Scotland scrum coach Massimo Cuttitta has defended under-fire boss Scott Johnson, insisting the Australian is doing a “great job”.
Johnson’s leadership has been attacked by a number of former Scotland players – including former British Lion Peter Wright who branded him a “joker” – following the dismal 20-0 defeat to England last week, which left the Dark Blues staring at a potential RBS 6 Nations wooden spoon.
The Scots lacked any sort of attacking menace in that Murrayfield collapse, spending just three per cent of the match in the England 22.
The Auld Enemy’s victory followed another toothless display against Ireland in Dublin but Cuttitta insists Johnson is the man to lead Scotland through the season, when he will move upstairs to become director of rugby, leaving New Zealander Vern Cotter to coach the national side.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Italy – who have also lost their first two games – he told BBC Scotland: “Scott’s doing a great job. From my point of view, he’s doing a hell of a good job.
“He’s keeping the team really focused on our objectives. There were good things in the game, some positives.”
Wright claimed Scotland had the players to compete against the other European powers but questioned whether “the coaching staff are good enough”.
However, Cuttitta insisted the criticism was not a distraction, saying: “We just take it on the chin and work as hard as always to resolve the issues.
“It’s been difficult, but let’s not forget that England are one of the best rugby teams in the world.
“There were good things in the game. There were some positives. They were in our 22 at least 20 times and they only scored twice, so that’s something we did well.
“Scrummaging was reasonably good. We got 80 per cent of quality ball from scrums, so there weren’t just negatives.”
Meanwhile, Edinburgh back Jack Cuthbert has been called up to the Scots squad ahead of the trip to the Eternal City
The 26-year-old, who can operate either at full-back or on the wing, will add extra competition to the Dark Blue’s back division after Sean Maitland was ruled out for the rest of the championships after suffering knee and ankle injuries in the defeat to Ireland a fortnight ago.
