alternately it’s good to see the players aren’t taking the game lightly.
It’s all meaningless words anyway.
The culture within Scottish Rugby when referring to the opposition for at least the last 20 years has at times for me been concerning. The use of language when interviewed hasn’t shown confidence, determination or belief. I am all for respecting the opposition or being wary of them but when you read or listen to interviews self-defeatist terms are too often referred to. However, recently this attitude has begun to turn. Players talking of controlling, powering, being accurate, or inflicting their game is expressed with grit. Something we have lacked on many occasions arguably since the game went professional. I would guess Aaron Walsh has had his influence on this…
‘Scotland winger Kyle Steyn wary of Tongan backlash’, ‘Richie Gray determined to avoid 2012 repeat’. ‘Turned off the television’. Really stirring stuff. The Reds are ranked 16th in thee world, finished bottom of the Pacific championship, have just lost to Ireland by 43 points and put up the worst line-out performance that I have ever seen in test rugby, Fraser Brown included. If we’re not going in with a full confidence and determination then what on Earth are we doing in this tournament? Next it’ll be ‘Townsend fears Romanian resurgence’. I back the boys to keep the head, retain
their shape, go through the phases and get an emphatic result – and they must believe the same to avoid ridiculous self-fulfilling prophesies. If they can do that, then everything else will fall into place. Surely that isn’t too much to ask of the greatest Scotland team ever?