Scotland playmaker Greig Laidlaw has set his sights on becoming a permanent fixture at scrum-half rather than fly-half for his country.
Laidlaw had been operating in the number 10 jersey on a part-time basis for both Edinburgh and Scotland but the retirement of record-breaking scrum-half Mike Blair opened the way for the 27-year-old to return to his preferred position in last week's Six Nations opener at Twickenham.
The defeat in London may not have been the result Laidlaw was hoping for but his encouraging performance was enough to convince interim head coach Scott Johnson to retain him in the role for Saturday's clash with Italy.
"I enjoyed being back at nine. I was pretty comfortable in there," Laidlaw told Press Association Sport.
"I've held on to my place and hopefully I can build on that this week, keep the jersey for longer, and get that win that we desperately want.
"I'd now say scrum-half is my out-and-out position. First and foremost, I want to play as a nine.
"I'd fill in elsewhere if required, I won't shy away from that, but nine is my preferred position."
"There were parts of the game in London that were encouraging and parts that we need to improve on.
"We realise what they are and that is what we have been working on in training this week. The training will come through in the game and hopefully give us the result we want.
"We let England get on the front foot in the pack and we struggled to defend from there and if you let anyone do that, it's a hard day at the office.
"They gained momentum through that and that is one of the areas we have been working on.
"The coach doesn't mince his words, so we duly got told after the game where he wants us to go," he added.
"But we are not shying away from that. It's exactly what we need to work on, we know that ourselves.
"If we do that, I believe we will put ourselves in a position to win Test matches."
Comments
porridge_time says...
Melkdave...
Think you're way off the mark with the Pro12 comment. The problem that both Jackson and Weir face is that they play for the same club, therefore, each has to wait until the other has an injury to gain some game time.
The SRU should have move one to Edinburgh this season, giving them both regular game time.
Posted 06:41 07th February 2013
GoWalesGo says...
Good for Scotland.
He's a rubbish flyhalf
Posted 05:17 07th February 2013
melkdave says...
Have to admit his a better 9 than 10, though being able to cover /do both positions is good for Scotland ,as they are woefully short of class 10s imo.Jackson seems to have lost his way,he had potential,but seems just cant step up to international leval.The same maybe /can be said for D.Wier,ive yet to see him givea commanding performance for club or country at any leval.That leaves T.Heathcoat,and he does have massive potential,and has given sterling performances in the AP.Might be a tad early to throw him into the deep end ,aka Jackson though.I think he needs at least 1 possible 2 seasons .hopefully playing regually for Bath,to hone his potential imo.Why Jackson and Weir cant seem to make the step up .I feel is down to the Pro12 which has no consequences for teams losing,and thus lacks intensity,and i believe commitment from the players.This is bad because at international leval players need intensity and 100%commitment thoughout the entire team.We saw last Saturday at least 3 players look like they where coasting .Confidant theirs no one to take their jersy.That attitude has to stop asap,and players have to know if you dont give 100%.YOU WILL BE DRPPED.Lets hope R.Ford has learned this lesson ,as he was definatly guilty of coasting in my eyes last year,and in the aurtum.Went from a potential Lion in 2010-11 to ABSOLUTLY NO CHANCE.I also feel the team selected against Italy just isnt good enough,unless Hamilton ,Ford,Murray and Lamont have had the riot act read to them and perform.
Posted 03:09 07th February 2013
damo says...
dan parks at 10 would be an improvement to Jackson
Posted 20:22 06th February 2013
porridge_time says...
Thought he had a very good game against England behind a pack that did not perform. Having him as a the first choice nine is probably the best move Scotland could make at present.
He is a very quick tactician of the game and plays with great pace and accuracy at nine... it's time the Scots forwards, especially the likes of Murray, Ford, Hamilton, put a bigger effort in at the coalface.
Posted 18:28 06th February 2013