Former Scotland coach Jim Telfer believes only three players who took part against Wales deserve pass marks, and thinks some of the others may not be mentally tough enough for Test rugby. The Scotsman's Stuart Bathgate reports.
"Although some players said afterwards that the poor start had virtually ensured a home defeat, Telfer argues that two chances around the hour mark - for Nikki Walker and John Barclay - could have brought them back into the contest. "If one of these chances had been taken, Scotland would have been within three points of Wales with 15 minutes to go and we could have kicked on and won.
"We didn't deserve to win, however, and serious questions must be asked about the mental toughness of some of our players. If they thought that they just had to turn up and assume that the result they achieved against the Springboks (Scotland's last Murrayfield match, in which they beat the world champions) would automatically follow last Saturday when they returned to Murrayfield, then they were given a very rude awakening by a Welsh side hurting from criticism at home but still containing some world-class players.
"And it was those players - Shane Williams, Jamie Roberts, Ryan Jones and James Hook in particular - who led by example. Only Sean Lamont, Kelly Brown and, to lesser extent, John Barclay compared favourably with their opposite numbers."
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