AT this stage in the four year cycle between World Cups, intending participants should have a reasonable idea as to their state of progress. After the summer series, we know who needs to make progress and who does not. You will not be surprised to hear me say that Scotland is in the former category.
After the weekend’s humiliation by Ireland the All Blacks now know they need to improve massively and have launched an inquiry into what has gone wrong. That is typical of the professionalism of New Zealand – they don’t just go for a pint and say ‘well, we had a poor day at the office so let’s just forget it and move on’. The same head scratching must happen for Australia, put to the sword by a decent but not outstanding England side which at least showed signs of genuine progress by full time on Saturday. World champions South Africa also know they need to to improve because Wales ran them close, even if at the death the Springboks’ winning mentality prevailed.
