I KNOW just how the Scotland players are feeling. Back in 1995, we were leading France eight minutes into injury time, and holding them on our line for all that time until somebody slipped and suddenly Emile Ntmak slipped through for the winning try.
It was gut wrenching, a dreadful feeling. True, it didn't put us out of the World Cup the way that yesterday's debacle did, but it did put is into a knockout match against New Zealand at their prime, a game we went on to lose.
We knew at the time that that try was effectively our World Cup, and to have glory snatched from you at the death like that is tough to take. What makes this one even harder to handle is that we all know this was simply a case of not getting the big calls. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, went our way when it mattered.
The calls went against us, we did not get the rub of the green. If we had we would have won. The boys, to a man were outstanding.
There were two incidents that cost us big time. The first was the yellow card for Sean Maitland, it cost us a lot with Australia scoring down the wing he should have been defending a few minutes later. It was never a card, he was clearly trying to knock the ball up and catch it – of course he was. If he had, then with his pace he would have scored. If it had been a closed hand or he had battered it down, fair enough, but it was an open hand knocking it up.
That was much earlier in the game but you could argue that it cost us the game just as much as the penalty at the end. I don't agree with that decision either. It was case of the ball hit our guy, then it hit an Australian, then it hit Jon Welsh.
If it had come directly off our guy, then fair enough, but it didn't, it hit an Australian and that meant that Welsh was in his rights to pick it up. Maybe go back for a scum, but a penalty, never.
What I really don't understand is why he didn't go upstairs to have a review of the decision. It was such a big call that surely he had to go and make sure, it is not as though the TMO's have been sitting quietly this World Cup, they have been getting involved in most of the big decisions, so why not this one?
Gutted for the boys, they were outstanding. The the spirit of adventure, the way they played, the way they approached the game, thought they deserved it. The scrum was great, the line out was really good until the last one; it is these small margins. We had to take that line out at the end and see the game out, that is what gave away the chance for that final call to go against us.
For all that, it was a gallant effort. The boys really proved that they could deliver on the big stage when it mattered and the way they approached the game.
I know they scored five tries to our three but you have to kick your goals as well, that is part of the game, and they can only blame themselves for the fact that they did not manage to do that enough and that kept the game tight. We know that they are good side, don't forget they were many people's favourites for the title going into the weekend. We are punching with the big boys now and you have to remember that.
The encouraging thing is that most of the team will still be playing in four years and will have learned a lot from this experience. It was a harsh lesson for them, but it is one that, if they learn what they need to, could still lay the platform for a better future.
We are out. We shouldn't be. We should be at the World Cup for another two weeks but we are not. That is the truth of it, however unjust it is.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel