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Adam Hastings has pleaded with Scotland coach Gregor Townsend to give him one more chance to show he can fill Finn Russell’s boots.
The Dark Blues saw the Calcutta Cup blown out of their grasp by a combination of Eddie Jones’ England and Storm Ciara as the Red Rose claimed a 13-6 victory.
Heavy rain and swirling gusts turned the Murrayfield clash into a farce, with both sides unable to tame the conditions.
In the end, it was the visitors who did just enough to win back the cup and keep their Guinness Six Nations hopes alive with the win.
However, Hastings admits he felt it was a missed opportunity for him to show he can spearhead Scotland’s attack against top opposition as he was forced into a futile kicking battle in a forlorn quest for territory as the winds bit.
It remains to be seen if Russell will ever be seen again in a Townsend team after he revealed the extent of his breakdown in relationship with the head coach in an interview with the Sunday Times.
But Hastings does not want his bid to be named Russell’s successor judged solely on Saturday’s shambolic squall.
“Pressure brings the best out of me I feel,” said the Glasgow stand-off, who also started the Scots’ championship opener against Ireland.
“In that first game it was a drier ball and I had a chance to express myself.
“But Saturday wasn’t the type of game I wanted. We all wanted a dry ball, that suits Scotland much better.
“We did what we could with it.
“Have I done enough to keep the jersey? I hope so. I feel like I’ve only had one go at it after Saturday. Every time I got the ball I was kicking it. That must be one of the only games in my career in which I’ve kicked more than I’ve passed.
“Everybody wants to start, so we’ll see. I think everyone just wants another go to how what they can do after that game on Saturday.
“You want another go as soon as the whistle sounds. We felt if we’d had 10 more minutes we might have been able to conjure up a victory.”
Scotland had opportunities to put scoreboard pressure on England but were spooked out of going for the posts on a number of occasions after seeing England’s Owen Farrell miss three penalties as the wind kicked up.
Ellis Genge’s try ultimately proved the difference to heap further frustration on a Scotland side which also fought bravely in Dublin only to lose out narrowly.
Hastings – whose team are tryless after two games – said: “It’s a tough one because it was one of those games where you almost don’t want the ball. You’re almost better off without it.
“Frustrated is the best way to sum it up. It was a pretty even contest. We got into their 22 a number of times and just couldn’t get over the line. Our penalties were a bit wider so we probably couldn’t kick them.
“I had a few conversations with Stuart Hogg and some of them were just a bit too wide to go for that three with the wind. You saw Farrell missed a few too so we’re all just disappointed.
“We’ve got to look at the positives. Obviously the Ireland game was disappointing. Against England, it just felt fairly even. We’ve got to look at ways we can win those types of games, we just can’t be relying on penalties.
“It’s a little bit tougher to take when you lose by the margins we are. If you’re getting smashed then you’re getting smashed but in these tighter games it’s so frustrating because you’re so close.”
