Scotland 'disheartened' but determined after defeat by Ireland - captain Stuart McInally
- Published
Stuart McInally (right) has been left deflated by the loss to Ireland
Captain Stuart McInally admits Scotland's crushing defeat by Ireland in their World Cup opener has left the team "disheartened" but "desperate" to put things right against Samoa.
Ireland made a mockery of pre-match predictions that the Pool A match would be a tight affair.
McInally admits the nature of the 27-3 defeat means it will be difficult for his side to recover.
"At the moment, it is tough," the Edinburgh hooker said.
"We invested a lot of time into that Ireland game; that goes for everyone involved in the group. Then to perform so poorly is really disheartening. Everyone is gutted, but the tournament was never going to be won and lost on Sunday."
Scotland have seven days to prepare for their next game against a Samoa side who open their campaign against Russia on Tuesday, with the Russians having lost 30-10 in their opener against Japan.
"We need to make sure we review the game and we learn from it," McInally said. "Then we have to switch our focus to Samoa - that is the most important game now. Nothing changes, whether we had won or lost yesterday.
"We knew we had to win these three games to guarantee qualification out of the group, so that is where we're at. We're gutted, but the focus is still there to play well in the rest of this tournament and make sure we do what we want."
McInally says the players are aware of the fierce criticism that has come in the wake of their poor display and can have no qualms with the flak that is coming their way.
"Yeah, probably," McInally responded when asked if the criticism was justified. "Based on the way we played, I don't think we are not due any criticism.
"It's a professional sport. We are expected to play well and we didn't play well.
"We criticise ourselves really heavily as well and that criticism comes from within, from what the coaches say about our performances and what we demand from each other.
"We are hard on each other and we are desperate to do well in this tournament."