Wallabies head coach Les Kiss has rejected the idea that a settled Scotland side will be easy to read. He needed one name to explain why.
“When you’ve got Finn Russell, I don’t think you think that’s predictable at all,” he said. “That boy’s pretty special.”
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Finn Russell backed after De Villiers criticism
Kiss was asked whether a familiar Scotland team, full of players who have played a lot together, held fewer unknowns before Sunday’s Test at Murrayfield.
His answer came days after Russell’s form was questioned. Scotland lost 43-21 to New Zealand last weekend. Former Springboks captain Jean de Villiers then said the fly-half was not delivering.
READ MORE: Why Jean de Villiers says Finn Russell is playing on reputation
Kiss did not stop at Russell. He named scrum-half Ben White, whom he coached at London Irish, as “very important” for Scotland “when they play well”.
He also pointed to the club form of Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors. “They’re on the front foot in terms of their confidence,” he said.
“It’s going to be tough, but I wouldn’t say they’re predictable,” Kiss said. “…We’re going to have to prepare for a number of scenarios, which we’ve done this week.”
Why Kiss calls it ‘speed chess’
Kiss expected the All Blacks defeat to be “smarting” in the Scotland camp. “We understand that it’s Murrayfield,” he said. “I mean, it’s not going to be easy.”
Asked whether he had spotted weaknesses to target, Kiss joked that he could not say, then gave a little away.
“Every team’s got some chinks… No one’s perfect,” he said. “…We’ve ascertained those areas, and we’ve just got to try to exploit it, as they will with us.
“There’s certainly… a bit of chess there at the same time, but probably speed chess.”
READ MORE: Les Kiss: Carter Gordon was ‘the incumbent’ at 10 anyway
Why Scotland’s maul worries Les Kiss
Scotland’s maul did the damage against the All Blacks, with hooker Ewan Ashman scoring a hat-trick.
“I mean, they’re an interesting lot, aren’t they? The forwards,” Kiss said. He added that the pack builds its identity on that strength, “and that’s only right”.
“…They’re very aware of what happened to the All Blacks last week. But we’ll step up in that space.”
Kiss said the game now turns on what he called the “A zone”, the attacking area near the opposition line.
“If you get to the opposition A zone, the world changes so much. If you’re in your own A zone a lot, the world is bloody difficult,” he said.
“I thought that’s what Scotland did well at the times that they got up there… Hat-trick to the hooker.”
READ MORE: Kieran Read: the All Blacks’ maul defence is an invitation after Ewan Ashman’s hat-trick
Australia’s own lineout slipped against England, but Kiss called it “that little blip we had, that’s easily put right”. Scotland and Australia meet at Murrayfield on Sunday 15 November.
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