Finn Russell can take heart if consistency really is the hallmark of the unimaginative.
The Scotland fly-half is a man who, on a good day, can turn a game with a heavenly flash of inspiration.
But there are other afternoons when entire matches seem to pass him by.
Saturday against France at Murrayfield wasn’t one of his most magical days.
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Indeed, aspects of his performance attracted searing criticism, with former Ireland wing Shane Horgan at the front of the queue to call out Russell after the Lions Test player launched a kick downfield early in the game which went straight to Antoine Dupont.
The Scotsman's lacklustre chase and failure to attempt any sort of tackle was compounded by wide angle footage that saw him inexplicably jogging back as his team-mates busted their guts to stop the French.
Russell didn't even come close to getting back in the defensive line, with the footage something of a damning indictment on the man wearing long blue sleeves.
It was like handing Dracula the keys to the blood bin as the best player in the world right now ripped open the Scottish defence with a counter that ended with Paul Willemse crossing for the opening try.
Later, Horgan declined to hold back in his assessment of Russell’s lack of effort, saying on Virgin Media Sports on Irish TV: "That is actually pathetic for your top player, your talisman.
“Five minutes into the game. He doesn't have an injury, he's not fatigued. You look at someone like Rory Darge killing himself around the field — turning ball over, making tackles, carries, scoring a try — and then you've got your best player performing like that.
“There is no way any team can win consistently if you have players doing that. It's like what France were doing in their dark ages, but that's gone. You'd never see a Springbok doing that, you'd never see an All Black doing that.
"If Finn Russell wants to count himself as a really top player, have a look at the best players of the last 10 years. Look at the generational players like Brian O'Driscoll, Dan Carter, Jonny Wilkinson. They were so hard working, and that [from Russell] was pathetic."
Horgan was joined by fellow panellist Rob Kearney in blow-torching Russell, with the former full-back coming up with a punchy take on the No. 10’s performance in the Guinness Six Nations encounter, indicating the rest of the Scotland team should be less than impressed.
and adding: "When you review a game on a Monday morning and mistakes are highlighted, you can take that as a player.
"But when that comes up on the big screen in front of your team-mates, and you're indirectly saying 'I do not really care about this team. I'm not going to work as hard as I can', it’s not good enough. It’s humiliating.”
The pair also turned their fire on another leading light of the Scottish team, skipper Stuart Hogg.
Fair play, Hogg didn’t spare himself afterwards with an honest assessment of aspects of his game against the French, who ran in six tries in a 36-17 win.
But Horgan was withering, suggesting that a tendency to make errors was undermining Hogg’s status as a world-class player.
“I think he makes one or two big mistakes every game. I really like the way he plays, I think he’s really exciting…He’s really passionate and he’s really committed to Scotland and he works really hard, but he makes one or two errors every game. He’s not the complete player,” said Horgan.
“He has a little bit of weakness on his inside shoulder when defending. He has the occasional terrible day on the high ball, which we have seen with the Lions. His positional sense isn’t great. We saw him drop that ball. Even going back a couple of years ago with the try against Ireland which he dropped on the line. They’re crucial errors.
“If you want to be an outstanding, world-class player, which I think he is and can be, you can’t allow those elements into the game and he consistently does it. As a top player, he can’t.”
Kearney also piled in, focusing on Hogg’s defence and saying of the Scottish skipper: “Captain of the team, along with other big key members of this team not stepping up. On a big day, they’re the ones that need to perform.
“He’s a full-back who closes the gate early. Teams will know that he leaves a lot of space in the backfield. He’s caught badly out of position.”
The Scottish camp could be forgiven for viewing the rugby analysis on Virgin Media Sports with no small degree of trepidation.
A fortnight earlier former Scotland coach Matt Williams gave the class of ‘22 both barrels, suggesting they needed to “shut up” because “they are making fools of themselves ”.
The Scots face Italy in Rome next time out before concluding their campaign with an away game against an Ireland side who could potentially still be contesting the Six Nations title.
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