Scotland legend, Scott Hastings has called for Greig Laidlaw & others to prove that they are worthy of a place in the Scotland side when they play against Wales.
Following their recent defeats against Ireland and France, Scotland will need to rebuild. Hastings wants to see Laidlaw as well as other players from the Scotland side to step up their game at Murrayfield on Saturday.
He said to Omnisport: “Scotland are misfiring at the moment and whilst we can look at the injury list – which has been significant – there is enough experience in Gregor Townsend’s wider squad for the senior players to stand up and deliver.
“Unfortunately for some reason they are not firing. Apart from a pretty solid 60 minutes against Italy and a reasonably solid half against Ireland, Scotland have played very little good rugby in the championship.
“The likes of Laidlaw, Jonny Gray, Stuart McInally, Tommy Seymour, they are not coming out with standout performances. They are just coming out with a mediocre performance. It’s difficult sometimes on the international field – I know from my experience – sometimes you go out there and you can’t get into the game.
“But if you consider 12 months ago Scotland
Hastings is hoping that Laidlaw will rise during the game so that head coach Townsend will keep faith in him.
He added: “At the moment there are a few fingers being pointed at Laidlaw and questions over whether he should start,” Hastings added.
“He needs a big game and certainly when I’ve questioned whether he should be in the team, he has produced a performance and he needs to deliver. But also does Jonny Gray keep his place? Matt Fagerson may come into the front row alongside Allan Dell.”
“It’s a really difficult one. Do you drop your captain? When Scotland are looking for confidence, what sort of message does that send out to this team? We knew in the past Gregor Townsend hasn’t shirked responsibility. It will be a fascinating selection.
“If Laidlaw plays he is going to have to show why he is captain and why he is number one scrum-half with a performance out of the top drawer, because he has Ali Price snapping away at his heels and young George Horne – who always adds impetus to a game – wanting to be part of that Scotland set-up.”
